On Wednesday March 8, the UTS Sustainability Alliance of Students and Staff (SASS) hosted their inaugural Sustainability Industry Panel.
Comprised of speakers from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the evening featured exciting insights into the future of sustainability careers, and the importance of transferable skills in this growth industry.
Attendees also took the chance to network with the industry representatives to gain insight into graduate and work programs within these companies, as well as PhD study in these areas.
The panel consisted of Tammy Yau, Ben Grace, and Dr Scott Dwyer, with moderation and insight from current Sustainability and Environment student and SASS executive Peter Rugg.
Tammy is a Director in PwC’s Energy Transition team. She started her career as a Chartered Accountant, before completing a Master of Sustainability and moving into Responsible Investment. In her role, she works with investors such as banks and private equity funds to develop ESG strategies, and conduct analysis of ESG issues and opportunities for the companies they invest in.
Ben is a Senior Project Officer in the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change. He started his career in 2019 in the NSW Government Graduate Program, and undertook a ‘climate change and energy security’ research fellowship as a way to break into the energy space. Ben has since worked on the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and is currently involved in programs to improve energy sustainability, affordability and reliability in NSW.
Scott is a Research Director at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures. He has spent the last 15 years advising industry, entrepreneurs, communities, and governments on the opportunities and challenges posed by the transitioning energy system. Scott’s Environmental Science degree was followed by a Masters and PhD specialising in Sustainable Energy. He joined UTS in 2018 after working in the private sector and now works across a range of energy innovation projects involving solar, batteries, microgrids, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.
Careers in Sustainability and transferable skills
The panel were able to dive into their experiences within the rapidly changing Sustainability industry, especially in how it relates to current concerns around the energy market and our looming transition to renewables.
Tammy Yau’s insights into the interests of corporations and private business to prepare for this transition, something which her team at PwC facilitates with strategic planning and road mapping, indicate a growing focus towards renewables and sustainable business practices in a variety of markets.
Ben Grace’s recent work on the Energy Infrastructure Roadmap, a 20 year plan to transform the NSW electricity system into one that is “cheap, clean and reliable” as coal-fired power plants are retired, led to a discussion on the challenges and possibilities that lay in store during the transition.
Scott Dwyer's experiences drew mainly upon his work with stakeholders, discussing smaller, community-led approaches to energy, especially when it comes to solar panels and the decentralisation of electricity, and the importance of stakeholder management in these discussions.
Study Sustainability at UTS
The gap of sustainability knowledge within all sectors is something that students within the Bachelor of Sustainability and Environment are seeking to fill. The Bachelor, which is not available to study as a standalone degree, is taken with either the Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Management, or the Bachelor of Public Health. Paired with their professional degree, students focus on topics within three of four streams, such as governance, society, industry, and science.
The demand for these skills, especially when paired with the accompanying and transferable skills from their professional degree, makes UTS students well-placed to enter the workforce and lead the energy transition, and prepare the world for a sustainable, cleaner future.
Find more on these course options here.
If you’re interested in joining SASS, find them here.