Dear members and supporters,
As Geelong Sustainability’s incoming President it’s an absolute privilege to welcome you to our first newsletter for 2023. The new Geelong Sustainability Board and I are thrilled about what’s in store for the coming year. We plan to bring a fresh program of exciting events, projects, advocacy, and community resilience building activities across Geelong and surrounding regions.
As many of our members will already be aware, due to our rapid growth throughout 2021 and 2022 Geelong Sustainability has gone through a transition from a Committee to a Board of Management, and we now have a small team of executive staff and contractors led by our CEO, Dan Cowdell. The Board is responsible for setting the organisation’s strategy, governance, risk management, and managing the CEO. The CEO is responsible for delivering our strategy, managing our staff, volunteers, and the day to day operations of the organisation.
Our Board of Management has seen significant renewal at the November Annual General Meeting and now consists of seven board members from professional backgrounds each with extensive expertise in governance, strategy, risk management and subject matter expertise. You can meet our Board Members here.
I’d like to personally thank all outgoing Board Members; Vicki Perrett, Tim Adams, Jonathan Wright and Scott Barnes, for their contributions over the past years. In particular I’d like to acknowledge outgoing President Vicki Perrett. Geelong Sustainability would not be where it is today without her passion and commitment. I’m pleased to report that Vicki was awarded a life membership in recognition of her extraordinary contribution towards Geelong Sustainability over the past 10 years.
Our major focus for 2023 will be on the electrification of households and supporting residents to get off gas. We will be providing information sessions along with the option to participate in a purchasing program to help residents transition away from fossil fuels by retrofitting homes to be efficient, all-electric households powered by renewable energy. The program will launch later in 2023, but you can register your interest here to receive more information.
We’re looking forward to collaborating with organisations, government, business and community to help the region accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels and towards a renewable energy future. This focus will be delivered by our executive staff, who will also be working in partnership with our fantastic team of capable and dedicated volunteers to deliver other high priority projects across our four key pillars; Climate Change, Circular Economy, Sustainable Cities, and Renewable Energy.
In the background, the Board will be working on some important governance reviews, including the establishment of Governance and Audit and Risk subcommittees. The Board is also reviewing the rules of the association to check they are still appropriate for the organisation as it is currently operating. We also intend to review our 2025 Strategic Plan later in 2023. Our members will be kept informed regarding this work and any proposed changes at our quarterly member briefings, which we will be introducing from March.
We are excited for the next year ahead and the fantastic opportunity Geelong Sustainability has to make a real difference in our community. I hope to see you at one of our events very soon.
Yours Sincerely,
David Spear
President – Geelong Sustainability
