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.
Josh McGlone
Life Cycle Assessments, climate resilience practices, energy modelling, energy efficiency, green design and uptake of Green Star, Josh McGlone is a skilled sustainability specialist who’s been championing the cause for 10 years. He’s recently been appointed Sustainability Advisor at Precinct Properties.
Did you have an early awareness of protecting nature and environmental issues?
I grew up with a strong connection to the outdoors. Many weekends were spent travelling around campsites in Aotearoa and tramping in the bush. I learnt a deep respect for our natural environment and how precious it is. “Leave only your footprints behind” was a paramount phrase in our family.
I was also influenced by my grandfather James Beard (architect 1924-2017) whose work and views on conservation were inspirational. He succeeded in rewilding and protecting a large swathe of farmland back into native forest on the northern shores of Te Waka a Māui. These connections really embedded in me the importance of caring for and cherishing nature.
When did sustainability as a pathway make sense for you? In all honesty, despite majoring in sustainability at university, I didn’t immediately see it as a career. It was always one of my core values but I viewed it more as a passion than vocation – including regular rants to friends! While seeking work in the built environment sector in Australia I discovered it was a viable pathway - beginning with a role in the sustainability team at WSP in Sydney.
You returned to Aotearoa a few years ago, any learnings to transfer? In terms of my understanding of rating tools and systems, versions are often released in Australia before moving to Aotearoa – so yes there’ve been practical learnings to transfer to specific projects here.
My most useful learning coming back to Aotearoa is that implementing sustainable principles into projects or business processes doesn’t have to be at the cost of financial success.
If these principles are integrated well, they’ll provide better business returns, better resilience (both physically and fiscally) while improving the quality of work, product or project delivered.
Another learning is the benefit of being bold and moving valiantly into the sustainability space. The demand for better and more sustainable construction is only going to increase - it’s already paying larger dividends overseas. Bold action will and is being rewarded.
Are Kiwi companies tapped into sustainability and open to upskilling? From my experience Kiwi companies are very adaptable and open to upskilling. Kiwis - with their love of the environment and whenua - want to try to do the right thing but due to our small scale of operation we don’t always implement the necessary systems to drive sustainability.
This is where formal processes and/or achieving certifications can be extremely valuable to businesses meeting their sustainability goals.
Additionally, compared with overseas, the number of experienced sustainability professionals in Aotearoa doesn’t seem very large. But the sector feels like it’s grown rapidly over the last few years as businesses look to integrate sustainable principles and action more rigorously into their operations.
What tools best serve a business wanting to place sustainability at the centre of its strategic vision? Look to our tangata whenua and take inspiration from Mātauranga Māori. It’s especially important with strategic decision-making and planning as it can dramatically change the perspective and final decisions.
Outside of Mātauranga Māori, I believe understanding the myriads of environmental and social elements that make up sustainability is critical. Then integrating this understanding, backed up through technical analysis such as LCA - ensures sustainable thinking is not siloed into a single metric/performance.
That’s where rating tools like Green Star can be so effective in providing a robust framework across a range of diverse initiatives.
What's exciting you most about your role with Precinct? It is incredibly motivating to join an organisation that’s shaping the urban centres of our two largest cities in Aotearoa – Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara – and with a track record of integrating sustainability so thoroughly into the delivery of new developments and ongoing asset management.
I’m excited to support the delivery of high-quality new developments but more so the optimisation of ongoing asset management. There’s arguably more ‘glamour’ in the design of a new, modern, sculptured tower or city block but I believe there’s so much more opportunity to make a difference in the ongoing management and delivery of an existing asset – that’s where I’m eager to support making the biggest impact.
You're fluent in Spanish - can you please tell us about this? After finishing university, I moved to Mexico teaching English as a second language – that’s where I learnt the Spanish language which I probably speak more of outside of work than English.
Through being bilingual and my immersive experience overseas I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for diversity of thought and an increased awareness for navigating cultural difference. These new perceptions have been helpful in returning to our diverse society in Aotearoa and in particular to one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world – Tāmaki Makaurau, which I now call home.
Your favourite green building? The buildings that have made the biggest impact on me have often been those that have shown me something for the first time.
As a building sciences student I saw a 10 Homestar rated house in Golden Bay - a relatively humble building with virtually no impact on land and local infrastructure except for the structure itself. Similarly, a tour of DOC House on Manners Street in Te Whanganui-a-Tara showed me the importance of a double skin façade for the first time.
In Sydney I saw one of the most visually striking green buildings ever - One Central Park - with its abundance of foliage across the façade. Such an amazing green building.
Coincidentally a year later I began working for the team that delivered the sustainability agenda for the Central Park Precinct!