Speakers at the Climate Change Summit

Blair Comley commenced as a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Climate Change in January 2008. Blair has executive oversight for the design and implementation of the emissions trading system and matters related to renewable energy, emissions inventory and projections.

Previously Blair held a range of senior positions in the Treasury including as General Manager of the Business Tax Division, Indirect Tax Division, Macroeconomic Policy Division and the Debt Management Review Team. Blair also represented Australia for three years on economic matters at the OECD and was the Acting Chief Executive Officer the Australian Office of Financial Management with responsibility for managing the Australian Government’s debt and related derivative portfolio.

Blair previously worked on competition policy, environment policy and welfare reform. Before joining the Treasury in 1994, Blair worked at the Industry Commission and was a lecturer in the Department of Economics at Monash University.

Blair holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) and a Master of Economics from Monash University and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies from the Australian National University.
 

Gavin Murray is Head of Sustainability - Institutional & Corporate at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) based in Sydney, Australia.

He reports to the Managing Director, Institutional Banking and is responsible for more effective integration of environmental, social and economic (sustainability) considerations into ANZ's wholesale lending and investment banking businesses. He also retains a leadership role for ANZ's overall environment strategy and policy framework. Gavin is currently a member of the Board of the Center for Science in Public Participation, based in the USA.

He was formerly the Director for Environment and Social Development at the International Finance Corporation (the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) based in Washington DC. Under Gavin's leadership, IFC committed to an integrated business model embracing a sustainable development framework. Prior to this role, he was Vice-President, Sustainability Leadership for Placer Dome Inc. (a multi-national mining company) based in Vancouver, Canada.

Gavin received the Dr Adrian Smith International Environmental Mining Award in 2004 for his global leadership in pursuing new approaches to solving complex environmental and social issues in the mining industry. Gavin has an agricultural background and now pursues responsible development through integrated strategies that enable the alignment of successful business outcomes with evolving societal expectations.
 

Christopher Zinn has been the CHOICE Media Spokesperson since July 2007. Prior to taking on the role he worked as a journalist in print and on radio and television in Australia and overseas for 25 years.

He last worked at the ABC where he was a producer and reporter for The 7.30 Report and history program, Rewind. He has also worked at Channel 9 where he was a reporter on the Today on Saturday program and a producer on Sunday.

He was nominated for a Walkley award for investigative journalism in 2003 on the scandal about an historic railway bridge which was in danger of collapse.

Earlier in his career, Christopher worked as a reporter/producer on two ABC TV series for features and documentaries; the award-winning environmental series A Question of Survival and the social affairs weekly program, Living in the Nineties.

He also has a passion for radio, having been a reporter for the AM and PM programs. One of his most personal projects was a documentary he created about going back to Russia to find his family's treasures lost mysteriously after the 1917 October Revolution.

For many years Christopher was the Australian correspondent for the Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers in London and is a founder member of the Foreign Correspondents Association of Australia. Christopher has an MA in Geography from Oxford.
 

Dave Sag is a pioneer of the Australian carbon management industry, with expertise in carbon accounting, engineering, trading and offsetting.

A serial entrepreneur, Dave's career began in information technology and later led him to complement his experience with careers in online retail, satellite-launch re-insurance trading and work at the European Patent Office.

In 1998, Dave received an Australia Day Council award for services to Australian business.

Having founded and grown a number of companies in Australia and Europe, Dave's diverse experience provides him the insight to guide clients through the rapidly evolving carbon market.
 

Denise Corish is the Corporate Environment Manager of Integral Energy, a state-owned energy company serving some of Australia's largest and fastest growing economies in regional NSW. Denise is responsible for developing and promoting Integral Energy's position on a range of issues including climate change, energy efficiency, and environmental risk management. As part of her role, Denise leads the strategic direction of the organisation on environmental matters and drives change on operational issues.

With over 11 years experience in the environmental field, Denise has held positions in both private companies and consultancies in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and Australia. Denise holds a Bachelor degree in Environmental Science and a Masters degree in Communication Management.
 

Duncan McGregor is a Partner and national climate change leader at Minter Ellison. He is a planning and environmental lawyer who specialises in greenhouse, climate change and sustainability issues as well as structuring, planning and environmental approvals. He is also an expert in the town planning and environmental aspects of major corporate transactions, environmental issues including pollution prosecutions, contaminated land, and the liability of directors and managers under environmental planning and local government legislation.
 

Jeff has been the Director of the Environmental Defender's Office for the past five years. He is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW with a Masters of Law from Sydney University (majoring in Environmental Law and Policy). He has taught, written and researched in environmental law and policy, including public participation, threatened species, marine pollution, special legislation and native vegetation. Prior to joining the Environmental Defender’s Office he was involved in drug law reform and criminal justice work at the Attorney General’s Department, as well as working in strategic policy for the then Environment Protection Authority.

Jeff also sits on the Boards of the Australian Centre for Environmental Law, the Environmental Planning and Law Association, the Total Environment Centre and the Combined CLC Group.
 

A highly experienced environmental and planning lawyer with over 15 years experience, including 8 years in the UK. Elisa has developed a particular expertise in the area of waste management, having acted for both private and public entities in this sector.

Her environmental experience includes advising on various environmental permitting regimes, including waste management, pollution control and discharge consents, representing clients in connection with environmental offences or breaches of environmental legislation and undertaking substantial due diligence exercises. She has also had significant experience of advising in relation to contaminated land, both in the context of transactions and in relation to liability issues.

Her expertise also extends to town planning and covers strategic advice, legal representation at tribunal and court hearings and negotiation of contractual documents for a wide range of developments including retail, residential, commercial, mixed use, landfills, incinerators, waste transfer stations, industrial plants and mining sites.
 

Emma was appointed to the role of Director, Emissions & Environment in Westpac Institutional Bank in 2007.

Working across all areas of Westpac Institutional Bank, Emma is responsible for leading the strategic response to carbon and environmental risks and opportunities, developing effective client solutions in response to climate change and working with deal teams to develop client solutions which monetise or hedge clients exposures to environmental regulatory developments.

From 2001 to 2007, Emma was Senior Advisor, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, and played a key role in developing Westpac's leading sustainability position. Principally, Emma was responsible for producing Westpac’s first seven sustainability reports and was environmental co-ordinator with responsibility for drafting the Westpac Group climate change strategy.

Emma has been the Westpac representative on government and industry forums such as the Australian Business Leaders' Roundtable on Climate Change (2006) and the Australian Business and Climate Group (2007). She continues to represents the bank in a number of public forums and play a key role in the Westpac Group approach to managing climate change risks and opportunities.

Emma comes from a government relations background and prior to Westpac, worked in Parliamentary Committee in Canberra. She holds a Bachelor of Asian Studies (Thai).
 

Erwin is the Director of Policy and Research at The Climate Institute. Established in late 2005, The Climate Institute is a non-partisan, independent group that works with community, business and government to drive innovative and effective climate change solutions. With nearly 20 years practical experience in climate change policy and research, Erwin has developed and led many national and international programs aimed at reducing greenhouse pollution. This work has been undertaken in Australia, Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Antarctica. He has represented non-governmental groups and advised government and business in national, regional and international fora, including being a non-governmental expert reviewer of the reports of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Erwin has written, researched and produced many publications on climate change and energy policy including a number review papers in scientific journals such as the Medical Journal of Australia. He has given lectures at institutions ranging from the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London to local community group meetings in far north Queensland. Erwin lives in Melbourne with his wife and two young children.
 

Sara Phillips is the editor of G: The Green Lifestyle Magazine, Australia's number one environmental publication and the winner of seven awards, including 2007 Consumer Magazine of the Year.

A science and environment journalist for more than eight years, she is the winner of a 2006 Reuters/World Conservation Union Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting, and is a former Deputy Editor of Cosmos, the celebrated Australian science magazine.

When she was 10 years old, she put up her hand in class and asked if the hole in the ozone layer could be discussed. Pretty soon, a campaign to rid the school of chlorofluorocarbons began. She attributes her long-standing interest in the environment to her love of animals and concern for their welfare, along with a David Attenborough documentary she watched as a child.

It eventually led her to taking out a Bachelor of Science in zoology from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Arts in English and a she also has a diploma in science communication from the Australian National University.

Sara is the perfect person to lead a green lifestyle magazine. She has been on the environment committee of all her schools and workplaces. At home, she has a worm-farm and a compost heap and is proud that on rubbish day, her recycling bin is always fuller than her general waste bin. She tries to reduce energy-use by cycling to work every day (which also keeps her fit!), and, as she doesn’t own a car, often cycles everywhere else too. She walks to her local supermarket with a "granny trolley" and tries to purchase items that are recycled, or have minimal packaging. There are several types of fish she refuses to eat, and some brand-names she avoids. She donates money to environmental charities.

Then there are the little things. When Sara leaves a room, she turns out the light. If she's cold, she puts on a jumper. She never does a half-load of washing and, having grown past her teenage years, never stands for hours gazing into the fridge with the door open. She was instrumental in the development of G Magazine, and being its editor is a dream come true. She hopes it will help people who want do their bit for the planet but who cannot sort through the clutter of environmental information and make sense of it all. She hopes G will become a trusted guide to a more sustainable lifestyle – one based on evidence.
 

Heather Rose is Executive Chairman of Green Team Australia. Green Team is the first Australian communications and advertising agency working with organisations to address the implications of sustainability on brands, consumers and communities. Green Team Australia has more than nine years experience working with corporate social responsibility strategies and brand campaigns. Green Team Australia has staff in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart and is partnered with Green Team USA in New York. Heather is a Telstra Business Woman of the Year winner and was noted as one of BRW’s top 50 female entrepreneurs in 2006.
 

Appointed Global Head of Sustainability in February 2006, Maria Atkinson leads Lend Lease's work towards realising its aspiration to be a sustainable organisation.

Prior to her appointment, Maria was a co-founder of the Green Building Council of Australia and its founding CEO.

Maria is internationally recognised as a passionate advocate for green building and in 2006 she was honoured with a United States Green Building Council Leadership Award (Advocacy). In September 2007 former US President Bill Clinton invited Maria to join a high-profile panel to discuss ways to accelerate green buildings, as part of the Annual General Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. In November 2007 Maria was one of six Master Speakers at the United States Green Building Council's annual conference - which was this year opened by President Clinton, and attended by some 30,000 delegates. From 1997 to 2002 Maria managed Bovis Lend Lease's Environment and Sustainable Development team. She was the project Environment Manager for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Village and the Homebush Bay Hotel developments - projects which have received international recognition for setting new benchmarks in environmental best practice for the construction and development industries.

Maria is a Board member of the Australian Building Codes Board and the Banksia Environmental Foundation, and a member of the Barton Group.
 

Pru Sanderson is the CEO of VicUrban, the Victorian State Government's sustainable urban development authority. Pru is an architect and property professional who specialises in creating new benchmarks in urban planning, sustainable developments and public infrastructure. She has held senior roles in the development of the Melbourne Museum and Melbourne’s Federation Square and has worked internationally, managing property affairs and the delivery of major infrastructure in South Africa and Malaysia. At VicUrban, she is driving new achievements in environmental planning, the delivery of affordable housing, urban design excellence and the creation of effective communities. Pru is a Director of the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board of Victoria and serves on the Board of the Committee for Melbourne and the National Advisory Board of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
 

In 2005 Romilly authored the GBCA's publication "The Dollars and Sense of Green Buildings 2006 – Building the Business Case for Green Commercial Buildings in Australia".

Romilly has been involved with the development of the Sustainable Building Pathways report, the national summit on Sustainable Communities, Built Environment Meets Parliament and the Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development.

Romilly represents the GBCA on the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and is involved with their Climate Change project.

Romilly is a Board Member of the Australian Capital Territory Governments, Land Development Agency and a member of the Canberra Biennial Advisory Committee.

Previously Romilly was the Executive Director – ACT, Property Council of Australia, and their Executive Director for the national internal portfolio of Sustainability.

Romilly presents and writes regularly on Sustainability and the Built Environment.
 

Rupert Posner has a Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Murdoch University.

Rupert has 15 years experience in industry, government and the environment movement developing environmental policies and working in communications.

In March 2005 he founded and established The Climate Group's Australian operation. The Climate Group is an independent non-profit organisation that has built an alliance of corporate and government organisations showing leadership on reducing GHG emissions, thereby demonstrating and communicating the positive economic, social and environmental impacts of taking early action to combat climate change. He works with State Governments, industry and other organisations on advancing action on climate change.

Prior to joining The Climate Group he was Communications Manager for the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment. Rupert also played a critical role in the establishment and development of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and took a leading role in promoting Australia's sustainable energy industry to government, industry and the wider community. Previous roles include working with Greenpeace, ensuring Olympic sponsors and organisers complied with the Environmental Guidelines for the 2000 Olympic Games. It was as part of this work that Greenpeace achieved one of its most significant environmental successes - getting Coca-Cola to change its global refrigeration policy so as to phase out using greenhouse polluting HFC gases.

Rupert is an experienced speaker at numerous conferences on environment matters, including the World Wind Energy Conference in Paris and the Beijing Renewable Energy Conference.

He was invited to represent the sustainable energy industry at the Bali consultation for the review of the World Bank's involvement in the oil, gas and mining industries and in 2004 was a participant in the European Union's Visitor's Program.

He was a member of the Olympic Environment Committee - providing advice to Olympic organisers on meeting the environmental guideline for the 2000 Olympic Games.

In 1999 he volunteered as the media adviser for East Timorese Independence leader and current Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta for his return to East Timor after 24 years in exile.

In 2007 Rupert was elected to the Council of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
 

Thomas Mooney is Senior Vice President for Sustainable Growth at FIJI Water, one of the leading premium bottled water companies in the world. Mr. Mooney oversees the company’s sustainability program that encompasses making FIJI Water the first “carbon negative” product in the bottled water industry, saving the largest rainforest in Fiji through a partnership with Conservation International and the people of Fiji, reducing the amount of packaging in FIJI Water products by 20% over the next three years, and advocating for an expansion of curbside and consumer incentive programs to boost recycling rates across the entire beverage industry.

Prior to this position Mr. Mooney served as FIJI Water’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development and later as Vice President of International Operations. Before joining FIJI Water, Mr. Mooney held a number of leadership positions with Procter & Gamble, Kellogg, and Booz Allen Hamilton in the United States and in Latin America.

Mr. Mooney holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering, with Honors, from Purdue University. He later earned a Master in Business Administration degree, with High Distinction, from the Harvard Business School where he co-founded the Harvard Sustainable Development Society
 

Tony has held the position of Manager of News Limited's Environment and Climate Change Department since the company first formally began to address environment in 1990. He has been a member of the Board of the Publishers National Environment Bureau (PNEB) since 1991. Prior to that he spent 12 years in research in the areas of medical and forest science.

Other of Tony’s activities include helping to advance old newspaper recycling, now running at a world leading 75% in Australia. This has included putting together the industries official statistics on old newspaper recycling. Environmental management activities also includes Implementing News' Environmental Management System, which incorporates a national program of environmental audits across the Group.

In 2004/5 Tony was invited to represent general industry on the New South Wales Extended Producer Responsibility Expert Reference Group which is to advise the Environment Minister on ways to progress "wastes of concern". He is a past president of the Waste Management Association of Australia NSW branch, and has been an industry representative on Standards Australia committee QR-11 which helped develop the international standards on Environment Management Systems (the ISO 14,000 series).
 

Turlough Guerin is currently Group Manager Environment at Telstra. He has worked for Shell, Rio Tinto, and consulted to Motorola, and environmental engineering companies in the US, working in field-based as well as corporate roles.

His experience includes identifying and managing risks and opportunities in relation to climate change as well as the range of activities within corporate environmental management including corporate environmental disclosures, auditing and communications.

Dr Guerin has extensive experience in land remediation, property management, complex environmental analyses, research and development and stakeholder engagement. He is a founder of the Corporate Environmental Managers Group in Melbourne, a peer-based network of environmental and sustainability managers from ASX 100 and Fortune 500 companies.
 

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