December 2009 - Issue #8
Entrepreneur looks for a different 'green back' economy
Story by Tim Treadgold
View articles in related topics: Sustainability & The Environment, Alumni
Include, don’t exclude. If there is a simple way of explaining the philosophy of sustainability network leader Gareth Johnston, that is it. As an example, he believes it is illogical to see business as an enemy in the debate over climate change because including business will achieve a more sustainable economy. “One of the big issues with sustainability is that it means different things to different people,” says Mr Johnston, general manager of the newly formed organisation A&NZSustain.
“It was partly by recognising this confusion that we founded A&NZSustain as a sister structure to the Trans Tasman Business Circle – an ideas sharing network for senior executives. We want to create a single forum that pulls together the latest developments and information on the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social.”
“We want to create a single forum pulls together the latest developments and information on the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social.”
Gareth Johnston
It means he is uniquely qualified for his latest challenge in a career that has seen him accumulate a wealth of business and social knowledge, as well as seeing more of the world than most people.
Born in Northern Ireland, Mr Johnston studied land economics in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, which led to property management work, including time managing a rural hunting estate in Scotland. The tweeds were swapped for pinstripes when he joined a mobile telephone provider with the task of finding sites for mobile phone towers, honing the skills of dealing with property owners and in obtaining planning permission. A job he thought would last six months lasted seven years.
When he was 30 years old Mr Johnston looked for a change, starting with a holiday in Australia and the world of conservation volunteering, an experience that started him down the road of sustainability and renewable energy. From a holiday job, he has moved to the cutting edge of the hottest debate in the business world today: managing climate change and achieving a sustainable global economy.
On the way to this position, Mr Johnston was founding CEO of CSIRO’s first renewable energy technology company – Windlab Systems – and he has consulted for some of the biggest companies in Australia, Europe and Japan. Somewhat curiously, he believes his first taste of what climate change can do to a business is a family affair.
“My family was in the textile business in Northern Ireland – spinning, dyeing and knitting. Our leading product was lambswool gloves. With a warming climate, people stopped wearing gloves. That experience has helped me look ahead, recognise shifts and become very adaptive.”
Mr Johnston says the Trans Tasman Business Circle has noted a rising level of inquiry from its members about sustainability. “I was approached back in February with the idea of creating an organisation to talk through the big issues, and be able to meet with pragmatic non-government organisations (NGOs) and sustainability professionals. One of the aims would be to enable business leaders to engage more deeply and get a better understanding of what sustainability means.”
Mr Johnston says his experience in the field of sustainability has led him to appreciate that it had a lot to do with knowledge and opportunity. “Australia has tended to follow international trends. What we’re doing with A&NZSustain is seeking a way to have an influence across a wider area and take a lead in the debate.”
The new organisation, which was launched in August, has more than 100 corporate members ranging from Woolworths and Westfield, to the oil explorer Oil Search.
Understanding climate change risks is one aspect of the sweeping topic of sustainability. A more pertinent question for business is opportunity, and that is where the fast-talking Mr Johnston gets more excited.
“Essentially, we’re talking about a new economy. People have talked around it for years, and we’ve seen emerging technology companies go overseas because the regulatory risk was inappropriate. Today, we’re facing a global shift in thinking where ‘business as usual’ isn’t going to cut it.”
Mr Johnston says A&NZSustain is an inclusive organisation, open to all business and government leaders. His job as the organisation’s head is to ensure that members are plugged into the latest thinking and that he reflects their views.
“A key question is what will flow from the Copenhagen climate change conference, and what will it mean for business. In the longer term we’re looking at the regulatory and commercial issues behind the technical fixes in the economy. For example, with energy, will wind power simply be a replacement for coal, or will electric cars replace conventional cars?”
As if to underline his aim of making A&NZSustain a thought leader in the field of sustainability, Mr Johnston raises the issue of “the benefits of the global financial crisis”, not a thought many business leaders have considered but valid nevertheless.
“One of the benefits is that people are starting to look at business efficiencies again, trimming fat out of their operations, such as making greater use of internet technologies to reduce the need to travel,” he says.
Mr Johnston describes sustainability as an emerging field. “The people leading the field tend to be generalists, not specialists. There is a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural issues at work.”
He says sustainability is a field for generalists because no one is quite sure precisely what it means, or where it’s going: “There is a degree of uncertainty, a need for adaptation and a need for an adaptive mind.”
A final thought from a man who has seen first-hand how a family glove-making business can fade under the pressure of change.
