Sustainability Engineer
Name: Jaslyn Brown
Career stage: Mid-level - 5-10 years' experience
Working: On site, Office
High School Subjects: PDHPE, Business Studies, Advanced English, General Maths, Geography, SOR
Favourite: Geography was my favourite subject as I loved learning about the environment, how to protect it and I also loved learning about different cities, communities and ways of life around the world.
Further study: University
where and what: Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Honours) at UNSW
"Our purpose is to build buildings that will have the least impact on the environment and be the most comfortable and healthy for building occupants."
the inside scoop…
What does a Sustainability Engineer actually do? As a Sustainability Engineer, my role broadly involves managing many projects to ensure they meet their sustainability targets and goals. The goals are often achieving healthy and sustainable building certifications like Green Star or WELL Ratings, and reducing a building's environmental impact such as reducing the carbon emmissions, energy and water use. Our purpose is to build buildings and spaces that have the least impact on the environment and are the most comfortable and healthy for building occupants.
What does a day in your life at work look like? As I work across a few projects my tasks vary which is exciting. My day often involves many different activities such as checking the design and materials being installed on site, reviewing documents and compiling reports to show how the building is complying with the sustainability ratings or advising clients on how to achieve their goals.
What's the best part of your job? My favourite part of my job is making positive changes to the way we build and operate in construction to be more sustainable and minimise environmental impact. I also love working in a big team on site, there is a lot of camaraderie and passion in delivering projects.
What made you realise construction could be for you? I loved beautiful buildings and spaces which is why I studied Interior Architecture, however, when I was studying I realised that I preferred the black-and-white, practical nature of construction as opposed to conceptual design. I realised I could work on building the beautiful buildings and spaces through construction, so I applied for a cadetship at Built and haven't looked back.
What would you tell your high school self about working in construction? That it's not just a males job, anyone can do it! Over the last 6 years working in construction I have gone from being the only female on a project team, to being in a team with over 50% females which is great to see equal representation. Also there are so many different and exciting roles, you don't just have to be on site or just in the office.
Tell us about a time you made a difference in your work. As part of my role I was responsible for developing a library of health and wellbeing resources for all workers on Built sites to better their health. I created an online library with 24/7 access to videos, guidelines and more on the common health issues faced by people in the construction industry which I hope will make a difference in many peoples lives. I was lucky enough to work with Foundo Blue to incorporate their resources on mental health wellness and suicide prevention into our library and bringing representatives to our sites to raise awareness, provide links to supports, promotes group support networks and advocate self-care across the NSW construction industry.
What are you excited about doing in the future, working in construction? More adaptive re-use projects, taking advantage of existing assets and repurposing them for the future. Doing more with less is the best way to decarbonise the industry and reduce our environmental impact which is important to me.
Jaslyn is open to engaging further via: Taking a student for work experience, Speaking at a high school, Mentoring a student.
If you'd like to enquire more, please fill out the form below with the subject name: "Jaslyn Brown" and we'll pass your message on.