I am Naomi, currently co-founder & director of givvable. I started my career as an Australian diplomat with postings in East Timor, Thailand and Switzerland then moved into private banking where my interest in ESG and sustainability was seeded.
Today my company helps businesses screen and track the sustainability profile of their suppliers to help them achieve their goals and targets.
We work closely with corporates (e.g. Singtel), government (e.g. QLD government, MAS) and industry bodies on the topics of supplier sustainability and sustainable finance. I would be happy to share my experiences, and what I learn from the market. Also very happy to share our mistakes so that others can avoid them!
Professionally my interest in sustainability came through finance and ESG finance. I worked for a bank that was and continues to be a trailblazer in this space, which then got me interested in operational sustainability and how companies can integrate sustainability within their processes/operations - not as something on the side or an after-thought.
Since then we decided to tackle the challenges around supply chain sustainability and how businesses can make better informed decisions about the suppliers and partners they choose to work with.
The biggest challenge we have is finding the right suppliers to work with, that fit our criteria (exactly the problem we are trying to solve through our own business!).
I think education on sustainability is incredibly important - words and catchphrases are shared freely but are open to misinterpretation and poor understanding. The space is evolving rapidly so even practitioners in this space need to keep learning and training themselves. This is why I am attracted to The Matcha Initiative because it provides this much needed education bridge to empower people to take action.
The fact that I have established a company with purpose, that I am proud to tell my children about.