Impact by Design is a collaborative event presented by Engineers Australia and the Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ), designed to highlight the practical, on-the-ground work environmental engineers and environmental professionals deliver every day. Bringing together leading practitioners and a facilitated Q&A panel, the event showcases a cross-section of real-world environmental engineering practice and the impact it has on communities, ecosystems and infrastructure.

The program spans core disciplines that shape environmental outcomes across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand:

• Contamination assessment and remediation
• Environmental planning
• Water
• Sustainability and climate change

Each speaker will provide an accessible, practice-focused talk that illustrates how environmental engineering decisions are made, how challenges are managed, and how multidisciplinary teams work together to deliver better outcomes. The concluding panel session will bring the speakers together for an open Q&A, allowing attendees to explore connections across disciplines, share lessons learned, and discuss the skills needed for future environmental practice. A central theme of Impact by Design is the value of collaboration between engineers, scientists, planners and environmental professionals.

By presenting the environment in practice - rather than theory - the event highlights how EA and EIANZ members collectively shape project outcomes, improve environmental performance, and respond to evolving expectations around sustainability, climate risk, community impacts and regulatory compliance. Whatever your engineering discipline, this holistic event offers a concise, insightful look at the profession in action and the diverse pathways environmental engineers take to make a measurable difference.

Meet our Speakers

Matthew Tendam | Associate Environmental Engineer, Aurecon

Matthew has a depth of experience on delivering environmental considerations to multi-disciplinary engineering and advisory projects. He has delivered on projects across a range of industries including infrastructure, resources, defence, energy, water, and mining. This depth of experience allows him to tailor environmental inputs to the specific project and industry. He can manage specialists to develop the required inputs concisely and ensure they are fit for purpose. He has implemented innovative and traditional assessment and remedial techniques at sites in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Zoe McLaughlin | Associate, BD Infrastructure

Zoe is the current Vice President of the NSW Division of EIANZ and an Associate focusing on Environmental Planning at bd infrastructure, with a degree in Environmental Engineering from UNSW. Zoe is passionate about achieving positive environmental and community outcomes on infrastructure projects through environmental planning. Zoe has particular expertise in environmental impact assessment for large energy and transport infrastructure. She is experienced in coordinating large multi-disciplinary teams of environmental specialists and working closely with other engineering disciplines to avoid and minimise environmental constraints through design.

Additional speakers to be confirmed.

Event Registration

Register for this event at the Engineers Australia website. Click on the "Register Here" link below.