Bernadette’s vision is to “mainstream sustainable thinking into everything we do.” She hopes that one day there will be no need for her role because “everyone will be working in these areas, and living and working in a thriving society… and then I can get back to my history books!”
What motivates your career?
When I finished university, I was either going to be an archaeologist, historian or engineer. I thought I would try the engineering thing first and 20 years later it seems to have stuck!
I am a mission driven person and everything I do needs to be for a reason. From reviewing a report, pitching a project or writing an article - I ask myself: “Will the world be better if I do this?”
It might sound funny but that is how I started working in sustainability and climate change. After completing university, I worked in automotive engineering and then transitioned to construction. I started to look up and around and marvel at the change we could make within our city and communities by challenging the construction status quo.
What are you hoping to change in your industry?
I don’t want to change everything about the construction industry but, it would be amazing if everyone was aware of the environmental and social outcomes associated with their work.
Nothing makes me smile more than hearing a structural engineer advocating for low carbon construction materials or traffic modelling that demonstrates the impact of GHG emissions on different road options.
I have worked in sustainability and climate change for some time and it is such a pleasure to have people across the company work on projects with me. Our digital team drives solutions to pull carbon metrics out of our models, the advisory team helps to define early carbon reporting framework, our building structures team builds a sustainable product and our bridges team has baselined the carbon in 12 of their projects (probably 16 by the time this is published).
The integration of sustainability and climate change initiatives across teams and across an organisation is what I would like to see for the future of the industry.
Why do you enjoy working at WSP?
The WSP I started at in 2007 is not the WSP that exists today. We have grown in Australia across all engineering sectors and have global reach into leading edge sustainability and climate change services.
My job has changed too – from initially working on high performance buildings and upgrades to now supporting mega transport and social infrastructure projects. Things are always changing. The variety of projects I work on is extraordinary – I am currently leading sustainability for the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, I am project director on the Circular Quay Renewal in Sydney, and I am working on several level crossing removal programs and the North East Link in Melbourne.
I get to focus on delivering sustainable and resilient project outcomes and work with inspirational clients and colleagues across the country – it is pretty awesome!
What is it about WSP that excites you?
WSP has always given me the freedom to define our services and team. I was so proud that WSP Australia committed to reduce carbon in our designs and advice by 2030. This is exactly the type of framing that will help make carbon everyone’s problem.
Our Sustainability and Climate Change team is always developing services to support our company. We work across a broad spectrum of projects such as engaging closely with architecture and façade teams to develop a high-performance building façade; developing GHG emissions inventories for major transport projects, travelling around Australia supporting climate resilience community engagements or completing lifecycle assessments of hospitals. It can be very demanding at times trying to be across all these potential service areas, but no day is the same and that is exciting.
Our Sustainability and Climate Change team has three service areas:
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Sustainability and Climate Change Advisory
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Sustainable and High-Performance Buildings
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Sustainable Infrastructure and Precincts.
There are leads in each service area and approximately 70 people in our team in total. We need strong management to bring it all together and support our clients and projects as best we can.
Contact Bernadette Fitzgerald to join the Sustainable Construction Changemakers.
Bernadette Fitzgerald has been selected for the GBCA 2024 Expert Reference Panel - Technical Advisory Group.
