| 17 T T Rosa Watson Commitment to sustainability honoured Heather McKay General Manager Environmental and Sustainability at Westland Mineral Sands was named IOQNZ Leader of the Year at the New Zealand Women in Extractives Awards. Westland Mineral Sands REGIONAL Leaders in heritage and archaeological consulting services. •Archaeological Authority Applications •Archaeological and heritage monitoring and survey •Archaeological and Heritage Impact Assessments for Resource Consents, Fast-Track Applications and DOC Access Agreements heritageproperties.co.nz 03 477 3933 info@heritageproperties.co.nz Over an extensive career, Heather McKay helped a number of companies and organisations improve environmental and sustainability. This year, her work in her role as General Manager Environmental and Sustainability at Westland Mineral Sands (WMS) has been recognised at the New Zealand Women in Extractives Awards where she was named IOQNZ Leader of the Year. Heather says she is driven by being involved in things that create positive progress for industry, community, individuals, and the environment. “I’ve got a strong interest in rural and regional New Zealand with specific focus on primary industries, environmental outcomes, opportunities for people, and how these things intersect.” She has a broad range of experience developed over her career, including resource and environmental management, farming, mining and conservation. She has worked for local and central government organisations, farming bodies and the private sector. She has also worked in a number of voluntary roles, which she says focus on passion areas largely around people growth, learning and connection. “Things like the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards and Rural Women NZ,” she says. After finishing school in Collingwood, she spent a year in rural Argentina as an exchange student before studying in Canterbury and working in Australia and moving to the West Coast with her husband to pursue a farming opportunity. “We spent nearly 20 years on the Coast, growing a dairying business, family, and for me my career.” Now based in Tasman, she still returns frequently to the Coast as part of her role with WMS. She firmly believes environmental sustainability can work hand in hand with industry. “Especially in primary industries where there are so many interdependencies between the land and industry.” She says to achieve positive outcomes, involvement from a variety of stakeholders is important, alongside genuine willingness to listen and find common ground. “It’s primarily about relationships, built up over time, and establishing trust. “When evaluating success, on a personal level, I’ll ask myself questions like, did I work in line with my values, did I make a difference, how did I show up for others, were there things I could have done better or differently. “I definitely don’t get it right every time, and it’s important to both acknowledge success as well as opportunities for growth.” “It was such a good example of a team working strongly together, of genuine engagement with stakeholders and the community....” A standout moment for Heather was in a previous role where she brought senior government officials to farms to talk directly with farmers about environmental policy implications and get a first-hand understanding of what various proposals meant on the ground, as well as seeing just how much nature-based work is already happening. She adds this is equally true in the mining sector. “People have no idea just how much environmental and conservation work mining actually contributes too”. More recently with WMS, the Mananui resource consent process is something she is proud of the team achieving. “It was such a good example of a team working strongly together, of genuine engagement with stakeholders and the community, and of a robust environmental plan that seeks positive outcomes for nature. “That there was such a clear commissioner decision and no appeals speaks to the success of the programme.” Success is also in the smaller moments, she says. “Every time I walk on the Kawatiri Coastal Trail near Westport, or see Kororā/Blue Penguin footprints on the beach at Okari, I am proud and grateful that the work I’m part of contributes to these things.” This year was her first time going to a Women in Extractives Awards event. “It was inspiring to be in a room full of people who were there to celebrate and inspire women in the industry — such a positive vibe.” She was “honoured and humbled” to receive the Leader of the Year Award. “Particularly because bringing purpose and values into leadership is important to me — things like integrity, wholeheartedness, genuineness, and growth. “There are so many great women working in the sector though, and so many of them would have been worthy recipients of the award, particularly my colleagues at WMS; this award is for them as much as me.”
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