Sustainability Leadership category

Dr Ray O’Brien has led research-informed, whole-of-institution change towards a more sustainable and Tiriti-led university through the Leadership by Learning Design model he developed. As Tumuaki / Head of Sustainability, with guidance from their Office of Māori Development, Ray co-led the development of Tī Kōuka: The Sustainability Strategic Framework. Tī Kōuka has reshaped how Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago governs, teaches, researches and operates.

Ray’s leadership is grounded in active decolonisation, embracing complexity, futures thinking and transformational learning experiences. As an ally, his approach is to create space, support others to lead and help embed sustainability across learning, research and operations. This work has contributed a significant number of papers and publications aligning to the SDGs, a reduction in total emissions, and award-winning, sector-leading practice across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Ray O’Brien – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago

Impacts & Benefits

  • Embedded sustainability across the whole institution, helping embed Tī Kōuka as a strategic framework into governance, teaching, research, operations and student life.
  • Built broad ownership and participation, with more than 400 people involved in localised planning workshops and a 70-member implementation network driving ongoing action.
  • Strengthened sustainability in learning and research, with 86% of papers and 37% of publications aligned to the SDGs, alongside development of the new Bachelor of Sustainability.
  • Delivered measurable operational impact, including a 32% reduction in total emissions, 45% reduction in staff air-travel emissions, and 68% reduction in landfill emissions since 2019.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Aspiring to a Tiriti-led approach, shaping sustainability leadership within the treaty-based context of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Acted as an ally in decolonising sustainability, ensuring space for mātauraka Māori and ways of working.
  • Integrated research, practice and learning, using evidence to inform action.
  • Connected leadership to the Tī Kōuka framework, particularly Whāia te ara tī, which guides the leadership and governance needed for regenerative transition.
  • Embedded sustainability as a shared responsibility across governance, strategy and institutional culture.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Showed how universities can act as place-based anchor institutions, delivering sustainability impact that strengthens both campuses and communities.
  • Embedded Tiriti-led sustainability in practical ways, demonstrating how mātauraka Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi can shape strategy, governance and action.
  • Created a transferable model of co-leadership, developed with the Office of Māori Development and grounded in long-term capability building.
  • Shared learning across sectors, with Tī Kōuka informing sustainability strategies for NGOs, councils and a health-tech company.
  • Amplified sector-wide practice, through publications, conferences, podcasts, peer exchanges and social media engagement.
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Top 3 learnings

  • Whāia te mātauraka hei oraka mō tātou. Pursuit of knowledge, is for the wellbeing of all.
  • Find every tiny win and celebrate it as widely as possible: leadership by FOMO!
  • That centering Te Tiriti o Waitangi and indigenous perspectives are enablers to longer-term thinking about complex sustainability challenges.

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Category finalists

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Sustainability Leadership category

Dr Ray O’Brien has led research-informed, whole-of-institution change towards a more sustainable and Tiriti-led university through the Leadership by Learning Design model he developed. As Tumuaki / Head of Sustainability, with guidance from their Office of Māori Development, Ray co-led the development of Tī Kōuka: The Sustainability Strategic Framework. Tī Kōuka has reshaped how Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago governs, teaches, researches and operates.

Ray’s leadership is grounded in active decolonisation, embracing complexity, futures thinking and transformational learning experiences. As an ally, his approach is to create space, support others to lead and help embed sustainability across learning, research and operations. This work has contributed a significant number of papers and publications aligning to the SDGs, a reduction in total emissions, and award-winning, sector-leading practice across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Ray O’Brien – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago

Top 3 learnings

  • Whāia te mātauraka hei oraka mō tātou. Pursuit of knowledge, is for the wellbeing of all.
  • Find every tiny win and celebrate it as widely as possible: leadership by FOMO!
  • That centering Te Tiriti o Waitangi and indigenous perspectives are enablers to longer-term thinking about complex sustainability challenges.
Dr Ray O’Brien – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago

Impacts & Benefits

  • Embedded sustainability across the whole institution, helping embed Tī Kōuka as a strategic framework into governance, teaching, research, operations and student life.
  • Built broad ownership and participation, with more than 400 people involved in localised planning workshops and a 70-member implementation network driving ongoing action.
  • Strengthened sustainability in learning and research, with 86% of papers and 37% of publications aligned to the SDGs, alongside development of the new Bachelor of Sustainability.
  • Delivered measurable operational impact, including a 32% reduction in total emissions, 45% reduction in staff air-travel emissions, and 68% reduction in landfill emissions since 2019.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Aspiring to a Tiriti-led approach, shaping sustainability leadership within the treaty-based context of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Acted as an ally in decolonising sustainability, ensuring space for mātauraka Māori and ways of working.
  • Integrated research, practice and learning, using evidence to inform action.
  • Connected leadership to the Tī Kōuka framework, particularly Whāia te ara tī, which guides the leadership and governance needed for regenerative transition.
  • Embedded sustainability as a shared responsibility across governance, strategy and institutional culture.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Showed how universities can act as place-based anchor institutions, delivering sustainability impact that strengthens both campuses and communities.
  • Embedded Tiriti-led sustainability in practical ways, demonstrating how mātauraka Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi can shape strategy, governance and action.
  • Created a transferable model of co-leadership, developed with the Office of Māori Development and grounded in long-term capability building.
  • Shared learning across sectors, with Tī Kōuka informing sustainability strategies for NGOs, councils and a health-tech company.
  • Amplified sector-wide practice, through publications, conferences, podcasts, peer exchanges and social media engagement.

Supported by

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