Leanne Denby

Director of Sustainability at Macquarie University, Australia and President of the Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability

Leanne has been working at Macquarie University in Sydney as the Director of Sustainability since March 2008. Prior to this full time, Leanne worked at the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) as a Project Director responsible for two higher education focused projects looking to bring about change towards sustainability. Since taking on the role at Macquarie, Leanne has incorporated sustainability as a strategic direction for the University, growing from a single role to a team of eight.

Leanne’s primary responsibility is to embed sustainability within the principles and everyday practices. This involves working within three key areas:

  • Operations: Improving resource efficiency through implementation of practical initiatives
  • Education and Engagement: Active participation and awareness building of staff, students and community members, as well as the curriculum taught at the University
  • Planning and Development: In two aspects – the built infrastructure and strategic planning.

Leanneworks with and engages the campus community through running several initiatives throughout the year, as well as by holding workshops, focus sessions and attending key meetings. Information about the team’s progress has made can be found at:

Leanne also holds the role of President of Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS). Since joining ACTS in late 2007, Leanne has actively been involved in trying to grow the network and the benefits available to members. It is because of her dedication, belief and enthusiasm for what ACTS can be and do that she was elected as President in 2010 when Lania Lynch announced she could no longer hold her position. When Macquarie University hosted the annual ACTS conference in 2009, Leanne actively coordinated and participated in plenary workshops focusing on ACTS and the direction its members wanted the organisation to take.

Jimmy Brannigan

Director, ESD Consulting Ltd

Jimmy is the founding director of ESD Consulting Ltd and has worked on sustainability issues and in the environmental sector for over 20 years, helping a wide range of private and public sector organisations to integrate environmental and social considerations into business models and activities.

Jimmy is an established expert on the issue of skills for sustainability and corporate social responsibility and uses his experience to make links between business improvement for sustainability and staff development and leadership. He has supported many organisations in taking the practical steps needed to turn policy into practical action and has supported organisations throughout Asia, South America and Europe.

Jimmy believes that given the scale of the challenges facing the environment and society a transformational response is required that begins with the recognition of what is truly valuable in both a business and a human context. The focus of those responses should seek to have a NetPositive impact on society and the environment.

Working on sustainability issues with further and higher education Jimmy has delivered numerous projects in partnership with EAUC on sustainability leadership and sustainable procurement and works closely with a range of strategic education bodies on sustainability leadership issues including the Higher Education Academy, where he delivers the Green Academy and the Learning and Skills Improvement Service where he is a Sustainability Associate.

Jimmy also acted a strategic adviser on the development of Oxford Brookes University Net Positive strategy and has worked extensively with Queen Margaret University and a range of other institutions

Jimmy was the developer and deliverer of One Planet Leaders a global programme for sustainability leaders which works mostly with large corporate organisations; this was delivered in partnership with WWF International.

Jimmy has also developed numerous resources such as embedding sustainability into the curriculum and guidance the integration of poverty considerations into procurement processes

Jimmy is also former chair of Professional Practice for Sustainable Development which seeks to support professionals and Professional Institutions embed sustainability principles throughout their activity.

In 2009, Jimmy spent a year with his young family living and working in developing countries to gain a deeper understanding as to sustainability issues facing different societies.