Making her Mark: Lauren Gartlan

“Thiess has been very supportive to me over the years. I came back part-time after parental leave and was supported to work in a job-share arrangement as the Innovation Manager... it was a great experience that enriched the team and my approach to leading.”

Based in Brisbane as Head of Sustainability in the Group Strategy, Sustainability & Safety, Lauren has worked at Thiess for over 15 years.

While Lauren has moved away from her chemical engineering background into various roles over the years, she still leans into the need for process improvement and a structured approach to implementing change, every day.

She says, “The sustainability function consists of environmental management, ESG strategy and reporting and the development of a fugitive emissions capture service. My role these days is more strategically focused, but the drive (and enthusiasm) to keep finding ways to improve is still present, whether it is streamlining data collation processes so we can be more effective with analysis, improving how we engage with different stakeholder groups to share knowledge, or considering ways we might generate carbon credits as a business.”

When asked what she enjoyed about her role, Lauren says, “I am fortunate to work with such a diverse group of people across the business. Everyone has different technical backgrounds and topic knowledge, so being able to bring all these contributions together can be challenging, but is always rewarding.”
Reflecting on her career, Lauren is grateful for the support and opportunities at Thiess.

She says “I came back part-time after parental leave and was supported to work in a job-share arrangement as the Innovation Manager. It was an investment of time and effort with my team and manager to set it up effectively, but it was a great experience that enriched the team and my approach to leading. My fantastic job-share partner Jodie Bignall is still connected to Thiess as CEO of The International River Foundation. Even now, I continue to have flexibility in work hours that enables me to be an involved mum of two and Head of Sustainability.”

The flexibility in work hours is important for Lauren because outside the office she loves being with her family who keep her busy. Lauren says, “My kids are 4 and 5 and have energy to burn – whether it’s in the pool, kicking a footy, at the playground or the beach. That’s probably part of the reason one of my other favourite things to do is to sit in silence with a book and a glass of wine!”

To Lauren the future is bright.

She says “I’m really excited about how Thiess, and the resources industry is setting up for the future – there really isn’t ‘business as usual’ now, we need to be doing things differently and keep on improving to be a sustainable business. Finding a pathway to decarbonisation will be key, as will supporting our people in evolving their skillsets with technology. There is a lot of change to navigate, and the pace of that can be exhausting sometimes, but if we just keep striving to do better I think we will thrive.”