Where it started
Freya arrived in Melbourne from the UK curious to see how local businesses approached sustainability. Two and a half years into her role at Vocus, she’s helping shape the answer.
Sustainability was part of Freya’s world long before it became her job. She grew up in a town just outside Brighton, UK, in a home her parents designed with sustainability in mind.
“My parents have always been passionate about it, so thinking about how we interact with the environment was part of everyday life,” she says.
She went on to study Geography at university because she enjoyed it, without a clear idea of where it would lead. Her first role at an environmental consultancy changed that.
“Until then, I’d assumed a career in sustainability meant working for a charity or NGO,” she says. “Realising that businesses also need people who can help turn sustainability ambitions into practical action opened up a whole career path I hadn’t really known existed.”
After four years living in Leeds, Freya made the move to Melbourne. Her biggest surprise was discovering that Australia does in fact have a winter. “Life here unfortunately doesn’t consist entirely of lying on the beach and surfing!” she says. Melbourne won her over anyway. “The people are super friendly and relaxed, and I feel very at home here.”
The Vocus role caught her attention because of its strong focus on social sustainability and the breadth of work involved.
What ESG looks like day to day
ESG stands for environmental, social and governance.
“ESG at Vocus is about understanding and managing the environmental and social impacts of our business, while also identifying opportunities to support our business and stakeholders,” Freya explains.
In practice, that covers a lot of ground. Climate action and modern slavery risk management sit alongside community partnerships and employee volunteering. Freya supports customer bids and tenders too, where sustainability is now part of how customers choose their suppliers.
For a digital infrastructure business, the social side carries real weight. Reliable connectivity can support greater digital inclusion for First Nations communities. Freya contributes to Vocus’ work to understand, track and report its activities in this area.
ESG touches almost every part of Vocus, so Freya works with teams including Procurement, Finance, Sales and Legal. That mix suits her. “I like the balance between analytical work and working with people.”
The work itself keeps changing. The introduction of mandatory climate-related reporting in Australia is changing the way businesses think about sustainability. For Freya, it shows how ESG is becoming a part of everyday business conversations.
“There’s more focus now on what sits behind the commitments: the actions being taken, how the risks are being managed and how progress is being tracked and reported.”
Learning the language of the business
Freya started out looking after community partnerships and volunteering and supporting Diversity & Belonging programs. Over time her remit grew. She has taken on greater responsibility for coordinating Vocus’ ESG Report and Modern Slavery Statement, alongside contributing to the evolution of Vocus’ ESG strategy.
“I’ve had to develop a much broader understanding of the business and learn how to turn complex ESG topics into practical recommendations that guide business decisions,” she says.
That growth has put her in front of senior leaders and given her a say in business priorities. She credits the people around her for helping her get there. “People are always open to help and coach you through projects.”
Coordinating Vocus’ GRESB assessment, a global benchmark for infrastructure industry performance and disclosure, put those skills to the test. It meant gathering evidence from teams with different priorities and systems. “It taught me a lot about the importance of building strong relationships,” she says.
Pulling the ESG Report together each year has a similar effect. Hearing about the wins and challenges of teams right across Vocus has given her a far wider view than she expected from a single role.
Still exploring
These days, Freya has found a rhythm that works. Hybrid working helps her balance both sides of the job. Office days are for building relationships, and home days give her space for detailed analysis.
Outside work, she stays active with running and Pilates and loves planning weekend trips with her partner and friends.
“Being relatively new to Australia is great motivation to keep exploring,” she says.
It’s the same curiosity that brought her here in the first place.
