Chats for the Goals: Careers in Sustainability

Are you interested in working in sustainability and curious about the different career paths you could explore? We’ve assembled an exciting panel of UTS graduates now working in areas from consulting to research. More details to come.

Leading the discussion will be UTS Business School academic, Rosemary Sainty, who is the founding Australian Representative to the UN Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. 

About the panel moderator 

Dr Rosemary Sainty, Senior Lecturer, UTS Business School

From 2008 Rosemary Sainty established the National Responsible Business Practice Project funded by the Australian Federal Government (through Treasury), based at St James Ethics Centre, building a world first 'HUB' of international initiatives and local resources. These included the Australian focal points for the UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate citizenship initiative, and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the most widely used sustainability reporting framework.The Project received endorsement from the Federal Treasurer, Business Council of Australia and HRH the Prince of Wales. As the elected Secretariat, Rosemary then grew the UN Global Compact Australian Network to become the strongest corporate citizenship movement in Australia, incorporating leading Australian businesses across banking and finance, extractives, retail and professional services. 

Rosemary has recently completed a PhD at UTS Business School. Her doctoral research examined corporate sustainability and responsibility leadership at board level. She is teaching across a number of Business School undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Rosemary has published research articles and resources and spoken widely on corporate responsibility and business ethics, both locally and internationally.

About our panel

Dr Chris Briggs, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS

Education: Bachelor of Economics (Social Science), Sydney University, PhD, Sydney University

Associate Professor Chris Briggs is the Program Lead for the Energy Futures group at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, a Technical Director for the Business Renewables Centre-Australia and board member of the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity.

Chris has worked in climate and energy roles as a political adviser, policy maker and economist, leader of a regional renewable energy community engagement program and energy researcher. Key areas of research specialisation include clean energy jobs and supply chains, First Nations clean energy, demand flexibility and the integration of renewable energy and corporate renewable energy power purchase agreements.

Hannah Mullen, PhD student and casual lecturer, UTS

Education: Bachelor of Design (Fashion and Textiles) and Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, UTS

Hannah Mullen is an interdisciplinary sustainability researcher with a focus on the transition to a safe circular economy for fashion and textiles. Her work explores the elimination of hazardous chemicals, circular design strategies, and product stewardship models that support long-term environmental and human health. With over seven years of experience in the fashion industry, spanning small-scale start-ups to global corporations, Hannah brings practical insight to her academic research.

She is currently completing her PhD at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where she investigates how clothing brands can have product stewardship over hazardous chemicals in clothing, with a particular focus on silver nanoparticles. Hannah also teaches casually at UTS’s Transdisciplinary School, supporting students in tackling real-world sustainability challenges.

Harriet Smith, Manager Responsible Products and Materials, Green Building Council of Australia

Education: Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, UTS

Harriet begun her career at Management Consultancy, Accenture. After a few years there, learning the ins and outs of full-time work, Harriet soon realised that working for a purpose driven organisation was her number one priority. After a month off volunteering at a wellness retreat, clearing her mind and homing in on what was important to her, Harriet landed a job at the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), a not-for-profit that works with industry to make the built environment a more sustainable one.

Harriet is now the Manager for Products and Materials, working directly with the supply chain to define what makes a product a responsible one, and works with industry to include these products in our buildings, communities and fitouts. Circularity and the Circular Economy is where Harriet’s passion lies, and she hopes to continue her expertise here in the near future.

Heather Pym, Associate, Johnson Winter Slattery,

Education: Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of International Studies, Macquarie University

Heather Pym is an environment and planning lawyer at Johnson Winter Slattery and regularly advises on environmental risks, planning approvals, biodiversity offsets and referrals, credit schemes, contamination and environmental incident response and provides specialist support in carrying out due diligence for corporate transactions.

Heather is also a board member of Mahboba’s Promise, a non-government organisation dedicated to providing life-changing support to vulnerable women and children in Afghanistan, surrounding regions, and Australia. Heather is passionate about improving the lives of all people in conflict-affected areas, particularly women and children, and has been engaged in a variety of other humanitarian projects, including the United Nations Association of Australia (NSW), the Australian Red Cross, and the John Mac Foundation.

Talia Smith, Senior Manager Environmental & Social Delivery, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Education: Bachelor of Business, UTS

Talia Smith is a Senior Manager in Environmental & Social Delivery at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where she leads initiatives that are integrating environmental and social considerations into the way we do business. She brings experience in environmental and social risk management and change delivery, including developing policy, customer risk assessments, and portfolio reporting. Talia is passionate about leveraging the role of business and finance to accelerate an inclusive transition to a net-zero, nature-positive future. She holds a Bachelor of Business from UTS, graduating in 2015.

This event is part of UTS Global Goals Month 2025, and is presented by UTS Sustainability, UTS BUILD and UTS Careers. Explore more of the Global Goals Month program here.