Mark O'Brien Email & Phone Number

Canberra, Australia

Providing utility, commercial, industrial and SME clients with the full range of climate change advice and services (carbon accounting, emissions reporting, carbon management, emission reductions and quality offsets) as well as exploring renewable energy and sustainability solutions.Assisting clients with external GHG reporting (NGERS, GRI indicators, sustainability, NWC NPR) and internal reporting and tracking of emissions and mitigation actions. External reporting regularly and successfully audited, including NGERS.Technical advice to Government on carbon issues - previous projects focussed on inventory methodologies, abatement assessment, reporting requirements and the provision of sectoral (industrial processes, waste) inventory development and advice to Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts. Completed the first full carbon footprint case study of an Australian feature film, "My Year Without Sex" (directed by Sarah Watt, starring Matt Day and Sascha Horler), providing the full range of carbon services. Services included inventory development, advice on mitigation options, provision of carbon offsets, arrangement of sustainability contribution in support of indigenous women. The film subsequently won the Australian Director’s Guild’s GRASS (Getting Real About Sustainable Screens) award for a feature film. This project also contributed to the 2009 CEnvP of the Year award.Production of technical reports for input into impact assessments, review and assessment of specific components of impact assessments and provision of expert witness services. The key specialties provided to the impact assessments input are greenhouse emissions and abatement, climate change impacts and energy efficiency.

Canberra, Australia

President of the ACT Divison Committee of the EIANZ that represents and provides activities and information for its members. Also work with the National Executive and Council of the Institute.EIANZ ACT and Surrounds is unique within the Institute in that it not only supports EIANZ members within the Australian Capital Territory Division but also brings together EIANZ members in the surrounding regions of NSW.Members within the Division come from a wide range of public agencies, private companies and educational institutions. The Division is active in promoting and advancing ethical and competent environmental practice by holding professional development events, providing information to members and making submissions and representations to Government.

Sydney, Australia

Comprehensively involved with the successful completion of the Greenhouse Friendly™ accredited Avoided Deforestation project ("Minding the Carbon Store") in Queensland. Project prevented the release of about 1,250,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions stored in the vegetation across more than 12 000 hectares. The project demonstrated that market mechanisms and verified emission reductions can stop forest destruction, provide low cost abatement and economic benefits to landholders. Project’s design and underpinning concepts are promoted internationally as a viable approach to reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). Project utilised best practice design and satisfied Greenhouse Friendly™ requirements - permanence, leakage, additionality, verifiability, and buffers as risk management strategy. Project was a 2007 Banksia Award finalist and a 2007 United Nations Association of Australia Climate Change Award finalist.

Canberra, Australia

Contributing Author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), Chapter 2 “Implications of Different Definitions and Generic Issues”, published in 2000.Provided technical and editorial input, and reviewed, analysed and commented on various chapters in the LULUCF Special Report. Worked in close collaboration with the Report’s Leading Authors, travelling to Washington to expedite finalisation of chapters.Developed a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) “Step-by-Step Guide” for potential use by Australia and international community prior to COP6 in 2000. Developed CDM case studies (hypothetical and/or based on real projects) which were provided to the Australian and USA governments prior to COP6 in 2000, covering avoided deforestation, plantation forestry, revegetation and catchment scale projects.Coordinated the CRC’s scientific input into a consultancy looking at the carbon farming potential of indigenous lands across Australia.Conducted detailed analysis, from remote sensing data, of the percentage of forest captured under various land cover criteria for landmasses and individual countries. Interrogated databases for the biomass carbon content across latitudes/ countries/ vegetation types, as well as the rates of deforestation and reforestation/ afforestation.

Advised electricity utilities (generation, transmission, distribution and retail), renewable energy and cogeneration companies, and water and sewerage utilities across Australia. Assisted them to quantify their GHG inventories, identify and track mitigation actions, set performance indicators and to report these to Australian Government and the public. Program recognised at the time by OECD as best voluntary industry GHG program worldwide.

Graduate Diploma Of Environmental Studies (Honours), Decentralised Renewable Energy Systems

Honours (First Class) awarded. Thesis title: “Self-Sufficiency in Domestic Energy Supply: Systems, Attitudes and Experiences in Tasmania”..

Bachelor Of Arts, Resource And Environmental Management

Bachelor Of Science, Human Ecology