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.
Sam Parsons
Boffa Miskell climate change specialist, Sam Parsons, is centre stage in assessing, planning and delivering smart responses to climate change across Aotearoa’s natural and built environments. Working alongside government and the private sector he’s using his hands-on experience ‘in the hills’ to create sustainability and resilience in the climate change space.
What triggered your interest in the natural world and conservation?
Growing up in Otago conservation and nature were never far away from home - it was included or adjacent to all parts of life. I always wanted to do something in the outdoors growing up but back then the natural environment and climate change were nothing like the business they are today. I didn’t imagine you could create a career out of it unless you were a ranger - and later that thought led me to the Department of Conservation at the start of my pathway.
Was studying environment management a clear pathway for you?
No, not originally. I always thought I’d go into the trades like the rest of my family but was pushed to consider going to university to study surveying. In my first year I included a minor in physical geography – when I excelled in the subject I pivoted to the newly created environmental management degree at the University of Otago – and discovered a career in the environmental sector really interested me. A ski season in Aspen, Colorado after university then opened my eyes to career possibilities in the nature sector.
How did your university studies translate into a career in the climate change space?
When I graduated, I was one of two people with an environmental management degree in my year - which felt like a really good thing or a really bad move! I wanted hands-on experience in the hills rather than writing EMR’s and policy advice, so I joined DOC in the Southern Region. It proved to be one of the most important moves of my career.
After roles constructing visitor assets in the back country and managing partnerships with the Takahē Recovery Programme, I took on the Climate Adaptation Portfolio back in 2019. The combination of technical capability from my studies and practical experience from the field was really valuable. I’m a strong advocate for practical, lived experience. To make a difference, we need to ensure responses and solutions are both technically feasible and practically achievable.
What is the most significant climate change threat for Aotearoa in 2026?
I think it’s the slow changes over time that pose the biggest threats. Flooding and sea-level rise get the headlines because they’re acute and visible but in general we know how to understand and adapt to them.
But changes like increasing mean temperatures, changing winter frosts, and shifting seasonality pose significant threats to our natural environment and subsequently our economy. These slower chronic changes are more difficult for us to accurately pinpoint and appreciate the complex interactions involved – which makes them hard risks to manage.
Are you seeing a sense of urgency across government, local authorities and businesses to mitigate climate change?
No. I think there’s a sense of urgency being spoken about but across government in particular, I see little meaningful action to deliver measurable physical benefits and that’s what we urgently need.
Words like ‘urgent’, ‘emergency’ and ‘ambitious’ are frequently used in our rhetoric, but in no way characterise New Zealand’s climate response over the past decades.
But in this void I’ve seen businesses really pick up the pace. The reality we’re beginning to see is that emission reductions beyond a certain point are really hard to achieve. We’ve gone through the early years of removing all the ‘easy to abate’ sources like vehicles and electricity but we’re now getting to the really hard sources like air travel - where we’re highly dependent on emerging technologies being successful.
How do you tackle the disconnect between climate change awareness and action?
Firstly I defer to the expertise of our engagement specialist. I don’t believe I’m an expert in the social sciences and because I’ve worked in the sector for a while now, I’m probably quite bias as to how I think other people should react to information. We have a great engagement team at Boffa Miskell so I do the smart thing and listen. Secondly, climate awareness is often associated with risk - so being able to connect risk with action is beneficial and the way forwards.
Is Aotearoa keeping pace with global climate change initiatives?
At a country level, no. But that doesn’t mean we cannot learn from others and leapfrog our progress. We certainly have the capability in New Zealand to do so.
You’ve been a key player in the NZGBC’s Climate Adaption Plan guidance document – what will it bring to the table?
The guidance will deliver coherence, consistency and transparency for climate change risk assessments and adaptation plans for those who use it. Risk assessments and adaptation plans contain a wealth of technical information, institutional knowledge, place-based expertise and a collection of assumptions. So being able to guide users through a best practice approach and transparently show the process and outcomes will help these become more usable and consistent for the industry.
What’s the most innovative climate change assessment and outcome you’ve seen?
Hard to say as there’s so much diversity but one case that stands out in my mind is the Te Auaunga Oakley Creek project by Auckland Council Healthy Waters – this was done to prevent flooding for nearly 200 homes in three local board areas, enabling housing intensification in a brownfield site.
It’s a great example of the multiple benefits of nature-based solutions in an urban environment and demonstrated this really well during the Auckland Anniversary floods.
Your favourite green building in Aotearoa or anywhere in the world?
It’s not necessarily certified by anybody but the new 40 bunk DOC hut – the Mintaro Hut on the Milford Track. It’s a real showcase of the resilience of building green in one of the country’s most extreme environments.