LMS Energy’s Tiana Nairn could be one of the very few people who is doing the exact kind of job they imagined for themselves when they were 15 years old.
Tiana Nairn grew up enamoured by British biologist and natural historian Sir David Attenborough’s work. She was exposed at a young age to environmental activist David Suzuki and his research into environmental conservation. So, it was no surprise when Tiana opted to study science and environmental law at university.
A strong belief that good policy matters has since seen Tiana at the forefront of significant strategic waste policy and law reforms for the South Australian Environment Protection Authority (EPA). She’s now leading the LMS Energy policy team, considering waste, circular economy, and carbon-related laws across Australia and New Zealand.
“I studied under an eminent professor who did some groundbreaking investigations into South Australia’s arid lands,” Tiana said. “I thought I could trust people like him to do the investigation, but wondered how identified needs were then pursued?
“Applied policy goes into the details. It examines the options, opportunities, and barriers from A to B. It works to achieve goals on a unified level.
“Within the waste and recycling industry, we have a lot of good opportunities to help create practical policy that protects our environment.”
Tiana’s work with the South Australian EPA has led the way for improvements to waste laws in Australia. The state-mandated resource recovery of most waste and selected landfill bans were well ahead of national efforts. The laws introduced important offence provisions that made tackling illegal dumping a simpler task than it had been previously. They later extended powers and opportunities in that space.
“The South Australian Government has been progressive in stepping forward and empowering regulation to act directly on waste versus some of the more general pollution laws,” Tiana says. “It was exciting to be part of that.”
After 21 years in government, Tiana moved to LMS Energy, seeing the opportunity to help more directly reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. LMS Energy exists to protect the environment from the impact of waste and is Australia’s leading methane abatement and bioenergy company.
Recognised as an innovator, the company’s ‘firsts’ include purifying biogas for injection into gas networks in 1988, generating electricity from biogas in 1990, generating carbon credits from biogas in 2000, and installing Australia’s first solar project built on a landfill site in 2017.
The recovery of landfill biogas reduces methane emissions and provides a reliable renewable energy source. Across 67 sites in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, LMS Energy captures harmful methane and converts it into clean, reliable, renewable energy or destroys it using flares.
Each year, LMS Energy abates greenhouse gases equivalent to nearly five million tonnes of carbon, making it the largest carbon abatement company under Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund. Its sites collectively generate more than 600,000 megawatt hours of baseload renewable energy–enough to power 115,000 homes daily.
The company’s methane abatement is equivalent to planting 68 million trees over 10 years, or removing 1.6 million cars from the road every year.
LMS is also innovating in the recovery of organic waste, to enable the capture of biogas, heat and nutrients from suitable organic matter. It has commenced operating its own anaerobic digestion (AD) pilot facility in South Australia, an Australian first, and is pursuing several other large AD projects across Australia, including agricultural projects.
“Here is a company passionate about the circular economy and achieving massive carbon reductions”
“LMS is experienced in taking an initial idea through to commercialisation, and now I get to have a closer connection to actions driving positive change at ground level,” Tiana says.
Tiana considers policy directions within different jurisdictions and how LMS Energy can work within that space. She considers laws in detail, emerging concepts, and available opportunities.
She says that while she always believed in the importance of policy, her role now more than ever highlights the need for clear, certain, and balanced policy.
“When you are a company looking to invest in significant assets with multi-decade lives, having that clear policy direction and intent is really significant,” she says. “I’m able to help make sure we do the right thing by our environment and are supporting businesses with a level playing field and policy certainty.”
The South Australian Branch President of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia and an active member of Bioenergy Australia’s Renewable Gas Alliance, Tiana has also lectured at UniSA on environmental policy and regulation.
She sees the need for more integrated policy often, with a crossover between waste, energy, and planning policies needed to help deliver the big picture –having the right systems to drive waste avoidance and higher-order outcomes.
A culture of innovation to achieve those higher-order outcomes motivated Tiana to join LMS Energy. The company is committed to doing things right and protecting the environment. That commitment extends to policies and initiatives to attract and retain a diverse workforce. All jobs at LMS Energy are offered as part-time roles, including operational jobs that have been redesigned to be part-time or flexible. A dedicated ‘wellbeing hour’ of an employee’s choice is offered weekly, and there’s the option to ‘work from anywhere’ for short periods, including overseas.
Staff have access to leadership courses and mentoring opportunities, including the company’s “Women Leaders: Own Your Success” training through the Australian Institute of Management, 10-weeks employer-paid parental leave and return to work support payments, and wellbeing rooms with childrens play areas and breastfeeding facilities.
“A culture of ‘keeping on stepping forward’, implementing progressive policies aimed at improving diversity, employee wellbeing and job satisfaction, is evident all the time at LMS Energy,” Tiana says.
“As leaders in the sector, we have the responsibility to make interesting jobs accessible to all.”
For more information, visit: www.lms.com.au
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