Turning Green December 2011 e-newsletter

Turning Green would like to wish all our clients and candidate a very restful holiday season and we look forward to working with you in 2012.  This Christmas 2011 e-newsletter features two articles of interest written by our e-newsletter contributors Jodi Smith and Kate Bennett.

Jodi’s article highlights that venture capital investment incentive, particularly in cleantech, is integral to ensuring that Australia capitalises on its natural resources and scientific expertise.  It also highlights a recent report by Australian Cleantech,  which profiled over 767 Australian cleantech companies, and contained data indicating that as a sector, revenue topped $22 billion (which equates to nearly half of the revenue of the construction industry in Australia), with an employee base of 25,000+.  Figures also showed a 31.4% increase in average total revenue per cleantech company in Australia between 2009-2010.  According to the report, the majority of cleantech companies are in the water industry,  followed by the energy efficiency sector, solar and then waste.

Kate’s article tackles the issue of communicating intangibles.  Her article cleverly cuts through the plethora of tools, frameworks and approaches to identify and outline the key steps and requirements for evaluating an organisation’s intangible assets and social impact.  Kate also highlights in the resources section, a great book titled The Green Scorecard: Measuring the Return on Investment in sustainability initiatives.  The book tells us that in order to succeed, companies must adopt a results-based, return on investment (ROI) focus that helps them identify, develop and implement green projects that add value-from an economic, environmental and societal perspective.

We hope you enjoy and look forward to working with you in 2012.

Australian Sustainability Conference November 2012

Australian Sustainability Conference November 2012

Where to now for careers in sustainability?  Five minutes with Turning Green’s Lisa Tarry …… 

Green salary survey finds property is top of the money tree

By Tina Perinotto

7 October 2011 – At last the Australian sustainability industry is starting to gain an insight into the worth of its people. At least in terms of salaries and roles, thanks to the first comprehensive survey of green jobs.

It’s good news for property, money wise.According to the executive summary of the 2011 Sustainability Roles & Salary Survey the property industry has trumped rival sectors, banking and finance, at least in terms of highest average salary for sustainability classified jobs. But there is a  twist in the tale: property and real estate scored lowest on satisfaction.

Among the states, NSW has come out first in terms of salaries, ahead of Victoria by nearly $10,000.

Average salaries were:

• property and real estate                                  $144,253
• Construction                                                    $134,482
• Banking, insurance, financial service               $130,046
• Energy and utilities                                          $118,484
• Manufacturing                                                 $117,242
• Consulting (engineering services)                   $ 98,152
• Consulting (professional services)                  $ 98,152
• Environmental services                                   $ 97,416
• Education                                                        $ 90,230
• Non-profit                                                        $ 78,310

The survey was conducted by a cornucopia of interests from the green industry: recruitment consultancy Turning Green which led the project and key partners, The Association of chartered Certified Accountants, the Green Building Council of Australia, the Australian Green Infrastructure Council, Environmental Jobs Network, and Models of Success and Sustainability.

It attracted 804 respondents, with a 77 per cent completion rate. In terms of gender the rate was 48 per cent female and 52 per cent male. More than half the respondents worked in-house for companies, while 30 per cent were from consultancies. Only 7 per cent were from the not for profit sector.

A clear indicator of the survey was that there is significant confusion about what constitutes a green occupation, making forecasts of demand for specific roles problematic.

This made it “very difficult to estimate what new and emerging occupations currently exist or are likely to be created with various green economy plans,” the report said.

Another difficulty was that 35 per cent of those surveyed said they expected a skills shortage in the future, which would make it difficult to recruit staff. A need for more training was cited as important.  Currently 90 per cent of respondents were tertiary educated.

The survey noted that an objective of the Council of Australian Governments Green Skills Agreement was to develop national standards in skills for sustainability.

However it was also clear that sustainability and environment-focused roles existed across all industries.

Key driver for job creation in the industry were:

• Energy management
• Carbon management
• Water management
• Sustainable procurement
• Product lifecycle
• Product composition
• Ethical labor standards

One key finding in the survey was that the length of time working in the field had an impact on salary: those with 10 years of experience in general commanding double the salary of others.

Another interesting factor was that most respondents – 67 per cent – were satisfied with their jobs, but this rose to 75 per cent in the not for profit sector.

Lowest satisfaction levels were reported for property and real estate – 58 per cent and construction (53 per cent). (this, despite scoring the highest average salary.)

What might explain this?

The survey authors took a punt: “This could indicate that individual’s ideals are changing and that the financial return from a job is just one of the many components that attract them to a role.

“The subjective aspect of a position, for example work-life balance, contributing to a worthwhile cause and job satisfaction, is just as important as the objective outcomes of prestige, power, money and advancement.”

The full 115 page report is available at various prices with discounts to participants. Contact lisa@turninggreen.com.au

The Fifth Estate – green buildings and sustainable property news

Turning Green e-newsletter October 2011

In this October 2011 edition of the Turning Green E-Newsletter, we launch the full report of the Sustainability Salary Survey and feature a number of engaging articles.  Subject areas covered include Mitigation versus Adaptation by Kate Bennett, also by Kate the Power of Public Private Partnerships: a Microfinance success story, and we cover Katja Bührer’s story; a finance journalist who found herself working in Bangladesh collecting opinions about finance – but from people whose daily salaries do not contain any zeros.

As for Turning Green it has been a busy year with an abundance of career consultations and a wide variety of recruitment activity.  The amount of internal movement is also high across industry, a fact we are privy to in confidence through our networks.  As one trusted industry friend observed last month, you wouldn’t want to be in any other area than sustainability, in any other country in the world right now.  Whilst there is still a long way to go, it does feel that the tide is slowly turning.  One interesting finding from the survey was that 22% of participating sustainability professionals operate in a stand alone capacity.  This was closely followed by 19% operating at Executive Management level (including CEO), 17% reporting in to Operations and 7% as part of the Marketing and Communications function.  This tells us that the sustainability networking circuit will continue to remain active, as sustainability professionals seek comraderie and debate from peer connection through appropriate networking groups.  We also cannot ignore the power of online networking, with one senior sustainability executive citing the establishment of a key LinkedIn group which now has more than 570 members from more than 55 countries.  

Additionally, the Environmental Professionals Forum (EPF) boasts a membership in excess of 900 professionals.  Just this week EPF, in conjunction with Stockland, hosted an event that offered members the opportunity to converse with Siobhan Toohill, General Manager, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) for Stockland, to hear about why Stockland value sustainability and how they continue to develop and refine their strategy.  Passionate about creating great places for people to live and work both today and in the future, Toohill joined Stockland as National Urban Design Manager, and her interest in social and environmental impacts led her to create a new role focused on corporate sustainability. For the past seven years Siobhan has been responsible for creating and embedding Stockland’s sustainability strategy.  As testament to their committment and success, Stockland was recently recognised as the most sustainable property company 

globally by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).  

Accolades aside, what I took from the presentation was a testament to Siobhan’s personal approach to her work.  Both uplifting and inspiring Siobhan demonstrated an emotional maturity that is essential when dealing with multiple stakeholders to overcome potential barriers to sustainability.  Siobhan has been able to breakthrough a variety of management practices (stemming from sense making patterns) and internal organisational concerns.  As a result she has helped to obtain a more commercial outcome than an inflexible and egotistical approach might have.



One final interesting point this month has been the volatility of markets which is forcing boards to rethink the way senior executives are remunerated, and many are considering linking incentives to internal company targets instead of shareholder return.  It is therefore pleasantly surprising to learn about some innovative compensation schemes a few companies are using to weave sustainability into the fabric of their businesses.  Intel links employee compensation to sustainability results and is doing this for its entire workforce. Since 2008, every employee’s annual bonus is calculated on the basis of the firm’s performance on sustainability measures like product energy efficiency, completion of renewable energy and clean energy projects, and the company’s reputation for environmental leadership.  

National Grid’s compensation model shows how to embed sustainability practices into a company’s DNA.  Like Intel, National Grid has tied CEO and other executive compensation to performance on the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals – and these are aggressive goals: an 80% reduction by 2050, with 45% by 2020.

  Xcel Energy’s compensation for executive officers is tied to GHG reductions but they go further by disclosing details of the targets and compensation in its annual report, and not just in sustainability reports.  Important here is getting the key information directly to the investment community and secondly, it demonstrates that Xcel sees sustainability as a core business issue.

  

This is demonstrating smart practice that will no doubt empower employees throughout the organisation.

GBCA Green Tie Gala Dinner pictures September 2010

The Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Tie Gala Dinner on  22 September last month in Sydney was a glittering night with plenty of insight into the reality of trying to build green around the world thanks to Savill’s James Sherrard.

More photos below:

Tony Arnel GBCA and Clare Walsh, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Lisa Tarry, Turning Green and Bobby Ali-Khan, GECA

Cheryl Thomas, Council of Capital City Lord Mayors and Andrew Borger, Leighton

Matthew Clark, NABERS and Shaun Condon, Investa Property Group

Romilly Madew and James Sherrard

Jon Collienge and Kate Pearsall

Louise and Jason from Ambius

29 September, 2010

2011 Sustainability Roles & Salary Survey Executive Summary

The 2011 Sustainability Roles and Salary Survey Executive Summary (PDF) 5th September 2011

This unprecedented survey will provide insight into the individuals employed in this expanding market, from the types of organisations they work for, to their job functions, salaries and career backgrounds.

The survey is a collaborative project between recruitment consultancy Turning Green and key partners: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC), Environmental Jobs Network (EJN) and Models of Success and Sustainability (MOSS).

Sustainability sector offered first salary survey, Written by Ross Kendall, Thursday, 26 May 2011

Australia’s first salary survey for professionals in the sustainability sector is underway and it aims to fill an information vacuum according to employment consultant Lisa Tarry.  “I have been getting calls form clients who have a position that needs filling, and they want to know what salary they should offer…basically there just isn’t enough information,” said Tarry, founder of Turning Green Consultants (TGC), a sustainability sector employment agency. The survey is being supported by a coalition of organisations including: the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Green Building Council of Australia, the Australian Green Infrastructure Council, Environmental Jobs Network, Models of Success and Sustainability, and TGC. While there is salary information for technical environmental roles, pure corporate social responsibility roles and those related to carbon markets, there is a big gap when it comes to the wider sustainability sphere said Tarry. “The problem is made worse because sustainability roles can vary widely depending on the industry under consideration,” she said. Tarry doesn’t think the survey could have the effect of ratcheting up salaries in the field, arguing that the financial return from a job is just one of the many components that attract people to a role. The subjective aspect of a position, for example work-life balance, contributing to a worthwhile cause and job satisfaction, is just as important as the objective outcomes of prestige, power, money, and advancement she said. “The survey is really about getting an idea of what people are worth to the industry, and just as importantly, what business will have to pay to attract the right talent for the right roles. “Companies face the real prospect of having to attract talent from overseas in coming years, and they are going to have to know in advance what sort of spend they are looking at to attract the right person for the role. “We really are trying to get some baseline data, the idea is that we will do this year on year,” she said. The research findings will be launched at the ACCA annual sustainability conference on Monday August 8, 2011. The survey can be found by following the links from Tarry’s website:  www.turninggreen.com.au

Turning Green April 2011 e-newsletter

Welcome to Turning Green, the specialist recruitment firm focused on placing talent into sustainability, climate change and environmental roles.  This is our paper-free way of keeping you in touch with what's happening with jobs in the sector in Australia.  Find out what roles we have available, get updated on industry news and more. With only four copies a year, we won't clutter your inbox - April 2011 Turning Green e-newsletter.

This month, Turning Green in conjunction with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Green Building Council of Australia, The Australian Green Infrastructure Council and Environmental Jobs Network would like to invite you to participate in the first Sustainability Salary Survey in Australia: To take part in the survey, click here and please pass on to as many appropriate colleagues and/or contacts as possible.

The research findings will be launched at the Annual Sustainability Conference on Monday 8 August 2011. As a result of taking part in the survey, you will receive a summary report and a discount on the full report.

Response rates will be monitored daily and the survey will be open from Wednesday 6 April to Thursday 30 June 2011.
  

Other highlights in this edition include: best practice recruitment process - what does it really mean for your business to hire a 'sustainability' professional and what are the key competencies that you should be focusing on?  We take a look at the Federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) and the opportunities and possible pitfalls inherent in it; we look at the powerful vehicle that is Public Private Partnerships (PPP) between governments, civil society and the private sector and review the incentives for energy efficiency in the property sector: the Tax Breaks for Green Buildings Program.  We also provide a link to an interesting read - Project Financing Electricity Generation Projects in NSW, a report written by Dermot Duncan of Crisp Legal.

Due to continued demand for our Environmental Careers One-on-One Sessions we now offer a personalised Career Planning Service to individuals who are between roles, or those seeking to transition their careers. These 45 minutes sessions include one-on-one advice and a CV review with a Professional Member of the Career Development Association of Australia Inc.  Call 02 9037 4199 or email info@turninggreen.com.au for more information on content and costings.

Growth Spurt for Green Jobs - Australian Weekend Professional, March 2011

AS an increasing number of organisations take action to implement sustainability strategies in the wake of debate on a carbon tax, many Australians are seeking pathways to green careers. Australian Weekend Professional featuring Turning Green

Turning Green Sponsors a Flood Relief Event – Dig Deep for Queensland

With a sellout crowd and a competitive auction this event raised in excess of $50, 000 – well above forecasts. Turning Green were delighted to contribute a $3,000 Sustainable Career Package and other charity auction items included: Hilton Hotel getaway, Samsung flatscreen TV, Billabong surfboard, Hussy clothing, Fitness First membership, Golf at Royal Sydney, Queensland Sports memorabilia and much more.