Emma Foster-Geering
Bachelor of Construction Project Management, 2013
Design, Architecture and Building Award
Emma’s achievements in the field of sustainability have made an impact on an international scale. She is an outstanding advocate who doesn’t hesitate to call out industries where sustainability has become a buzzword or exercise in ‘ticking the box’.
She specialises in helping businesses to manage the impact of their supply chains on biodiversity, and develop globally sustainable solutions. Based in London since completing her PhD, Emma was responsible for eliminating hazardous chemicals in luxury fashion brand Burberry's global supply chain. She then worked as Sustainability Manager with food and fashion giant Associated British Foods plc, leading the development and implementation of environmental sustainability at clothing retailer Primark.
Emma is now Director of Sustainability at Vivobarefoot, a minimalist footwear company.
Prior to re-locating overseas, Emma worked on high-profile construction projects in Sydney, including the Desalination Plant, where she oversaw environmental approvals, licenses and impact mitigation.
As a new graduate, she moved to Western Australia and spent many years managing the environmental impact of multi-billion dollar mining and infrastructure projects.
While at UTS, she did a cadetship that included developing an Environmental Plan for the Sydney Opera House.
Emma continues to make a significant contribution to public debate on the tension between commercial health and sustainability. Many of her roles to date have involved liaising with NGOs such as Greenpeace and WWF in the UK and the Wilderness Society and Landcare in Sydney.
A long-term volunteer, Emma constructed a school in a remote Aboriginal community as part of the UTS Construction for Developing Communities Project and also devoted time to the Sunflower Orphanage in Cambodia, where she taught English and built classrooms and communal eating areas.
UTS offered me such a unique start in a career in a subject that frankly did not even exist at the time. So it means an awful lot to be recognised for what I’ve managed to do with this innovating space as a result of the creativeness and confidence that was fostered during my time at UTS.
