Sustainability Officer
As a child Allison loved the plants and animals that she encountered in the bush and at the beach. While at school she always knew that she wanted a career in the environmental field, but could not settle on a specific career. After completing year 12 her parents encouraged her to complete a TAFE Diploma in Community and Natural Resource Management so she could gain some hands-on experience before making a final choice of degree course. This course gave Allison some real practical environmental experience, particularly in working with community groups and she enjoyed it hugely. A six-month placement working as a Green Corps team leader at White Rock near Ipswich was particularly beneficial as she gained fundamental land management and conservation work experience.
Convinced that environmental management was the way to go, Allison graduated from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Environmental Science specialising in Management and Policy. Her interest in working to promote sustainable practices came from attending green steps an extra-curricular course run by Monash University in conjunction with the department of climate change. This course provided Allison with invaluable skills in conducting waste and energy audits in addition to developing the presentation and persuasive skills that she finds so crucial in her current role.
After graduating Allison worked as a greenhouse inventory officer at Beaudesert Council before joining the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd in 2008.
What drew me to working in sustainability management
“The appeal of sustainability management for me is that it gives me the opportunity to be proactive and make changes to the way that we do things, preventing damage rather than needing to fix the damage after it happens.”
Career highlights
“Sustainability management is a relatively new field and it is incredibly exciting to be working in the field at such an innovative time. My first role at Beaudesert Council was exciting because it gave me so much experience and helped to launch my career. I’m enjoying my role at the port hugely as I do work with such an eclectic range of people. The best part though is that I am allowed to show initiative to choose and create projects. There is huge support for moving forward on sustainable business practices. In just six months I’ve managed to introduce initiatives which have significantly reduced our paper use.”