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.
Jeff Vickers
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-based Jeff is technical director at thinkstep-anz and an expert force in Aotearoa’s low-carbon space. Pivotal to the development of the NZGBC’s embodied carbon calculator he has been unpacking and actioning reduced embodied carbon outcomes across organisations for two decades.
What triggered your interest in sustainability and the built environment?
My interest in sustainability sparked at high school. I loved being outdoors hiking and kayaking and I used to volunteer at Trade Aid. But it was my first year at university studying towards an engineering degree that really got me hooked. There was a mandatory paper on sustainability and the lecturers didn’t sugar coat anything – it was clear humanity had big challenges to overcome.
My connection to the built environment is more recent. For the past 15 years in my role at thinkstep-anz I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of manufacturing companies, many of whom make building and construction products. When the New Zealand Productivity Commission started work on its ‘low-emissions economy report’ in 2017 it became clear its focus on the built environment was quite narrow and considered only the energy used directly by buildings – making the greenhouse gas emissions from buildings seem small at a national scale.
In response, thinkstep-anz wrote ‘Hotspot or not? The carbon footprint of NZ’s built environment’. We challenged the Commission’s initial view and raised the idea of embodied carbon. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time trying to help standardise the calculation of embodied carbon in buildings in both New Zealand and Australia.
You have a PhD in environmental engineering focused on sustainable design - how have you leveraged your studies into the context of your career?
The thing I loved most about the PhD process was that it gave me time to read – both broadly and narrowly. I read thousands of books and articles during that time and I know I’ll never have that much time again during my working life. That process gave me a real grounding in the fundamentals of sustainability and sustainable product design. I’ve spent my working career building on that foundation.
Is there growing awareness of the concept of embodied carbon and its impact on design and construction in Aotearoa?
Yes, absolutely. I think the idea of embodied carbon really resonates with New Zealanders. As a result there seems to be huge interest from all parts of the building and construction life cycle – from material manufacturers, through to architects and engineers, through to final customers. I’ve worked with people from many other countries and this connection to the natural world seems stronger in Aotearoa than in other developed countries.
What is the biggest roadblock in the campaign to reduce carbon emissions in new builds?
The perception reducing embodied carbon makes upfront costs higher at a time when New Zealanders have been facing a cost-of-living crisis for far too long. While it’s true we do need to pay more for some things, some low carbon strategies save money, others are cost neutral and many pay themselves back many times over if you consider total cost of ownership rather than upfront cost alone. There is also increasing access to lower-cost finance for new-build projects that can demonstrate their green credentials.
I encourage all developers to explore what types of green finance are open to them before slamming the door shut on low carbon builds.
Are embodied carbon assessments on the up in our construction industry?
Yes, though not by nearly enough in my opinion. There are two main drivers of change. One is demand: Green Star and Homestar are driving assessment. Another is that simpler tools and clearer methodologies are helping to make the calculations quicker and easier.
What do embodied carbon tools - like the NZGBC’s Embodied Carbon Calculator – deliver to the user?
They make calculating embodied carbon in a standards-compliant way relatively easy. While there’s still work involved, NZGBC’s Embodied Carbon Calculator and other modern tools make the process so much easier than it used to be.
What is the highlight of your job?
I do what I love and I do it with the support of a great group of people. thinkstep-anz’s mission is to enable organisations to succeed sustainability. I’m lucky that I get to go to work every day with a talented group of people all pulling together to achieve that mission.
What change do you most want to see in the carbon footprint space in 2026?
I want to see the whole building and construction value chain working together to achieve low-carbon outcomes. In particular I want to see customers, suppliers and governments working together on decarbonisation. Too often I see them working against each other.
Your favourite green building here or anywhere in the world?
I’m not sure I can pick just one. But every time I go to Sydney, I check on progress of Atlassian Central (set to be the world’s tallest hybrid timber commercial tower).