In the environmental planning profession, change is constant and comes in many forms.
This includes industry change; such as the types of projects that are prioritised by governments, cultural change as we work towards a more inclusive and equitable society, and environmental and community change as we accept that the 'Business as Usual' model for project development is no longer valid.
For the past 25 years Bronte Nixon, Technical Executive – Environment, Planning and Approvals in South Australia, has been affecting positive shifts in the infrastructure planning and development industry by working closely with engineers to achieve improved environmental outcomes on projects, from the outset.
Very early in her career, she decided that she only wanted to work on projects that were beneficial to the community and the environment.
“This includes work on wind farms, solar farms, battery (BESS) projects, pumped-hydro and green hydrogen and ammonia projects that are helping South Australia exceed its renewable energy targets,” she expands.
“As well as infrastructure projects that help achieve a sustainable water supply and efficient transport links for regional South Australians, and environmental improvement projects that assist industrial clients improve operations and obtain better environmental and social outcomes.”
Maximising the engagement process without impacting timeframes
At WSP, we are working towards a greater integration of planning, approvals and stakeholder engagement throughout the different phases of project development.
Bronte says, “The value of rigorous baseline studies, environmental assessment and community engagement cannot be understated - and often marks the difference between a successful or contentious project.”
Helping communities to better understand the local benefits of some of our regional or state projects is a great way of obtaining community support for projects.
“Local communities often have to ‘look’ at, ‘smell’, or ‘hear’ projects that benefit the wider population rather than their local community. Working with clients and communities to bridge this gap is extremely beneficial."
Timeframes are always a consideration, but Bronte points out that there are certain things that we can do to assist our clients with maximising the process in a way that won't impact timeframes:
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Identify any technical studies or enabling works that can commence early in the approvals process, for example Aboriginal Cultural Heritage engagement and surveys, geotechnical investigations, and marine monitoring packages.
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Engage with government authorities early and ensure that by the time approvals documents are submitted; they are expecting it, are familiar with the issues, and have had genuine input into technical study methodologies.
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Work with local communities to ensure that they understand project rationale, issues and impacts, that they have had an opportunity to understand the difference between actual and perceived impacts, and that they fully understand all relevant mitigation and management measures.
“Working with the community to help them understand the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and the value of rigorous technical studies and approvals processes demonstrates due-diligence and helps achieve social license. South Australian communities are passionate about the local environment and ensuring social and cultural sustainability. We try and build this understanding into all the projects we work on.”
Continuous improvement
WSP’s competitive advantage, the Future Ready framework, has also played a major role in affecting the positive change that Bronte is working towards.
“To my mind, Future Ready is very similar to the EIA concept of the Precautionary Principle; whereby a lack of full scientific certainty can't be used as a reason for not mitigating against potential environmental harm; it is up to a proponent to demonstrate that their proposed action is not harmful to the environment. "
“In this way, Future-Ready is also reversing the burden of proof by assuming from the outset that we are living in a changing world and that our people and projects must therefore also change in order to address new climate, society, technology and resource - related factors.”
Bronte first joined the engineering consulting industry because it gave her an opportunity to work within her three favourite fields: environment, heritage and planning.
“What keeps me here is the desire to continuously learn and improve. I never walk into a project assuming that I know it all; there is an element of surprise in every project.”
“Planning for what you know is easy; the challenge is knowing how to plan for the unknown.”
