Standing up for sustainability in our essential services

At the heart of Kate Vinot’s lifelong career in creating more sustainable essential services is a sense of excited optimism. “It’s such a thrill to make lasting change for the better,” said the engineering alum.

“Many are taking real action to reduce the impacts of their products for a better outcome for all – but that said, we have so much more that we need to do.”

For Kate, this enduring passion for a healthier planet was fostered from an early age.

“My parents were both academic geomorphologists, so we grew up learning about landscapes, how they were formed and the impacts that nature and humans were having on them,” said Kate.

In high school, Kate was engaged in a major community environmental protest, but decided she wanted to tackle climate change through a different tack.

“I was interested in how Australia could simultaneously grow, develop and protect the environment,” said Kate.

“I quickly realised that my path was to work in organisations and with people that were trying to build and develop new projects – and work with them to ensure they also protected the environment.”

After graduating from her civil engineering degree with first class honours, Kate briefly worked as a geotechnical engineer, which was an eye-opening experience.

“I began to see how many different people and disciplines were involved in making decisions about major projects,” said Kate.

“It was not enough to work within the client brief to influence individual projects – I wanted to understand more about finance, about people, about economics and about politics to be able to influence major change.”

This multidisciplinary approach led Kate to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship – an opportunity for high-performing students to be granted entry and financially supported through further studies at the University of Oxford.

“Through the Rhodes Scholarship, I was able to secure a place in the Masters in Economics for Development,” said Kate.

“There, I met people from all over the world, from many difference cultures and disciplines, all trying to understand more about what made different societies tick – and how to influence things for the better.”

Kate has worked in sustainability and climate change ever since and said she has been fortunate to work in more than 20 countries throughout her dynamic career.

Guiding sustainable growth

After graduating from Oxford, Kate worked in environmental consulting and corporate environmental sustainability for around seven years, during which she had the opportunity to live in four different countries.

“My first executive role was as General Manager, Environment at Visy where we lived and breathed what we now call a ‘circular economy’ approach to making and recycling packaging,” said Kate.

This role marked the beginning of Kate’s career as a leader in the delivery and operation of utility infrastructure for communities.

One highlight of Kate’s career was in her role as General Manager, City, Strategy and Place at the City of Melbourne.

“We worked with Council and the community to co-develop the Future Melbourne 2026 strategy and deliver the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project,” Kate said.

Over the years, Kate has also become a thought leader in the sustainability and climate change space – speaking at round-table discussions and promoting innovative ideas through Chair and Board positions.

Having had some impactful ideas throughout her career, Kate said her professional connections have provided the chance to grow and form these ideas over the years.

“It takes a diverse community to develop, buy-into and achieve lasting change,” she said.

Today, Kate is the Chair of Tasmanian Irrigation and is on the Boards of Yarra Valley Water and Natural Hazards Research Australia.

“I love working with Board and management to set a clear strategy for the organisation that combines delivering for customers and the community, striving for net zero emissions, designing for a circular economy and seeking net positive outcomes for the environment and community – all with a positive return on our investments of course!”

Finding creative solutions to grow both financially and sustainably is no simple task, and for Kate, seeing organisations rally together to make change possible is truly rewarding.

“I also love seeing strategy being realised by the incredible work and ingenuity of staff,” she said.

Explorative beginnings

Reflecting back on the foundations of her career, Kate said her time studying at the University was formative in her personal and professional life.

“One of the lovely aspects of being an engineering student at the University of Melbourne was that we had so many classes together,” said Kate.

“Over the years we built up close friendships through work and play together – friendships that endure today.”

The pathway to working in sustainable development wasn’t always clear to Kate as a student, but the University offered the flexibility needed for her to find her way.

“Starting as a civil engineering student, I gradually found my way to geotechnical engineering with an elective arts subject in final year, and an understanding of soil and groundwater has been very useful in my career,” said Kate.

“I can thank the University of Melbourne for giving me a solid, core, technical discipline, with so many opportunities to learn and diversify to enable change for a more sustainable future.”

Faith in the future

Kate knows that collectively, a lot of work lies ahead to reach crucial climate targets.

“Raising awareness through education and research, sharing knowledge, and building a collective capability and desire for change are still key areas to focus on as we seek to implement solutions for a more sustainable future,” she said.

Still, after working with industry to create more sustainable essential services for more than 30 years, Kate is truly astonished by the progress that has already been made.

“When I started my career, we were just realising that development needed to be sustainable. Now most CEOs I know can speak fluently about the need to balance people, planet and profits,” she said.

Kate remembers how 30 years ago, many private investors in the electricity generation sector never believed that we could move away from coal as a key energy source.

“Cars used lead petrol, we had incandescent light globes and supermarkets gave away thousands of plastic bags each day – haven’t times changed?” Kate remarked.

“The pace of change makes me optimistic that we can and will do much more.”

Read the 2023 Sustainability Report to learn more about how University of Melbourne alumni are creating a sustainable future.