At the age of 21, Aaron Fuller, Fellowship Program participant and creator of Wipe It Out, had an epiphany.
“I realised that working 80 hour weeks was not for me and spent the next four years travelling the globe.” Aaron studied property for three years after finishing school but ended up working, ‘crazy hours, riding the real estate boom’.
On returning to Australia, he decided to change direction and obtained a Diploma in Marketing and has spent the last seven years in Analytics, Marketing and Sustainability. Aaron is due to complete his Masters degree in Environmental Management this December.
A… Read more
Creating a green oasis and fresh food farm in the city jungle is the ambitious aim of a group of Melbourne urban professionals.
Pippa Howard, Alex Houlston and Nicky Scheltus have teamed up on a project to prove the viability of establishing a fresh food farm in the Melbourne CBD. They worked with fellow participant Russell Hughes, whose architectural design work on urban farming has been a central inspiration.
The group has also been inspired by the City of Melbourne’s success in turning other dead spaces, such as laneways and industrial areas, into active and vibrant zones that are an… Read more
Rachel Mimmo came to Australia from the UK in April 2008 when she gave up her job as a corporate lawyer in Sheffield. Rachel and her husband, who works in sustainability, decided to travel around Australia by car for eight months.
As a way of lessening their carbon footprint they had the novel idea of using waste cooking oil to fuel their epic 37,000 km car journey. The couple stopped off at fish and chip shops and Thai restaurants across the country whenever they needed to top up. (You can read more about their ecoadventure on www.ozonabatteredfish.blogspot.com.)
Rachel’s battered fish… Read more
Daniel Sturrock, investment banker
I’m an investment banker and worked for 10 years at Macquarie Bank. When I lost my New York job at the end of 2008, I moved back to Australia and became an independent consultant working mostly in the renewable energy sector. The Fellowship Program looked like the perfect, short study program that would complement my professional experience.
Justin Medcalf, superannuation leader
Before the Fellowship, I was developing my own business, helping people invest their money in a greener way. I was still at a very early stage and in many ways I think… Read more
Adam von Einem, business executive
After being the CEO of Rip Curl Asia, I was involved in a boutique, environmentally considered, five unit property development in Brunswick, Melbourne. I am now working in my newly formed consulting business, The S Factor Group, helping companies deliver on sustainability initiatives which make commercial sense.
Monique Conheady, entrepreneur
I am CEO of car share business Flexicar. I grew up in a family of small business people and am interested in business ideas that have positive social and environmental outcomes.
* Monique is a finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards… Read more
The Centre for Sustainability Leadership was awarded the 2009 Melbourne Community Environmental Organisation of the Year in the prestigious Melbourne Awards.
The award was presented by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle at the Melbourne Town Hall event.
At the ceremony two of our graduates were also awarded for their work. Rachel Lowry took out the Corporate Environment category for her project “We are Calling on You” which she developed as a participant on the 2008 Centre for Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Program.
Rachel identified mining of the ore coltan, which contributes to Gorilla extinct, as a project she wanted to… Read more
Click on the graduates’ name below to read their stories
Alison Dodd
For environmental lawyer Alison Dodd, the Fellowship Program has proven to be a winning combination of inspiration and practical insights.
Joel Leske
Former trolley boy Joel Leske has worked his way up the ranks of Coles Group. Now, inspired by what he’s learnt through the Centre’s course, he is creating the first sustainability strategy for retail giant K-Mart.
Dougal McInnes
What does a former terrorism and security advisor to the Prime Minister’s office… Read more
The founder of a unique Melbourne-based organisation which is grooming the next generation of sustainability leaders has been honoured at Cosmopolitan’s Women of the Year awards.
Larissa Brown, the founder and Executive Director of The Centre for Sustainability Leadership (CSL), said today she was thrilled to have been recognised for her role in developing Australia’s future sustainability leaders.
Larissa, 27, last night won the Community Achievement category at Cosmopolitan’s Fun, Fearless Female Women of the Year Awards. Other winners include radio presenter Fifi Box, actress Jodi Gordon, TV presenter Jennifer Hawkins, singer Delta Goodrem and swimmer Leisel Jones. More than… Read more
July 2008
The founder of a unique Melbourne-based organisation which is grooming the next generation of sustainability leaders has been named Australia’s Young Environmentalist of the Year.
Larissa Brown, the founder and Executive Director of The Centre for Sustainability Leadership, said today she was thrilled to have been recognised for her role in developing Australia’s future sustainability leaders.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett presented Larissa with the inaugural award at the prestigious Banksia Awards ceremony in Melbourne last week.
Mr Garrett said Larissa set a wonderful example for her peers in establishing the Centre for Sustainability Leadership three years… Read more
The Labor government was elected with a clear mandate for action on climate change, but the finger-in-the-wind populism of the past fortnight’s petro-politics suggests that the only thing with bipartisan support is myopia. Amid the practised moral outrage with which each party greeted the others’ fiddling proposals, the studiously avoided elephant in the room is this: governments fail the petrol-dependent public not by refusing to cut a few cents in the dollar on a product the raw form of which may soon approach $200 a barrel, but by continuing to favour policies that consolidate that dependence.
For over a decade,… Read more
For entrepreneur student Joe Grant, his philosophy in life is simple. “What are you passionate about?” he asks. “Everyone’s got a unique ability, and you’ve got to match that with your passion. If you can do that, you can do whatever you want.”
That is exactly what Joe has done, through his internship with the Future Sustainability Leaders program (FSL). A project run by the Centre for Sustainability Leadership (CSL), this 8-month program is based on a series of workshops, designed to give budding future sustainability leaders the tools they need to make a difference in the world. And for… Read more
Being a serious environmentalist crept up slowly on Gordon Young, a Future Sustainability Leader and enthusiastic former Scout leader who once dreamt of being an Air Force pilot (and probably still does, as he bashfully admits).
A lover of the outdoors, environmentalism to Gordon is just “common sense”. He is not a crusader, and after attending a couple of protests as a student, decided that there were more effective ways to make a difference – as reassuringly simple as turning off a tap, or picking up a piece of litter. His attitude to sharing the sustainability message is the same:… Read more
Why it matters
If you are seeking to make change it is much more difficult alone. Therefore it is important to get other people on board. Community involvement in issues that directly affects the public creates a sense of solidarity between community members. You may also be surprised to discover other people who are passionate about making change who have some great ideas and experience that will help.
Basic answer
Encouraging community members to act together and actively create positive change will create a sense of pride in one’s community. This will then create a snow ball effect in that… Read more
As the profile of sustainability and corporate responsibility continues to increase, 2008 may well be seen as the year that so called ‘green collar’ careers really took off. Demand from medium and large companies, government and corporate alike, for business focused sustainability solutions is beginning to outstrip the supply of people with experience. This skills shortage means that employers are increasing looking to fill these roles through personal and professional relationships gained through the likes of doing business, volunteer and non profit projects and internships.
Danielle Bendall knows only too well the challenge of gaining a foothold in the industry.… Read more
Huong Truong is not your stereotypical environmental crusader. In place of dreadlocks, her glossy black hair is tied back neatly and adorned with an alice band. Instead of an unwashed Save the Whales t-shirt, she sports a cream silk blouse. I am later to learn to expect the unexpected of graduates of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership’s Future Sustainability Leaders Course.
Despite her corporate appearance, Huong is as passionate as they come. Born to Vietnamese refugees, Huong grew up in sometimes turbulent circumstances in the insalubrious suburb of Sunshine, on the outskirts… Read more
Matt Perry
Participant 2007 FSL Program, and Head of BellamyHayden Marketing in Melbourne
On why he became a participant:
I had been working in the marketing communications industry for 12 years and was ready to rebalance my priorities. FSL was the only programme that would help me learn about sustainability and give me the core skills in leadership, which I could apply to my every day.
How he applied what he learnt:
I started a blog www.itstartsinwoodend.blogspot.com and I write a regular column called Bright Green for our advertising trade title Ad News
… Read more
There’s one thing the Future Sustainability Leaders program didn’t give Jack Fuller: passion. From a few minutes speaking to the founder of the Project for a 1000-year Plan, it’s clear he already had that.
Direction, however, and the opportunity to engage with other young people interested in the issues of sustainability inspired 22-year-old Jack to change his path, and consider how his work could affect the future.
“What if you started to look at things, identifying issues that might take 1000 years to evolve?” Jack asked. “You start to think, ‘Is that something we can do forever?’ Probably not.”
“If… Read more
“There is no such thing as a last chance in human affairs. But the post-2012 Kyoto framework comes close,” writes this year’s UN human development report. The 13-day Bali conference set out to establish a strategy to tackle global warming post-Kyoto, the “Bali Roadmap”. Originally, the draft agreement set out specific emission cuts of 25-40% for rich countries by 2020, to achieve a halving of global emissions by 2050. This was the science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, due to US reluctance, all specific targets were relegated to a footnote in the document. Now, the strongest… Read more
Daniel Epstein is a pretty amazing guy. He’s been a pilates teacher, a lawyer and a former Silicon Valley boomer. At 35, he’s travelled the world, completed myriad adult education courses, and opened a biofuel petrol station in Prahran, stocking it with organic goodies. You could say he is almost at green guru status. And yet, in 2006, Daniel signed up for a new course: Future Sustainability Leaders.
Future Sustainability Leaders, or FSL, is an eight-month program consisting of weekly workshops, group project activities, a mentorship program and a week-long residential retreat focused on communication and advocacy skills. The emerging… Read more
In 2006 Danielle Bendall was working as the Business Project Manager for New Product Development (NPD) for Pz Cussons Australia Pty Ltd, a manufacturer of detergents and soaps. She had been working for the company for a number of years, and was ready for a new challenge.
The challenge she set herself was to complete a new leadership program called Future Sustainability Leaders (FSL). Run by the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, the FSL is an eight-month program consisting of weekly workshops, group project activities, a mentorship program and a week-long… Read more
In the wrap-up from the Sydney siege, it’s worth briefly reflecting on the significance of what was the 15th APEC summit. The most enduring story will surely be the ‘Canadian Delegation’ that rendered the $160 million security operation somewhat farcical and left a police spokesman fulminating about how funny it wasn’t while the whole country giggled (note to Chaser: did you not see what became of the Glasshouse, you fools?). And not that the Driza-Bones weren’t funny, but dressing the leaders up in riot gear would have had a wry, self-deprecating wit that stole the laughs back from the ABC… Read more
In 2003, James Gifford finished his Masters in Environmental Management at University of NSW and tracked down an internship at the United Nations Environment Program. He arrived in Geneva and managed to find himself a desk and, after two months, a paying part time job. Four years later he is the Executive Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Initiative which has signed up investors representing more than US$10 trillion in assets.
The PRI are a set of best practice principles for institutional investors like superannuation funds and asset managers that ask these organisations to… Read more
