Ken is a Technical Director and National Lead for Sustainability at Arcadis. He has advised both the public and private clients on sustainability across a number of sectors including transport infrastructure, property, water, education and resources. He is an Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professional as well as a Verifier and Trainer for the Infrastructure Sustainability Council.  He has provided sustainability advice for many of the infrastructure mega projects in Australia including road, rail, light rail, road and social infrastructure. He advises major corporations, projects and Government on the development of organisational sustainability strategy to manage environmental and social impacts. Ken has almost 20 years of sustainability experience advising the private and public sector. His career started with Hyder Consulting focusing on carbon management and climate change adaptation strategy. In 2013, Ken joined a small consultancy specializing in sustainability strategy, life cycle thinking and value creation across the built environment, manufacturing, food and FMCG sectors. As part of the leadership team, the business grew to one of Australia’s largest dedicated sustainability consultancies. At Arcadis, his focus is moving from the “what” to the “how” for a sustainable future. He is devoted to weaving sustainability into design and engineering processes. Ken’s motivation is to work alongside engineers and designers to realise positive sustainability impact through clear visualization and storytelling.

Ruth has 18+ years’ experience in strategic ESG and sustainability  consulting focusing on sustainability reporting and  disclosure for clients across a range of sectors. 

Based in the Netherlands, Ruth has a strong track record of leading highly successful sustainability reporting and disclosure programmes. She achieves this by blending a client centred approach with an excellent understanding of current and future mandatory and discretionary reporting requirements and wider market drivers. 

Ruth is passionate about leading sustainability programmes which inherently move the strategic focus from box checking to value generating.

Ricky Bridge joined Downer in 2009, rising to the role of Group General Manager of Environment and Sustainability in 2015. With more than 22 years of dedicated experience in environmental and sustainability endeavours across both governmental and private spheres, Ricky brings a wealth of expertise to his position. He holds a degree in Environmental Science from Newcastle University and furthered his education with a Masters in Science and Technology from the University of New South Wales.

As Downer's Group General Manager for Environment and Sustainability, Ricky and his team spearhead the company's environmental and sustainability initiatives, shaping its strategic direction and performance. With over 24 years of experience in environmental management and corporate sustainability, Ricky possesses a comprehensive skill set spanning ESG, sustainability, shared value, environmental management, risk and compliance, due diligence, carbon management and energy efficiency, as well as sustainable procurement practices, including considerations for human rights and modern slavery.

Ricky's contributions have been pivotal in significant milestones for Downer, such as the establishment of a $1.4 billion Sustainability Linked Loan and, more recently, the formulation of Downer's Sustainability Debt Framework. Collaborating with internal stakeholders, he has bolstered Downer's sustainability credentials, resulting in the attainment of leading ESG ratings. Ricky has also been instrumental in setting Downer's Net Zero Targets and developing Climate Change and Decarbonisation strategies, ensuring their integration across the company's various service lines.

Ben Hale is a leading Sustainability Engineer with over 12 years of experience in Australia’s sustainability sector, principally across construction projects. As Gamuda’s Sustainability Lead, Ben helps to balance the sustainability requirements of complex infrastructure projects with the increasingly in-depth corporate sustainability reporting requirements. 

Ben is an advocate for progression of Gamuda’s corporate sustainability reporting across both the Australian and Malaysian systems. With differing requirements across both, implementing frameworks that align with global standards such as GRI and SASB while finding common ground and efficiencies is key to ensuring clarity and accuracy of reporting for Gamuda’s sustainability performance and progress. 

With a background in design and environmental engineering, Ben combines technical expertise with strategic insight driving sustainability and data-informed decision making into both project and corporate processes.