Brett McKenzie's Profile in the Courier Mail Saturday April 29th, 2006
Occupation:
CEO Sustainable Pty Ltd
Where do you work?
Sustainable Pty Ltd (www.sustainablebuildings.com.au)
What do you like about the company?
That we challenge the status quo daily, producing sustainable outcomes (not just buildings) that will stand the test of time.
How long have you been there?
Started the company in 1993
How did you find that position?
I made it happen, driven by an enormous desire to make a difference.
What were your career aspirations when you first left school?
To visualise and build things. I had a passion for design and could have gone onto architecture but chose to begin get work experience at 14 years with Joe Bennett Builders. Won QLD Apprentice of the Year for Carpentry 84/85 and haven’t looked back.
What areas of study have you undertaken?
Junior certificate, full carpentry and joinery apprenticeship, then Builders’ Licence. The best education was international travel and seeing how other countries and communities have evolved with the challenge of Sustainability.
What relevant work experience do you have?
We’ve won 40 Industry awards for excellence in construction since 1995 ranging from most innovative use of glass to commercial refurbishment in excess of $2m; and the most prestigious award National Greensmart Building of the Year 2003/2004 (recognising the leadership & vision required to provide a pathway for our communitities and buildings going forward).
What's your current job description? (brief run down of day to day activities)
Providing vision, guidance and enabling our teams of designers, architects, builders and landscapers to deliver total solutions. Also co-ordinating alliances and business partners to ensure an overall standard in delivery of outcomes.
What rewards do you encounter?
Inspiring people by the process as well as the outcome and earning their trust so we can take them past their comfort zone. It’s so rewarding when people walk into our houses and love them, without even knowing they’re in a sustainable building.
What challenges do you encounter?
1. Dealing with people’s perceptions of Sustainability and the unfortunate association to ‘Greenies’. It’s not about tying ourselves to trees and showering once a week! It’s not about sacrifice, it’s about better management for the future.
2. Getting people to realise that though a sustainable building might be a little more expensive than a project home initially, it will pay for itself in water & energy savings in a few years...and there’s also the joy of living in it!
What advice do you have for people who are interested in getting into your line of work?
Apprentice yourself with a company that cares about the craft and work hard to get experience across all aspects of the trade.
Apprenticeships should be seen as providing a sound basis for the future and it is very important to do the hard yards…you don’t want to be a glorified labourer.
What do you do outside of work? Hobbies/family etc.
Four children and a farm in the downs of Qld keep me pretty busy, especially when I throw in tinkering on pet building projects such as a sustainable cottage.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Planning, designing and building whole communities in a sustainable way so that our children will have a liveable Australia they can be proud of.
