After reviving my sustainability blog site late last year after a lengthy hiatus and more recently discussions with helpful folks (thank you – you know who you are) I’ve decided to relaunch the blog with a renewed name www.nicolenealsustainability.com and a renewed focus – a renewed focus on my thoughts, insights, experiences and knowledge related to the myriad exciting things I’m currently involved with in relation to sustainability and the infrastructure and construction industry.
Why?
The reason for the refocus is twofold really.
I find myself in the humbling position of having become, entirely organically, somewhat of an infrastructure sustainability touchpoint for a variety of passionate and talented people that have been in the infrastructure delivery and/ or sustainability industry for varying lengths of time, from young professional through to directors. At the same time I have also found myself becoming a mentor for bright, enthusiastic and equally talented young people looking to forge their own careers out of university or branching out from other career paths. People have been reaching out to me, including folks I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting previously, to seek my thoughts and advice.
Being one that likes to assist others, particularly those that have made an effort to reach out and make contact (which can sometimes be an intimidating thing to do if you don’t know someone), I’m more than willing to listen, discuss and share. I’m sure the discussions I’ve had, thoughts and ideas I’ve shared on issues, be they technical sustainability issues, career directions or working in project or organisational teams to achieve certain outcomes would be of benefit to a wider audience, not just here in Melbourne and in Victoria or in Australia, but further afield too.
As such, I’ll be sharing my thoughts, knowledge and experiences on the blog. No names or otherwise identifying features will be used in my posts, of course, in relation to any discussions I’ve had or will have.
So that was one reason, the other is a desire to share with a wider audience, in the name of knowledge-sharing (and encouraging others to do the same), assisting others and pushing boundaries within the infrastructure and construction industry the experiences, and resultant thoughts and knowledge garnered from the myriad of exciting projects and experiences I’m currently fortunately enough to be a part of at present. This includes:
- Leading a high-performing and successful Sustainability and Environmental Management team across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, South East Asia and the Middle East.
- Taking a lead in the development of Aveng Group’s first sustainability strategy, this encompasses the five Operating Group companies under Aveng’s operational control, and working with colleagues in South Africa (McConnell Dowell Group is 100% owned by Aveng Group).
- Subsequent refining and implementation of the McConnell Dowell level sustainability strategy.
- Active involvement in industry groups such as the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) and the Australian Constructor’s Association (ACA) Sustainability Working Party.
- Co-Chairing a highly active and successful ISCA Working Group, the Contractor’s Working Group
- Active membership of the ISCA Waste Advisory Group.
- Invitations to industry sustainability think tanks and participation in events such as UN Global Compact events.
Hopefully it goes without saying that the exact details of the content of strategies and the like will not be shared on the blog (and again similarly with any names involved). Rather, posts will be focussed around processes, approaches, experiences, thoughts, insights and outcomes, where relevant and appropriate. The kinds of things I’d be happy enough to talk about or present on at a conference or industry event.
I have a rather full schedule of topics ready to start blogging on, but if there is anything you’d like me to talk about, have any questions, or would like to contact me directly to chat further, please feel to drop me a line via the contact details on the Contact page.
Nicole Neal Sustainability 