We heard from a range of experts about the value of sustainability at our first-ever Green Office Toitū conference on Friday evening.
Green Office Movement Coordinator, Maartje Zaal, joined us from the Netherlands, where the Green Office movement began. Maartje gave us an introduction to the global Green Office Movement.
We were also fortunate to hear from Te Pukenga Sustainability Lead, Ehsan Yaeghoobi, who told us about Te Pukenga’s work in the sustainability space and answered questions from guests.
DWI Limited Director and Auckland Institute of Studies President, Dr Lehan Stemmet, then gave an interactive presentation about sustainable mental health.
Lastly, we heard from the Environmental lead for the SkyCity Group, Anthony Thompson, about SkyCity’s sustainability framework for creating a better tomorrow.
A panel of alumni and students made up of Maimiti Manate, Matthew Angelo Tongohan, and Jay Dharmendra Mistry then discussed their sustainability internship experiences at OPAIC.
Maimiti shared that she’s been able to start her own sustainability office at her job. Matthew mentioned that the skills he gained in his internship helped him in his professional journey after graduation.
Jay is still completing his internship and said the experience has given him a renewed appreciation for nature and a passion for protecting it.
The alumni were all proactively involved with the Green Office Toitū during their time at OPAIC.
Employability Service and Event Lead, Christiaan Bredenkamp, says he was pleasantly surprised to see so much passion, excitement, and curiosity around sustainability.
“At one point I had to politely ask students to save their questions for the networking session,” he says.
“For most of our new students, it was the first time that they were included in a serious discussion about how sustainability affects the workplace.”
Other activities took place on campus in the lead-up to the event on Friday, including some fun and interactive workshops about reusing, reducing, and recycling, along with a staff and student research forum focused on recycling.
