BECA Online Series: Integrating Sustainability for a Prosperous New Zealand

Genevieve is passionate about helping clients tackle the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges. She provides strategic sustainability advisory services to Beca’s clients across the market spectrum, from organisational policy and strategy planning, business operations integration, as well as project level implementation and management. With significant experience in major infrastructure projects at all stages of project lifecycle delivery, she challenges business-as-usual norms to stimulate innovation for new approaches.

As Beca's Sustainability Manager, she also provides leadership to the business and supports the ongoing development of our strategy to create value for our business, clients and wider society. She is responsible for the management of initiatives, and works alongside Beca’s business teams to fully develop and integrate these into operations.

Maurice has over 15 years’ experience in sustainability, working in Europe and in New Zealand and in the public and private sector. He is a certified CEnvP (Climate Change Specialist) with a strong track record in climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. At the Transport Agency Maurice is responsible for driving resource efficiency on capital works projects, reducing impacts on the environment by reducing embodied carbon and energy use, as well as minimising waste and virgin material use.

He is also overseeing the application of sustainability rating tools on capital works projects enabling more sustainable outcomes and results. Maurice is a certified "Greenroads Level 2 STP" professional and a "IS Accredited Professional" (ISAP).

Alec is Auckland Council’s Acting Chief Sustainability Officer and leads a team focused on creating a more sustainable, resilient and equitable Auckland. The Chief Sustainability Office works across Auckland Council’s diverse operations and alongside Auckland’s mana whenua, mataawaka, communities and businesses to deliver the system shifts required for this future, from infrastructure provision and service delivery through to funding and decision making.

The office’s current focus is the delivery of Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri, Auckland’s Climate Action Framework which will set a path for rapid decarbonisation, in line with the region’s 1.5° commitment, whilst also preparing the region for the impacts of climate change.

Dr Chris Cameron has been the Climate Change Champion at Nelson City Council since December 2019. He has a PhD in climate science, and has had a long standing interest in climate change response, having worked previously in a similar role at Wellington City Council. Chris has also represented New Zealand as a delegate to UN climate change negotiations, and IPCC meetings, during his time working with the Ministry for the Environment.

Dr Mike Scarsbrook is the Science Manager at Waikato Regional Council, with over 30 years’ experience in freshwater management, research into land use impacts on river water quality, managing the environmental impacts of dairying and freshwater policy development. Mike has been working with Beca to embed sustainability (the four well beings) into decision making for flood protection and land drainage infrastructure for WRC. Mike has a PhD in Zoology from University of Otago.

Jane Palmer is the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Senior Planner on Climate Change. Jane has a long standing interest and passion for environmental issues, with a breadth of experience covering energy, housing, climate change, fuel poverty, consumer information, public participation and waste management. Jane has previously worked at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and for the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on domestic energy efficiency standards and policy. Despite having resolved to reduce her carbon footprint by avoiding air travel, she ended up emigrating to New Zealand ten years ago and has been living with the carbon guilt ever since. Jane has worked for BOPRC for the past four years and jumped at the opportunity to take up the newly created climate change position at the Council last year. Since then, Jane has been grappling with the highs and lows of supporting the Council on its climate change journey.

Katri joined Whakatāne District Council as Strategic Coordinator – Climate Change in December 2019. Her work role sees her coordinate and deliver on Council’s Climate Change Project, including the development and implementation of a climate change strategy and action plans. Katri graduated with a Master’s in Science in 2019 from the University of Helsinki (Finland), having completed her Master’s thesis in Whakatāne studying our iconic kiwi birds. She has a background in tourism and is passionate about communicating science and conserving the New Zealand environment

Cushla is a Technical Director in Beca’s Community Shaping business. Cushla has over 19 years of experience in strategic planning, engagement and environmental and social assessment including assessing the current and potential future impacts of climate change in the coastal environment across NZ, Australia and the Pacific. Cushla has a Masters of Coastal Science degree and understands the complex interface of planning and engineering and the impacts of a changing climate.

Stuart is a public realm and public transport advocate in every sense, and he is passionate about design integration. He has 30 years of local and international experience delivering cohesive design solutions on projects where the complex balance of requirements might otherwise lead to compromised outcomes. Recent highlights are his efforts leading the design definition and development of Auckland’s Northern Pathway and Sydney’s new Metro rail stations and precincts. Stuart is the urban design lead for the Supporting Growth Alliance in Auckland, focused on defining and protecting integrated multi-modal transport corridors that will support the city’s future growth needs.

Rob Fullerton is a Senior Technical Director of Environmental Engineering with Beca with over 40 years of scientific consulting experience.

Rob has worked on Beca water and wastewater treatment plant design for clients in Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Projects have included brownfield and greenfield process design and operational advice for industrial, food and beverage and municipal clients. From this wide work experience Rob has proven capability to work with integrated Beca project teams across disciplines and countries.

Chris has been CEO of Upper Hutt City Council since March 2011. Prior to this he held numerous directors roles within Council ranging from business development; strategic planning through to building control and regulatory services

Chris truly enjoy the challenges and rewards Local Government brings and the fact that you actually get to make a difference within your local community.

Prior to working for the Council Chris worked in a number of industries including: telecommunications, banking, procurement, facilities management and the energy sector both in New Zealand and the UK.

Chris is married with 3 daughters and enjoys spending time with the family and keeping fit.

Sam is a professional environmental and sustainability manager with a breadth of experience from over 18 years’ in public and private sectors. Sam typically leads sustainability and environmental teams in the design of large-scale linear infrastructure projects. He is an Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professional (ISAP) with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) and able to undertake sustainability ratings.

Sam is skilled in applying his knowledge and experience on multidisciplinary projects and applying sustainability principles and innovation – particularly in relation to Transport Infrastructure. He has undertaken sustainability assessments and ratings using sustainability frameworks such as Greenroads (Pūhoi to Warkworth) and ISCA (CRL C3 Bid), and has worked with clients to develop strategies and embed sustainable practices in procurement, delivery and benefits realisation.

David is a passionate environmental sustainability manager with over 13 years’ experience in the field of environmental management and sustainability, supported by an extensive background working on collaborative large-scale infrastructure projects in both New Zealand and France. As Downer NZ’s National Environmental Sustainability Manager, he coordinates the organisation’s Environmental Sustainability strategy and governance, action plan, systems and process, training and assurance. Davis has worked with Downer for the last 8 years in Christchurch and Auckland.

Dr. Marcia Nugent is a Principal Advisor in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) Development team at Waka Kotahi, working on developing and embedding the benefits management approach into NLTP processes and decisions to enable robust benefits realisation practices and reporting. Marcia has worked in Public Service and NGO organisations in NZ , South Australia and Victoria for over 20 years, focusing on strategy, performance and project management, with some of that time focused on bringing sustainability reporting into Australasian public agencies, resulting in co-authoring a chapter on that topic in the CSIRO publication, ‘Transitions: Pathways towards sustainable urban development in Australia’ (Newton: 2008).

Fred is a Project Director with more than 20 years’ experience in the Quantity Surveying, Cost Management and Project Management disciplines. He brings specialist expertise in front-end property advisory services, investment decision-making support and an acute commercial awareness to the delivery of complex building projects across numerous sectors in the industry.

Fred’s expertise spans across the whole project lifecycle namely from business case stage, project set-up and delivery to contract administration during construction. He acts as Engineer to Contract under NZS suite of contracts and is also NEC4 accredited. Fred is outcomes focused and passionate in helping clients tailor enabling solutions and approaches with the end in mind. This includes specialist expertise in procurement strategies i.e. helping clients shape their approach to buying in a way that is better geared towards their business drivers. Fred chairs Beca’s technical Discipline Group for procurement

Mehrnaz Rohani is an applied economist with over 17 years of experience working in fields of public policy and social cost-benefit analysis. She has co-lead the development of Waka Kotahi’s Benefits Framework, and the review of the Monetised Benefits and Costs Manual, the superseded Economic Evaluation Manual.