For Female Rising Star Award winner, Jessica Holz, it is a privilege to work in an industry that is making a positive difference to the community and the environment.
“This is something that has always been important to me,” she said.
“I think we have a very innovative industry that undertakes important work that benefits the community, even though we really are the quiet achievers.
“The HVACR industry has shown leadership in sustainability and reducing emissions for many years now but there is still more work to do.
“I think a Rising Star Award winner should be an advocate for the industry and passionate about using their skills and expertise for positive change.”
And as the Queensland sustainability leader at Aurecon there are plenty of opportunities for Holz to make a contribution. Outside of her career as a mechanical engineer Holz is a keen student of sustainable design, climate science and biodiversity conservation.
She is eager to further develop Aurecon’s sustainability offering and to continue to work with her 'amazing team' to bring more ideas to life, especially services around regenerative design.
“This is where we can take sustainability from having a reduced impact to having a net positive impact on the environment,” she said.
“As an industry we need to continue to improve system efficiency, reduce our reliance on global warming refrigerants and improve our use of passive design principles.”
When asked about the industry's biggest challenges, Holz said ongoing financial pressure is a problem.
“The pressure is felt right across the industry from the subcontractor to the consultant, many businesses are forced to cut costs and deliver projects on a reduced budget to remain competitive,” she said.
“But the defining challenge of our time is climate change.”
Once again the Rising Star awards – male and female – were sponsored by ABB with the company’s HVAC segment manager, Paul Burrows, announcing the winner.
At the time of the awards presentation Holz was preparing to give birth to her second child and was unable to travel to CCN Live.