Green Moves: S&P, SBTi, Macquarie, Anti-Slavery Commissioner

The jobs market is heating up again with plenty of big names making moves over the holiday break.

January is the most popular time to start a new role, according to recruiter Talent Nation.

The recruitment firm saw a hiring blitz in the back half of the final quarter of 2024 as ESG teams prepare for mandatory disclosures - and we can expect more big names to move in the coming months.

CEO Richard Evans predicts a tightening in the market in 2025 amid fierce compete for specific skills.

The firm's latest data shows senior green professionals are scouting for new opportunities with over 50% staying in a role less than two years.

"Senior practitioners are being stretched in their roles and it is unsurprising to see those that have been requesting additional headcount to handle the workload, are seeking new opportunities where they will be adequately resourced," Evans said.

Lauren Smart has been named the new head of sustainability at S&P Global Sustainable1, leading an expanded division.

Global Sustainable1 and S&P Global Commodity Insights are merging to create an energy transition and sustainability business.

With a background in fund management Smart is a regular speaker and commentator at Davos, a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Energy Nexus and of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures.

The leadership role is a promotion from her prior role as chief commercial and market engagement officer.

"I have spent the last two decades of my career focused on driving sustainable change in the world and what a journey it has been," Smart said.

"As the sustainability market grows and evolves, so does the sophistication of our clients' needs... The newly integrated business will support clients end to end throughout their sustainability journey; from risk management and reporting to industrial decarbonisation and identifying the opportunities to finance a more sustainable future."

This comes as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) unanimously elects EY corporate sustainability partner David Kennedy to be its new CEO, succeeding interim CEO Sue Jenny Ehr.

AT EY, Kennedy worked on transition planning and the food system net-zero plan published recently by the Institute of Grocery Distribution.

SBTi said the former public servant and economist joins at a pivotal moment as it continues its expansion: nearly 40% of global market cap firms have validated SBTi targets or commitments to set targets, with Asia leading the charge.

"As the founding chief executive of the UK's Committee on Climate Change (CCC), David is a true pioneer with unrivalled qualifications," said SBTi chair Francesco Starace. Outgoing interim CEO Ehr "has been a steady pair of hands and will provide David with the essential guidance he needs during his first few months."

Kennedy will start in Q2 and lead SBTi's target validation subsidiary.

Kennedy said: "I've spent much of my career working on energy, climate change and sustainability with governments and the private sector. I admire the impact that SBTi has had catalysing action by thousands of companies around the world."

In Australia, Anna Gudkov started in December as a climate and sustainability lawyer (legal, governance and reporting) at Macquarie Group.

Maquarie made notable investments in renewables assets in late 2024, including €420 million of debt financing to Nadara, one of Europe's largest renewable independent power producers.

Lisa Annese became CEO of Chief Executive Women (CEW) after leaving the Diversity Council of Australia after a decade at the helm.

"I am so proud of everything that we have achieved to make the Australian labour market more inclusive," Annese said. "I am looking forward to my next chapter as incoming CEO at Chief Executive Women."

The inaugural federal anti-slavery commissioner Chris Evans has hired Heather Moore and Laura McManus to develop Australia's domestic response to slavery, and to lead business relations and strategy, respectively.

Moore is a counter-trafficking specialist working to enhance remediation of forced labour in supply chains and moves over from The Salvation Army.

McManus is a leading specialist in corporate human rights due diligence with experience at the Walk Free Foundation and Woolworths Group.

The $170+ trillion, 500-plus member-strong United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has named Martin Koehring as a consultant on the sustainable blue economy.

The TEDx speaker and self-proclaimed 'ocean futurist' said it is a chance to work "across the financial community to provide guidance and frameworks to ensure investment, underwriting and lending activities are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14... 'life below water' - enabling financial institutions to rebuild ocean prosperity, restore biodiversity and regenerate ocean health.

This follows a stint at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a senior strategic expert on the blue economy.

Meanwhile, sustainable natural asset management organisation Firesticks chose former fraud expert Leah Bennett as a non-executive director.

Bennett, a Wiradjuri woman, focuses on supporting the financial wellbeing of First Nations peoples. Firesticks is an Indigenous-led organisation which implements Indigenous land management practices such as cultural burning to prevent catastrophic bushfire.

Lastly, Mione Collins - who previously worked for Tasman Environmental Markets (TEM) and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) - is starting a new position as board director at the International Association of Business Communicators (AIBC), NSW.