Day 1
Tuesday 27 October 2026
Kick off the 2026 conference in style at our ACTS 20th birthday celebration. This relaxed evening event is the perfect chance to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new people and celebrate two decades of collaboration, connection and sustainability leadership across the sector.
Join us for a memorable start to the conference as we raise a glass to 20 years of ACTS and look ahead to the days to come.
Day 2
Wednesday 28 October 2026
Wednesday delivers the conference’s first full day of programming. Across the day, delegates can take part in plenary sessions, concurrent conversations, roundtables and interactive workshops exploring practical ideas, emerging approaches and real-world sustainability action from across the tertiary sector. With time built in for case studies, networking and reflection, Day 2 is designed to inspire new thinking, strengthen connections and provide valuable insights to take back to your institution.
PLENARY | 9:00am AEST
WELCOME TO COUNTRY
HOST WELCOME
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
MORNING TEA | 10:10am AEST
CONCURRENT SESSIONS | 10.40am AEST
STRATEGY, RISK & LEADERSHIP
OPERATIONS, SYSTEMS & DELIVERY
PEOPLE, LEARNING & CULTURE
20 YEARS OF ACTION
PANEL
Creating a Biodiversity Legacy On and Off Campus
PANEL | Wednesday 28 Ocotber (10:40 AEST)
Presenting partners – Monash University, UNSW Sydney, Deakin University
Session details will be released soon!
ROUNDTABLE
Partnering with Students and Staff for Sustainable Change: How do we create partnership opportunities for a more sustainable future?
Presented by Sara Ardern, Professor Catherine Pickering & Dr Gunaro Setiawan – Griffith University
Building a more sustainable university isn’t just about developing better strategies, policies and action plans. It’s also about creating opportunities for people to contribute, share different perspectives and become part of the change. As universities continue to strengthen their sustainability efforts, questions remain about how students can be meaningfully involved in shaping this work. The challenge isn’t always whether students have something to contribute; it’s whether we’ve created meaningful opportunities for them to contribute.
At Griffith University, we’ve explored student partnership through co-design, bringing students into sustainability conversations from the outset and recognising the value of their ideas, knowledge and lived experiences. Together, these examples span campus operations, institutional strategy and community partnerships. We’ll discuss what worked, what was challenging and how our approach evolved across each initiative, exploring how student partnership can be adapted to different contexts.
The second half of the session will be a facilitated roundtable discussion. Participants will share their own experiences, compare approaches and explore how these ideas might translate to their own institutions. Participants will leave with practical examples from Griffith, ideas shared by peers and new perspectives on creating meaningful opportunities for students to contribute to sustainability initiatives within their own institutions.
ROUNDTABLE
20 Years of Green Impact
ROUNDTABLE | Wednesday 28 October (10:40am AEST)
Presented by Jess Taylor – ACTS, Shane French – Monash University, Madeleine Culp – University of Sydney, Amelia Adams – AUT, Melissa Lieser – Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Suhani Fernando – Macquarie University.
For 20 years, Green Impact has helped institutions turn sustainability ambitions into practical action across campuses, workplaces and communities.
This roundtable brings together Green Impact leads to reflect on how the programme has evolved and, importantly, how it has become embedded into wider institutional life. Discussion will explore examples of Green Impact supporting sustainability strategies, curriculum and learning, staff engagement, workplace practices and other areas of institutional change.
Participants will share what has worked, where Green Impact has created value beyond the toolkit itself, and what opportunities exist to strengthen its role in the years ahead.
Designed as an open and interactive conversation, this session is a chance to learn from each other, celebrate two decades of Green Impact and consider what the next chapter could look like.
TRANSITION
CONVERSATION
Walking the Tightrope: Ambition and Achievability in Sustainability Strategy
Walking the Tightrope: Ambition and Achievability in Sustainability Strategy
CONVERSATION | Wednesday 28 October (11:50am AEST)
Presented by Clare de Castella – The Australian National University, Corey Peterson – University of Tasmania
University sustainability strategies increasingly need to balance ambition with achievability, particularly as institutions face growing pressure to set credible climate and nature targets amid rapidly evolving and sometimes immature best practice. This conversation brings together sustainability leaders from three Australian universities to share how they are navigating that tension in practice.
Drawing on direct experience developing and implementing institutional strategy, panellists will discuss how they have approached target-setting under uncertainty, worked to embed climate risk into broader institutional strategy despite competing priorities, and built governance structures that are fit for purpose. The session will explore what has worked, what has not, and what they would do differently with hindsight.
This is a practical, experience-based conversation on varying approaches to strategy development rather than a presentation of a single solved model. This conversation focuses on the cross-institutional process of developing strategy, highlighting the trade-offs, uncertainty and governance decisions along the way, and drawing on experience from ANU, UTAS and the University of Sydney. It is intended for anyone involved in shaping, endorsing or implementing sustainability strategy at their institution, and will offer candid reflections on the complexity, ambiguity and real messiness of strategy development and subsequent implementation, not just the polished end product.
WALKING TOUR
Griffith University: Waste and Circular Economy Tour
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Griffith University: Waste and Circular Economy Tour
WALKING TOUR | Wednesday 28 October (11:50am AEST)
Presented by Mark Grant and Josh Torrisi – Griffith University
tbc
WORKSHOP
The other 79,000: designing sustainability engagement as social infrastructure
The other 79,000: designing sustainability engagement as social infrastructure
WORKSHOP | Wednesday 28 October (11:50am AEST)
Presented by Madeleine Culp – University of Sydney
How do the vast majority of staff and students – the people not assigned to deliver transition plan targets – come to understand what those targets ask of them, act within their own roles, feel valued and heard, and connect with others working toward the same goals?
This hands-on workshop shares the University of Sydney’s answer: treat engagement as social infrastructure and build it into the transition plan itself. Social infrastructure comes from climate resilience research, where sociologists have showed that relationships, networks and shared spaces predict how well communities withstand crises. It is less often applied to how universities engage and build resilience their own communities. At Sydney, it now sits alongside physical infrastructure and systems in the Climate and Nature Transition Plan 2026–2032, extending the plan’s reach across a community of 80,000.
The session will share:
- where engagement sits in the plan: a precondition for five of its 12 public targets, connected to governance, accountability and Transition Plan Taskforce disclosure
- a working toolkit drawn from behavioural science, journalism and diffusion research – tools that reach the people who seek sustainability out and build the invisible support everyone else touches daily
- how the University measures reach, depth and impact, including through its first institution-wide sustainability culture survey.
Then you put the approach to work. Each table receives a sustainability target and designs the social infrastructure to carry a whole community toward it, testing and strengthening designs across tables. You leave with the method, the working tools and a first practised application – ready for the targets you hold.
WORKSHOP
Considering Eco-literacy Leadership
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Considering Eco-literacy Leadership
WORKSHOP | Wednesday 28 October (11:50am AEST)
Presented by A/Prof. Linda Hassall – Griffith University
This workshop invites creative practitioners, researchers, educators and professional leaders to engage with eco-literacy as both a mindset and a practical tool for reimagining artistic and professional practice. Framed as a space for reflection and experimentation, it explores how ecological ways of thinking can inform the creative development of an environmental sustainability ‘manifesto’ grounded in care, imagination, and responsibility. Participants will consider what eco-literacy means within their own contexts and how it can influence decision-making, collaboration, and creative and/or professional output across diverse settings.
Through guided discussion, activity and collective inquiry, the workshop supports participants to articulate values, principles, and actions that respond to the environmental challenges facing their own sector. It brings together individual and shared perspectives to foster a sense of agency and community, encouraging approaches that are adaptable across disciplines, scales, and roles. By connecting environmental awareness with artistic expression, this session offers a pathway for embedding sustainability into everyday practice and contributing to broader cultural change.
LUNCH | 12:50pm AEST
CASE STUDY
Making Climate Opportunity Measurable: Quantifying Climate-Related Research and Education
Making Climate Opportunity Measurable: Quantifying Climate-Related Research and Education
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:00pm AEST)
Presented by Alex Haynes – The University of Sydney
Climate-related disclosure has shifted the conversation beyond measuring environmental impacts to quantifying opportunities. For universities, that raises an important question: how do you quantify the climate-related opportunities of research and education?
As climate-related financial disclosure evolves, organisations are increasingly expected to identify and disclose not only climate-related risks, but also material climate-related opportunities. For universities, the most significant climate-related opportunities are their core mission: the research that advances climate solutions and the education that equips future leaders for the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Yet there is little established guidance on how to quantify these opportunities in a way that is robust, repeatable and suitable for governance, assurance and financial disclosure.
Using the University of Sydney as a case study, this session explores one practical approach to quantifying Climate-Related Research and Education Income (CRREI) for climate-related financial disclosure. Attendees will gain insight into how research, education and financial data can be brought together to produce a meaningful, finance-aligned measure of climate-related opportunity.
The session will explore the project’s evolution from an initial proof of concept to a more robust and repeatable methodology, highlighting the key decisions, challenges and trade-offs encountered along the way. Rather than focusing on technical detail alone, it will share practical lessons for balancing completeness, transparency and auditability within a real-world reporting environment.
CASE STUDY
Engaging with staff and students to encourage cycling, develop skills, and build community
Engaging with staff and students to encourage cycling, develop skills, and build community
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:00pm AEST)
Presented by Deanne Ladle and Anisha Fernandes da Rocha – Murdoch University
Murdoch University set a target to reduce carbon emissions from staff and student commuting. One of the ways we support this is by encouraging and facilitating active transport, in particular cycling. In a long running program, Murdoch partnered with a local small business to offer free bicycle safety checks for staff and students, enabling bicycles to be checked twice per year to ensure they are, and continue to be, in safe riding condition. The program has grown from providing services once a semester to six times per year, enabling more staff and students to participate.
In 2025, the program expanded to include cycling training tailored to different audiences. One program targeted international students, who have not always had the opportunity to learn and participate in cycling in their home country. A second program targeted staff interested in returning to cycling. It was a simpler program, with two short lessons and a social ride. Feedback from these sessions was equally positive and reinforced the value of tailoring programs for different audiences.
This case study will share how the program has developed, how participant feedback and partnerships have shaped its evolution, the lessons learned, the improvements implemented, and where to next. Attendees will take away transferable lessons in developing and delivering programs and embedding sustainability across university operations.
CASE STUDY
Developing Trailblazers for the Goals Program
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Developing Trailblazers for the Goals Program
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:00pm AEST)
Presented by Alexandra Fransen – University of Technology Sydney
Universities play a critical role in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through teaching, research, operations and community engagement. At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), this commitment is embedded in the UTS Sustainability Strategy, which seeks to integrate sustainability across all aspects of university activity while fostering continuous improvement and measurable impact.
A key action under the Strategy was the development of the Trailblazers for the Goals program, an initiative designed to identify and showcase academic experts whose work contributes to each of the 17 SDGs. The program aims to strengthen institutional capacity, increase the visibility of sustainability-focused research, and create new opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange and real-world impact.
This presentation will share the journey of establishing the Trailblazers program, including the methodology used to identify academic leaders across diverse disciplines, the engagement and consultation process undertaken, and the development of publicly accessible SDG profiles highlighting each Trailblazer’s expertise and research contributions. It will also examine how the program was launched and promoted through UTS Global Goals Month, creating opportunities to connect researchers, students, staff and external stakeholders around priority sustainability challenges.
The session will discuss the benefits realised through the initiative, including increased visibility of sustainability expertise, improved connectivity across faculties and research areas, and the creation of a growing network of SDG champions within the university community. Attendees will gain insights into how such a program can support interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen research culture, and facilitate engagement with industry, government and community partners. By sharing lessons learned, challenges encountered and future opportunities, this presentation will provide a practical model for institutions seeking to enhance sustainability leadership, foster collaboration and mobilise expertise to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
CASE STUDY
A University Kitchen Garden Program: Sustainability, Nutrition and Community in action
A University Kitchen Garden Program: Sustainability, Nutrition and Community in action on campus
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:00pm AEST)
Presented by Arian McVeigh – The Australian National University
This session will adopt a storytelling approach to walk attendees through the journey of conceiving, designing, funding and delivering the Kitchen Garden Program, a program that creates opportunities for students to connect with each other and with nature through a focus on environmental sustainability and fresh, healthy, budget-friendly food. We aim to address isolation and loneliness, provide wholesome and community-building activities for students, and inspire and educate about sustainability, circular economy principles and environmental stewardship.
At the centre of the program is a pedagogical third space, an informal setting distinct from the classroom or the home, where conversations about environment, vegetation and sustainability unfold naturally around shared activities, including the preparing and sharing of food grown from local ingredients. A central feature of this is our beloved worm farm and the composting model we have developed, through which food waste contributed by residential halls and office buildings is transformed, in stages students can witness, into nourishing garden produce. That produce becomes both a source of nutrition and a reason to gather, generating meaningful conversation.
Through this storytelling approach, we will share the practical lessons learned along the way, giving attendees of the conference a model and tools they can adapt to their own institution. By the end of the session, attendees will leave with both a working understanding of the program’s structure and a felt sense of how third space conversations, composting and food can be combined to build genuine student connection and sustainability outcomes.
TRANSITION
CASE STUDY
Sustainability, Climate & Health Strategies for university health disciplines.
Sustainability, Climate & Health Strategies for university health disciplines
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:30pm AEST)
Presented by Prof. Eugenie Kayak – The University of Melbourne
Development of the Melbourne Medical School’s Sustainability, Climate & Health Strategy 2025-2030 will be used as a case study to highlight the imperative, opportunities and barriers for university medical and health disciplines to integrate sustainability and climate health goals and actions into their education, research, engagement and operational activities. The strategy consultation process across faculty will be outlined, including student and First Nation involvement, and alignment to the existing Melbourne Medical School’s Advancing Medicine strategy.
The session will also explore how such School level sustainability strategies can be integrated to influence university departmental governance and culture. In addition, this case study provides an example of how a university’s overarching sustainability strategy can be translated into relevant Faculty and School level strategies, and the opportunities for a School level strategy to scale up and inform other sustainability strategies within a university.
CASE STUDY
What’s on your plate? Implementing Food Made Good
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What’s on your plate? Implementing Food Made Good
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:30pm AEST)
Presented by Dr Ray O’Brien – Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka – University of Otago
One of Otago’s key offerings is the collegiate life experience in the residential colleges around campus. This creates both opportunities and challenges. This presentation will describe how we have approached food as a system and a learning opportunity. This includes establishing a methodology for reporting on food emissions, food waste capture, staff capability building, and working with the Sustainable Restaurant Association to achieve the first Food Made Good star rating for a University in the Southern Hemisphere.
CASE STUDY
Details to be confirmed
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Deep Dive | Wednesday 5 November (11:30am AEDT | 1:30pm NZDT)
Presented by Andrew Wilks – Victoria University of Wellington
In December 2024, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington opened the doors of the award-winning Ngā Mokopuna, a re-development of the marae precinct. The project has weaved together Māori values and knowledge with sustainability principles using the Living Building Challenge as the framework to make the building a global exemplar and a flagship for sustainability at the University. Ngā Mokopuna is more than just a building, it is the heart of the campus and has generated great buy-in from the University community. We explore how the building has contributed to embedding sustainability and mātauranga Māori across the University.
This session will provide an introduction to the Living Building Challenge, share the benefits and headaches it provided for this project and explore the synergies with Māori values that made LBC integral to the success of this project.
CASE STUDY
The Road to STARS Platinum: Fifteen Years of Sustainability Transformation
The Road to STARS Platinum: Fifteen Years of Sustainability Transformation
CASE STUDY | Wednesday 28 October (2:30pm AEST)
Presented by Carmen Primo Perez – University of Tasmania
The sustainability journey at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) over the past 15+ years has evolved from a series of isolated environmental programs to becoming increasingly embedded within institutional strategy and decision-making, guided by recognised frameworks and a commitment to continuous improvement.
This presentation traces that journey through the assessment, benchmarking and reporting frameworks that have shaped and accelerated progress. Along this journey towards holistic sustainability, UTAS explored and applied a range of frameworks to guide, assess and benchmark performance, with varying degrees of success. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) emerged as the most influential framework for driving and measuring whole-of-institution sustainability. STARS was selected for its higher education focus, holistic scope, transparency, structured approach to continuous improvement, facilitation of knowledge sharing, and emphasis on collaboration rather than competition.
UTAS became the first STARS-rated institution in Australasia, achieving Silver in 2020, Gold in 2022, and Platinum in 2026. Throughout this progression, STARS has helped identify gaps, coordinate action across the institution, and embed sustainability into long-term practice. It has also highlighted the importance of cross-organisational collaboration, evidence-based decision-making, and shared ownership of sustainability outcomes. By reflecting on both achievements and challenges, this presentation explores how a university can evolve from “having a few recycling bins” to achieving international recognition for sustainability leadership. It demonstrates how assessment frameworks can act as catalysts for institutional transformation, helping translate sustainability aspirations into measurable and enduring change.
TRANSITION
CONVERSATION
From Readiness to Reporting: Embedding Climate Risk into Institutional Governance
From Readiness to Reporting: Embedding Climate Risk into Institutional Governance
CONVERSATION | Wednesday 28 October (3:00pm AEST)
Presented by Lila Kennelly – University of Wollongong, Bob Fynan – La Trobe University, Matthew Newtwon – University of Western Australia
Session details to be confirmed soon
CONVERSATION
Waste and Circular Campuses
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Waste and Circular Campuses
CONVERSATION | Wednesday 28 October (3:00pm AEST)
Presented by Emilia Bisogni – The University of Melbourne, Katie Barton-Harvey – Boomerang/Griffith University, Melissa Moss – TAFE NSW, Danielle McCartney – University of Technology Sydney
Session details to be confirmed soon
CONVERSATION
Students as Change Agents for Sustainability
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Students as Change Agents for Sustainability
CONVERSATION | Wednesday 28 October (3:00pm AEST)
Presented by Anisha Fernandes da Rocha – Murdoch University, Amelia Adams – Auckland University of Technology, Linden Raybould – Deakin University
Session details to be confirmed soon
CONVERSATION
Māui slowed the sun – we transformed sustainability
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Māui slowed the sun – we transformed sustainability
CONVERSATION | Wednesday 28 October (3:00pm AEST)
Presented by Andrew Wilks – Victoria University of Wellington
The session will provide a reflection on the progress of embedding sustainability into tertiary education over the past 20 years. The Māori story of how Māui slowed the sun will be used to frame the conversation, where participants will be invited to share their experiences of the barriers they have faced, the tools and connections they have used to overcome them, and the critical moments for creating change.
The session will be a chance to remember how far we have come and provide an opportunity to steal ideas from others on how to take the next step. Whether your institution is just starting its sustainability journey, or you’ve already run a couple of marathons, there will be something for everyone.
BREAK | 4:00pm AEST
PLENARY | 4:30pm AEST
FIRESIDE
KEYNOTE
CLOSING REMARKS
DAY 2 CONCLUDES | 5:30pm AEST
Day 3
Thursday 29 October 2026
Thursday is the conference’s second full day of programming, offering another rich mix of plenary sessions, concurrent presentations, interactive workshops and opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the sector. The day program concludes early to allow time for delegates to prepare to celebrate the people and projects shaping a more sustainable future at the 2026 Green Gown Australasia Awards!
PLENARY | 9:00am AEST
ACTS WELCOME
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PANEL
CONCURRENT SESSIONS | 10.20am AEST
STRATEGY, RISK & LEADERSHIP
OPERATIONS, SYSTEMS & DELIVERY
PEOPLE, LEARNING & CULTURE
20 YEARS OF ACTION
CASE STUDY
Getting close to a sector benchmarking of Sustainability Surveys
Getting close to a sector benchmarking of Sustainability Surveys
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:20am AEST)
Presented by Dr Carmen Primo Perez – University of Tasmania, Brittany Vermeulen – Western Sydney University, Juliet Meyer – The Australian National University
At the 2024 ACTS Conference, a proposal was made to create a Working Group to develop ‘in-house’ sustainability surveys that could be used by our universities, allowing for benchmarking in our region. Although some institutions are already using various sustainability culture and literacy surveys, these tools are sometimes costly and therefore not accessible to all in the current financial climate. Furthermore, questionnaires and data analysis approaches can differ, making benchmarking difficult, if not impossible.
Two working groups were created following the conference: one to develop a Sustainability Literacy Survey (to determine knowledge and understanding of sustainability concepts), and the other to create a Sustainability Culture Survey (evaluate people’s values, beliefs, perceptions, aspirations and behaviours in relation to sustainability). These groups have brought together individuals from twenty Australasian universities, including both sustainability professional and academics.
The groups co-chairs presented preliminary work conducted by the two groups at the 2025 Conference, including their collaborative approach, progress on surveys development, and future plans. The session also included a test of a subset of Sustainability Literacy questions.
The aim of this session is to provide an update on progress, including complete sets of questionnaires, validation processes and benchmarking methodology, as well as intended timelines for implementation
CASE STUDY
Understanding and responding to wildlife incidents on campus
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Understanding and responding to wildlife incidents on campus
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:20am AEST)
Presented by Dr Wade Hadwen, Mark Grant & Olivia Nunn – Griffith University
University campuses often serve as important refuges for native biodiversity while also supporting large populations of students, staff and visitors. As a result, human–wildlife interactions are an inevitable part of campus life. While these interactions can enhance learning, wellbeing and connection with nature, they can also result in wildlife injury, mortality and conflict. This session will explore how universities can use wildlife incident data to better understand these interactions and inform evidence-based management responses.
Drawing on a three-year analysis of wildlife incident records collected at Griffith University’s Nathan campus, presenters will demonstrate how incident databases can reveal trends, identify high-risk locations and support practical conservation outcomes. The case study highlighted a diverse range of interactions involving mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates, while identifying species most at risk, including possums, koalas and rainbow lorikeets. Findings also revealed infrastructure-related risks associated with roads, buildings and other campus assets.
The session will examine how wildlife incident data can be used to identify hotspots, investigate contributing factors and prioritise management actions. Examples will include vehicle-related wildlife mortality, bird collisions with reflective glass, and wildlife trapped within buildings. The session will also discuss the strengths and limitations of incident reporting systems, including opportunities to improve data quality through digital reporting tools and more consistent data collection practices.
Importantly, the session will move beyond the presentation of findings to facilitate discussion among delegates about the challenges and opportunities associated with managing biodiversity on university campuses. Participants will be invited to explore questions such as: What data are most useful for informing wildlife management decisions? How can campuses balance human activity with biodiversity conservation? What interventions are most effective in reducing wildlife risk?
Combining case-study presentations with interactive discussion, this session will provide sustainability professionals, campus managers, ecologists and educators with practical insights into the use of wildlife incident data to support biodiversity conservation, environmental stewardship and the development of safer, more wildlife-friendly campuses.
CASE STUDY
Partnering with health services to create sustainable change
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Partnering with health services to create sustainable change
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:20am AEST)
Presented by Lindsay Scudder – The University of Melbourne
This case study discusses the Health Service Environmental Sustainability Competition, a cross-sector partnership between the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Medical School Sustainable Healthcare Team and eight affiliated participating health services.
The competition was established to address a clear implementation gap: health services need practical mechanisms to help staff translate sustainability ambitions into measurable quality improvement initiatives that improve care, reduce carbon emissions and waste, and are financially viable. The partnership model responds to that need by combining university capability in sustainable healthcare and Sustainability in Quality Improvement (SusQI) with site-based leadership inside health services.
The model has potential relevance beyond the tertiary sector because it shows how an anchor institution can partner with service organisations to build capability, support implementation and measure outcomes. It is particularly relevant to health systems, but the core approach could also be adapted to other sectors where staff-led sustainability improvement requires shared tools, training and cross-organisational support.
This case study will highlight practical insights, key outcomes, challenges to implementation, effective enablers and lessons learned.
CASE STUDY
Shoestring Sustainability Engagement
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Shoestring Sustainability Engagement
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:20am AEST)
Presented by Jacqueline Murray – Charles Sturt University
Sustainability professionals in the tertiary education sector in Australia find themselves in unique circumstances now. Like most sustainability professionals, we strive for progress, often swimming against the tide to deliver carbon reductions and to engage stakeholders in meaningful behaviour change for our organisations, and future generations. However, now the tertiary education sector has less resources to deliver these key tasks. Which means we need to be smart about where and how we spend our time, empowering others instead of burning ourselves out.
This presentation details how with limited resources, the Charles Sturt Sustainability team have prioritised two key engagement tasks during 2025-2026, for maximum student and staff engagement in sustainability. These are:
- Student Sustainability Advisor Program
- ‘Sustainability in Your Role’ staff professional development workshops
Both of these initiatives enable our small Sustainability team to assume the roles of mentors to both staff and students, with a focus on celebrating successes and learning from the challenges. We will cover how we have adapted to ongoing organisational changes, while keeping our university ethos, team purpose and goals firmly in sight. This presentation will also include the challenges and lessons learnt along the way, and how these programs could be replicated or adapted to other tertiary settings.
TRANSITION
CASE STUDY
Stewardship for Sustainability: a new paradigm
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Stewardship for Sustainability: a new paradigm
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:50am AEST)
Presented by Corey Peterson – University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania seeks to further embed and enable holistic sustainability approaches, decision making, and accountability across the institution to increase our collective capacity for positive impact within Tasmania and beyond. Our 2025 Strategy Refresh has at its core for the university to be ‘organised around sustainability’. This is complemented by our new Stewardship for Sustainability companion document which states “the University of Tasmania plays a vital role in leading our place-based and globally-connected communities in understanding and delivering sustainable futures.’
Stewardship for Sustainability is about adjusting daily practice and mindset, shaping how people choose, teach, design, research, interact, and lead. This session will focus on applying the concept of stewardship within sustainability aspirations at the University of Tasmania and explore what that means for students and staff.
CASE STUDY
Beyond the Spreadsheet: Engaging Contractors to Improve Scope 3 Emissions Data
Beyond the Spreadsheet: Engaging Contractors to Improve Scope 3 Emissions Data
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:50am AEST)
Presented by Ruth Oliver – Monash University
Universities are increasingly expected to understand and reduce Scope 3 emissions, yet purchased goods and services remain one of the most difficult areas to measure and influence. For many institutions, supply chain emissions are initially estimated using spend-based methods, which are useful for identifying hotspots but limited for tracking real-world change.
This case study will share how Monash University is moving from high-level emissions estimates toward a more practical supplier engagement approach, starting with operational and service contractors in Buildings and Property. The session will outline how Monash used procurement spend and emissions analysis, supplier survey results and readiness segmentation to identify where engagement could have the greatest impact. It will then focus on the design of a pilot with key contractors, including the challenge of deciding what data to ask for, how to keep requests simple, and how to build supplier capability without overwhelming contractors or contract managers.
The session will explore practical questions many institutions are facing: What supplier data is reasonable to request now? How do we capture emissions and waste associated with services delivered on campus? How do we work with suppliers at different maturity levels? How can sustainability, procurement and facilities teams collaborate to improve data quality over time?
Attendees will leave with a practical view of how one university is approaching Scope 3 supplier engagement, including lessons learned, early tools and templates, and considerations for scaling this approach to other high-impact supplier segments such as ICT, laboratories and construction.
CASE STUDY
Details to be confirmed
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Imagining Otherwise: Turning Student Eco-Anxiety into Creative Agency
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:50am AEST)
Presented by Tonya Sweet – Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington
Today’s students don’t need convincing that the world is in trouble. Research consistently shows that students struggle with feelings of eco-anxiety and despair, and that even highly environmentally engaged young people report markedly negative perceptions of their own capacity to act. For sustainability educators, this is the defining challenge of the moment: awareness is abundant, but agency is scarce.
This case study draws upon insights from a large, compulsory second-year course, Design for Sustainability, at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. It shares how the course pedagogy was redesigned around a provocative proposition: that radical imagination is a learnable, assessable skill, and that teaching it is the most direct way to move students from doom and defeatism toward creative agency. The pedagogy centres on fortnightly micro-projects: low-stakes, no-wrong-answers creative challenges promoted by “What if…?” questions (“What if design had a code of ethics?”; “What if design supported the mauri, or life force, of the city?”; “What if your design made a significant impact in the future?”). These small assessments build imaginative confidence and prepare students to engage in a high-stakes final assessment. Here, students are asked to design a real, localised intervention that supports sustainable change in their own community. Woven throughout is a Te Ao Māori lens, in which the concept of mauri reframes sustainability not as a technocratic problem to solve, but as a relational practice of care for human and more-than-human communities.
Drawing on surveys, focus groups, course evaluations, and student work (with institutional ethics approval), the efficacy and challenges of this approach are illuminated. This session argues that sustainability education does not need more doom-worthy statistics, but more imagination. Attendees will leave with transferable assessment models and practical principles for building place-based, culturally grounded imaginative pedagogy in their own institutional context.
CASE STUDY
Designing High-Impact Sustainable Events: From Strategy to Practice
Designing High-Impact Sustainable Events: From Strategy to Practice
CASE STUDY | Thursday 29 October (10:50am AEST)
Presented by Raveena Grace – The University of Melbourne
Events have a significant environmental, social, and financial footprint, yet they also present a powerful opportunity to drive sustainability outcomes at scale. This masterclass explores how institutions can embed sustainability into event design, delivery, and reporting to reduce impact and create positive legacy outcomes.
Drawing on real-world experience from a large university context, the session will cover practical approaches to sustainable event planning, including procurement choices, waste and circularity strategies, stakeholder engagement, and measurement of impact. Participants will gain insight into how to move beyond compliance-based approaches toward proactive, system-wide improvement.
The session will also explore how behaviour change, collaboration, and clear operational frameworks can enable consistent delivery of sustainable events across diverse teams and stakeholders.
MORNING TEA | 11:15am AEST
WORKSHOP
Build It, Break It, Better It: Designing Climate Governance That Holds Up
Build It, Break It, Better It: Designing Climate Governance That Holds Up
WORKSHOP | Thursday 29 October (11:45am AEST)
Presented by Corinne Rushby – University of Sydney
Effective climate governance rarely fails because of poor intentions. It fails because the design could not survive contact with institutional reality. A foundational challenge facing many institutions is the absence of clear guidance on who is responsible for climate strategy and risk governance versus pure compliance. The result is familiar: advisory bodies without genuine authority, accountability frameworks with no clear owner, and approval pathways so layered that strategic moments pass before a decision lands.
This workshop addresses that gap through a structured, hands-on session that moves participants from problem to practice. The facilitator opens with a short practitioner-led presentation drawing on best practice from the broader market and direct experience supporting climate governance across higher education and ASX200 organisations, including what strong governance design looks like and how institutions can approach the strategy-versus-compliance distinction.
Participants then work through a facilitated “build it, break it, better it” exercise: drafting a governance structure, stress-testing it against the most common institutional failure points, and strengthening it based on peer feedback from a different institutional context. The goal is not a finished document but the experience of pressure-testing governance design in a supported environment, and the practical tools to continue that process back at their own institution.
Participants leave with a revised draft Terms of Reference, peer feedback from a different institutional context, a practical stress-test checklist, and shared language for the strategy-versus-compliance conversation they will continue back at their institutions.
CONVERSATION
Powering the Net Zero Campus
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Powering the Net Zero Campus
CONVERSATION | Thursday 29 October (11:45am AEST)
Presented by Daniel Harris – University of Technology Sydney, Kester Hamilton – University of Sydney, William Pettit – Griffith University
Session details to be confirmed soon
CONVERSATION
What should every graduate know and be able to do?
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What should every graduate know and be able to do?
CONVERSATION | Thursday 29 October (11:45am AEST)
Presented by Dr Allen Hill – Ara Institute of Canterbury, Dr Maria Florencia Amigó – University of Sydney, A/Prof. Julieene Senyard – Griffith University
Session details to be confirmed soon
WORKSHOP
Universities as placemakers
Universities as placemakers
WORKSHOP | Thursday 29 October (11:45am AEST)
Presented by BWD
Session details to be confirmed soon
TRANSITION
ROUNDTABLE
From Spreadsheet Survival to System Strategy
From Spreadsheet Survival to System Strategy
ROUNDTABLE | Thursday 29 October (12:50pm AEST)
Presented by Lulu Meehan-Welham – Monash University
As sustainability reporting obligations continue to expand across the tertiary sector, many institutions are navigating increasing operational complexity alongside rapidly emerging AI and digital tools. Yet beneath conversations around automation and efficiency sits a more fundamental question: are our systems, governance processes, and data environments truly ready for this transition?
This advanced roundtable invites sustainability practitioners, operational teams, and digital stakeholders into a collaborative discussion exploring the realities of sustainability data management, AI adoption, institutional trust, and operational readiness within higher education.
Rather than focusing on specific tools or technical demonstrations, the session will examine the broader tensions emerging across the sector: fragmented systems, data governance challenges, reliance on manual processes, evolving reporting expectations, and the growing pressure to balance efficiency with rigour, accountability, and critical thinking.
Through facilitated discussion and peer knowledge sharing, participants will explore:
- Where AI may genuinely support sustainability operations
- The risks of automating low-confidence or poorly governed systems
- How institutions are approaching trust, ethics, and human oversight
- Where AI is exposing deep operational and governance challenges already present within the sector
This session aims to create space for a more honest and reflective conversation about how tertiary institutions can thoughtfully navigate the intersection of sustainability, operational systems, reporting, and emerging technologies.
CONVERSATION
Living laboratories for nature-positive action
Living laboratories for nature-positive action
CONVERSATION | Thursday 29 October (12:50pm AEST)
Presented by Dr Wade Hadwen – Griffith University & Dr Roger Attwater – Western Sydney University
Session details to be confirmed soon
CONVERSATION
Technical transformations in curriculum
Technical transformations in curriculum
CONVERSATION | Thursday 29 October (12:50pm AEST)
Presented by Jikke Adema – Flinders University & Jo McCormack – Griffith University
Session details to be confirmed soon
Deep Dive | Wednesday 5 November (11:30am AEDT | 1:30pm NZDT)
Presented by Andrew Wilks – Victoria University of Wellington
In December 2024, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington opened the doors of the award-winning Ngā Mokopuna, a re-development of the marae precinct. The project has weaved together Māori values and knowledge with sustainability principles using the Living Building Challenge as the framework to make the building a global exemplar and a flagship for sustainability at the University. Ngā Mokopuna is more than just a building, it is the heart of the campus and has generated great buy-in from the University community. We explore how the building has contributed to embedding sustainability and mātauranga Māori across the University.
This session will provide an introduction to the Living Building Challenge, share the benefits and headaches it provided for this project and explore the synergies with Māori values that made LBC integral to the success of this project.
LUNCH | 1:30pm AEST
PLENARY | 2:30pm AEST
FIRESIDE
CLOSING REMARKS
DAY 3 CONFERENCE PROGRAM CONCLUDES | 3:30pm AEST
GREEN GOWN AWARDS AUSTRALASIA GALA | 6:00pm AEST
Day 4
Friday 30 October 2026
Friday brings the conference to a close with a final plenary, followed by a choice of activities that take learning beyond the conference room.
For delegates staying into the afternoon, there will also be an opportunity to take part in a give-back activity as a meaningful way to thank Griffith University and the Gold Coast for hosting us. It’s a chance to finish the conference with connection, reflection and positive action.