The Association’s Advisory Committee:

Mr Sam Stewart - CEO

Sam Stewart has recently been appointed the new CEO of the Association for Sustainability in Business Inc. The strategic business experience, innovative mindset, high level of energy and fresh perspective he brings to the team will positively impact the association in many ways.

Sam has been, and still is, an avid business investor, active business strategist and seminal thinker across a diverse range of business sectors during his 15 years of business ownership. He has bought and grown 10 businesses in different industries including restaurants, function center, online health, online agriculture, fruit and vegetable wholesale and retail, importing wholesale and retail, construction and education.

On the side of his business interests, Sam has been engaged to coach and chair the board of directors meetings for 6 privately held companies for which he facilitates and offers strategic advice. He is also contracted to give business advice to other privately held businesses on an ‘as needed’ basis, using the depth and vast business experience he has acquired over the years across many industries.

Sam is passionate and excited to apply his business experience and skillsets to assist the Association to be able to grow the membership base, increase membership benefits by adding more value to its members and increase the association’s exposure. 

Paula Drayton

Paula is the Director of Resource Advisory, a boutique communications and advisory firm created to enhance environmental, social and commercial outcomes for organisations, particularly those with sustainability challenges.

She is also the founder of Sustainability Coach, a business that incorporates coaching and team facilitation techniques to achieve sustainability outcomes. Paula has worked with some of Australia's leading organisations and small to medium size enterprises. She manages a team of consultants that work along the East Coast of Australia, primarily Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Prior to commencing her own businesses, Paula held senior management positions within the waste management industry, specialising in marketing, communications and sustainability education. She worked as the National Marketing Manager for Cleanaway, a Brambles company, and developed Cleanaway's first National Education Program. Prior to her time in the waste management industry, Paula worked for professional services firms Ernst & Young and Andersen as a Manager within the Corporate Finance division.

Paula is involved in a range of community and environmental initiatives, and has been working with organisations in the sustainability domain since 2003. In 2010, Paula transitioned to Queensland, where she focuses on integrating her skills in coaching, mentoring, capacity building and communications into the Resource Advisory service and Sustainability Coach suite. Paula is accredited in a range of communications domains, including Crucial Conversations. She is a trained Passion Coach, Certified Master Coach and holds a BA Tourism Management and Master of Education in Adult Education from UTS in Sydney.

Kerryn Wilmot

Kerryn Wilmot co-leads the Cities and Buildings research area at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at UTS and supports the coordinator of the Sustainable Digital Cities Network in investigating the impact of new ways of working on the urban environment.  Kerryn is a highly experienced architect specialising in sustainability.  She has a practical understanding of construction processes and running multi-disciplinary teams from working extensively on the delivery of complex design projects in a 30-year career as a consultant architect.

Recent projects at ISF span analysis of demand for smart work centres, household engagement for smart energy meters, and market research into reduction of waste from commercial tenancy fitouts. Formerly an Associate at Spowers Architects, Kerryn was the project leader for the industry-leading 60L Green Building in Carlton, Victoria that won a Banksia Award and influenced today’s commercial buildings and sustainable development tools. The project included first principles research of materials’ impacts, in a process that eventually lead to the formation of Ecospecifier.  At Spowers and later at Williams Boag Architects, Kerryn specialised in sustainable development and advised on enhancing project sustainability.  She contributed industry knowledge to the Williams Boag Research software tool that quickly assesses the financial feasibility of a sustainable development project at its inception, developed under an ARC Linkage grant.  Kerryn lead 2 design projects in China with energy efficiency and sustainability agendas and earlier during a period of self-employment pursued development options there.  She was the Accredited Green Star Professional for a 5-star Green Star rated new senior school campus in ACT.

Kerryn has also been a guest lecturer at several universities and tutored in Sustainable Buildings and Environmental Building Services for the University of Melbourne.
Prior to joining ISF, in her spare time Kerryn was an active member of the Public Transport Users Association, lobbying for improved public transport in Victoria, in recognition of the need to for good sustainable transport options for liveable urban environments. She represented PTUA on the Metropolitan Transport Forum and on the Minister for Transport’s Station Users Panel.

Kerryn’s role at ISF is to contribute to the development of the Cities and Buildings research area.  Combining a practical background with current applied research work, she has an understanding of the complexities of providing infrastructure, and the impact of development and infrastructure on the amenity and functionality of the urban environment.

Jim McDonald

Jim has an extensive depth and breadth of experience in all aspects of Integrated Catchment Management gained over the past twenty years. Agricultural production, surface and groundwater sharing; national R&D programs for dryland salinity and eutrophication; land and water integration planning, monitoring and evaluation programs; floodplain management; environmental risk assessment; re-allocation and adjustment programs; was an irrigator; and is a dryland farmer. In August 2001, Jim's family farming business was amongst the first in the world to be certified under the AS/NZS ISO 14001:1996 Environmental Management Systems.

From 2003 to 2011 Jim Chaired the Namoi Catchment Management Authority, recognised as one of the foremost NSW and national regional NRM organisations. During this time the NCMA; embraced resilience thinking in their revised Catchment Action Plan (resilience is a dynamic property of any system, catchments being complex self-organising systems); became one of nine national regions developing a set of regional environmental accounts (conceptually imitating the use of the national economic accounts by enabling people to properly understand the condition, and direction of changes to their environmental and productive assets); and commenced developing a framework for a cumulative risk assessment of the emerging coal and coal seam gas extractive industries within the Namoi (assessing the resilience of nine key environmental assets).

In December 2012 Jim was appointed to the Statutory Independent Expert Scientific Committee for Coal Seam Gas and Large Scale Coal Mining established by the Australian Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The Committee provides: Independent, expert scientific advice on coal seam gas and large coal mining proposals as requested by federal and state government regulators on the impact that coal seam gas and large coal mining development may have on Australia's water resources; advice on a suite of research priorities; advice on the scope and method for Bioregional Assessments to be undertaken in areas where coal seam gas and/or large coal mining developments are underway or planned. Bioregional assessments are a scientific analysis of the ecology, hydrology and geology of an area and their purpose is to assess the potential risks to water resources as a result of intended developments.

Jim recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Science (2013) at the University of New England and is currently enrolled in the Graduate Certificate for the Management and Planning of Natural Hazards at the same University.

Tania Crosbie

Tania Crosbie is a marketing, communications and training specialist and co-owner of Sustainability at Work. In her 20 plus years’ experience Tania has held many senior management positions and delivered high-profile national campaigns. The breadth of industries range from banking and finance; recruitment; hospitality; education; not-for-profit and the arts across private, public and the not-for-profit sectors. She has also held a number of Board community and business board positions over the years including the Canberra Business Council, Australian Tourism Awards, 9th Australian Masters Games and the Red Shield Appeal.

Tania is an industry expert on green skills, sustainable workplaces, behaviour change, engagement and marketing. She has been part of industry task forces and forums providing research information, advice and guidance, addresses many conferences and is a former Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Canberra.

Together the Directors have co-authored three pieces of research including “Sustainability in the Workplace – attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability in the workplace and home” released in 2011 and 2012 and “The Australian Sustainability Manager- the role, the challenges and the Future” released in 2012.

Peter Sugg

Peter retired from the Association executive in 2017 but will remain on the committee to provide valuable insight into the program development and online education.

Peter has managed Associations, Not for Profits, Education and Program Development, Business Development and Governance issues for 25 years.

His broad ranging interests include Australian Regional Development, Sustainability in Business, Education Delivery and Management, Healthy Cities, Public Health and the changing urbanisation of Australia.  

Cr Chris Thompson

Cr Chris Thompson is the Deputy Mayor and Division 4 Councillor of Sunshine Coast Council. Chris is responsible for Council’s Finance, Business Units, Water & Corporate Governance portfolios, and is also on Council’s Audit Committee.

Chris has a obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Queensland, a Bachelor of Business and Information Systems, and is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Shane Arnold

Shane’s holistic approach enables him to identify investment strategies that achieve his client’s financial goals.  His friendly, no-fuss persona and ability to convey key information in laymen's terms has resulted in long term trusting partnerships with his clients and business colleagues alike.

Shane has a wide client base including small business owners, families, and some of Australia’s high profile athletes.

Like many Australians Shane is an avid sports fan. Shane has a passion for Rugby Union and has coached at Super Rugby and Junior World Cup levels. Shane’s other passion is social justice and has lead a number East-African immersion programs, which are aimed at connecting future decision makers in corporate Australia with some of the poorest communities in the world.