GERRI WARD
Gerri is the Principal Consultant at Oxygen Consulting. She is a sustainability and climate change specialist with 18+ years’ experience in sustainability leadership.
Prior to Oxygen, Gerri was a Director in the Climate Change and Sustainability team at EY, and country lead. At EY, Gerri led materiality assessments with PGG Wrightsons, Ballance Agrinutrients, Serko, and Argosy, sustainability strategies with the Wellington City Council, Trade Me, the Fred Hollows Foundation, AoFrio, and Te Papa, and climate risk reporting and disclosures with Freightways and Westpac NZ. She also led very successful “Sustainability 101” workshops with the SBC, the SBN, and NZTE.
In her time at Oxygen, she has led engagements with Christchurch City Holdings Ltd, Freightways, the Institute of Directors, Ecocentral, Trust Horizon, the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy, Zespri, Lyttelton Port, and CityCare. She currently works with the Boards of many high-profile New Zealand organisations (including the IoD itself) in delivering Board training on climate change impacts, reporting requirements, and transition planning.
Previously, she was the Head of Sustainability and Community at Z Energy for over 8 years; leading Z’s decarbonization pathway, climate reporting, community impact initiatives, and waste reduction activities.
Prior to Z she worked for central government for 7 years: first at the Ministry for Environment, where she led the Carbon Neutral Public Service programme and voluntary carbon markets advice to business; and at the Department of Conservation, where she led the Business and Biodiversity Offsetting CDRP Programme.
Gerri is a well-known thought leader through her regular LinkedIn articles, and her interview series’ with sustainability thought leaders and young entrepreneurs and innovators. She has spoken frequently at the Climate Change Business Conference, and at the SBN Conference, the Net Zero Summit, the CFO Summit and various industry conferences.
She has a Masters in International Law from the University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Waikato.
Gerri is a Member of the Institute of Directors NZ, and has previously held Board roles with the Sustainable Business Network, and as Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Business Council.