Sam Mostyn awarded AO in Australia Day honours

The challenge of the pandemic for business was a “dress rehearsal” for the challenge of managing climate change issues.

Sam Mostyn. Picture: David Geraghty, The Australian.

Company directors were now under increasing pressure to consider climate change risks as a key issue, according to Citibank Australia’s consumer bank chair Sam Mostyn.

“The big challenges we are all dealing with are the response to climate change and broader sustainability issues,” she told the Australian on Monday.

Ms Mostyn, who has been awarded an AO in the Australia Day honours for her services to business and sustainability and to women, and is also a director of Mirvac and Transurban and chair of Alberts Group Services.

She said the challenge of the COVID pandemic over the past year for business was a “dress rehearsal” for the challenge of managing climate change issues.

She said Australian business had taken the lead in “ensuring we have a low carbon economy front and centre in our planning.”

“Directors responsibilities now include the need to ensure the company is prepared for climate change risks and opportunities.”

She said managing climate change risks was “one of the next big opportunities for Australian business.”

Ms Mostyn said the election of President Biden would also add to the impetus for business and governments to take action on climate change.

She said investors were also pressing companies and company directors for their plans to cope with climate change and to reduce their company’s carbon emissions.

“It has become a community issue,” she said.

“If it is not the top of the list for our investors, it is the next best thing.”

As a senior executive with insurance group IAG, Ms Mostyn was involved in the establishment of the Australian business roundtable on climate change in 2006 which included IAG and Westpac.

“The insurance and the banking sector could see the first signs of what climate change could mean for the economy,” she said.

“All of the findings have played out as we predicted including incidences of extreme weather.”

“It will be critical to the success of the economy to make sure that business does not fail on this test.”

Mr Mostyn, who became president of Chief Executive Women last November, said more work would need to be done to ensure that women were not disadvantaged by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the economic implications pandemic had fallen more heavily on women as they stepped back from full time work or even gave up jobs to help look after family members and care for children.

“COVID has deepened the inequality in the system,” she said.

“More women than men have lost their jobs or gone to part time jobs,” she said.

She said that good corporate leaders should be looking at the lessons of the pandemic including the use of flexible working conditions and working from home.

“Good corporate leaders should be looking at the benefits which accrue to people from being allowed to work flexibly,” she said.

“This is a good moment for business to think differently and look at the advantages of flexible work.”

“We need to take the best of what worked during the COVID period and incorporate it in the way we work.”

Ms Mostyn was one of the first women commissioners of the AFL, a role she held from 2005 to 2016, and has been a non executive director of the Sydney Swans since 2017.

She was a board member of Climate Works Australia from 2009 to 2019 and a board member of the Climate Council since 2013.

Her former directorships include Virgin Australia and insurance group Covermore.

Born in Canberra she worked as a solicitor for law firm Gilbert and Tobin, and was a senior communications adviser to former Prime Minister Paul Keating from 1995 and 1996 before becoming director of corporate affairs for Optus and then group director, human resources for Cable and Wireless and then for IAG.

Her philanthropic work has included being chair of Carriageworks from 2012 to 2019, chair of Ausfilm since 2019, a board member of the Australia Council for the Arts, from 2010 to 2016, a board member of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2005 to 2014 and president of the Australian Museum from 2009 to 2011 and a trustee from 2002 to 2011.