Our Movers and Shakers series is spotlighting Aotearoa's leading sustainability professionals transforming the way we design, build and operate our buildings and homes. These are the people leading the charge for a more sustainable built-environment throughout Aotearoa.
Danica Holgado
Danica is National Director – Business Development and Client Engagement at Colliers. She is empowering businesses to embrace sustainable agendas and low-carbon outcomes.
What were your early career aspirations?
I wanted to do something creative so began a fine arts degree in London but aware of the need for a steady income I switched to an honours degree in marketing and advertising. I briefly worked in the field but the stars aligned shortly after moving to New Zealand with an opportunity to join Beca. I channelled my creativity into writing proposals for water and wastewater infrastructure projects and never looked back!
Colliers has just signed the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. What are the spin-offs?
Our leadership teams globally will have to put in place plans to halve our carbon emissions by 2030 - with a goal of total decarbonisation of buildings in operation by no later than 2050. It’s a pretty stretchy target but it means sustainability will be front of mind in our strategic decision-making around our own operations. I’m excited to see what innovations and partnerships will get us there!
You’ve lived in South Africa, Spain and London. Has your back-story been a bonus for your career?
Absolutely, it’s a pretty handy conversation ice-breaker. It really helps me find common ground and build rapport with colleagues and clients. My role is all about understanding people’s backgrounds, needs, motivations and making connections to move initiatives and projects forward.
Your career pathway?
I feel very privileged to have worked at PwC, KPMG and now Colliers where outstanding people are doing great things. My learning has been so wide-ranging - from wastewater treatment and water reticulation through to auditing and operating model design - and now of course the different facets of the property sector.
What triggered your passion for sustainability?
At KPMG I had the opportunity to work alongside the sustainability team. I saw my role as a connector between the technical specialists and the wider business – leveraging my internal connections and client knowledge to uncover opportunities for the team to deliver its suite of sustainability services. To do this effectively I had to quickly build my knowledge about sustainability issues facing businesses in different sectors.
Was there a light bulb moment when you thought ‘I want to empower businesses to think green’?
Yes there was definitely a standout moment. We started talking to clients about integrated reporting around 2018 and I was really inspired by the approach of looking at business performance and value in a holistic way. I seriously considered shifting my career path to specialise in this form of corporate reporting but realised my immediate opportunity to add value was to double down on my advocacy and championing of sustainability internally with clients. The more people understand the issues and identify sustainability opportunities, the broader the impact.
What is the biggest challenge of convincing clients sustainability makes good business sense?
I think it can come down to the question of perceived cost and capability to implement change. My experience shows when times are tough sustainability can be parked and seen as a ‘nice to have’.
The key is to frame conversations around building resilience for the long-term: how will you navigate the transition risks? (access to capital, insurance regulatory requirements etc) and the physical risks? (e.g. last year’s flooding). Even more importantly: how are you going to position your business to realise the exciting opportunities of the net zero transition? (tech innovation, job creation, social licence etc)?
Is there a growing low-carbon mindset in our property sector?
I’m relatively new to the property sector but have been so pleased to see how many institutional investors and New Zealand developers are driving meaningful change. Their investment in sustainability initiatives makes their assets so much more attractive to tenants and delivers better value for their stakeholders. And their buildings are magnificent! With the increasing prevalence of sustainable finance, I’d love to see this approach become the norm across the market.
What global trends and drivers are you seeing in the sustainability and business space?
In my opinion linking access to capital with sustainability performance is what’s going to really drive the change - and the introduction of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has been a real global turning point in how organisational sustainability is discussed. This framework means organisations can really dig down into the implications of climate change on their strategy and operations and it provides a roadmap to manage risk and implement significant change. I’m excited to see how discussions around nature and biodiversity change with the recent introduction of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Do you have a favourite green building?
I have Danish heritage and would love to take my family to visit the Copenhill waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen!