Macquarie University graduate Emma gets paid to save the planet
For Sydney-based Emma Handley, going to work means making a major difference. As an environment and sustainability scientist her daily to-do list involves managing sustainable development and contaminated land management projects and drafting climate risk evaluations. And yep – like with most next-gen STEM pathways, getting there was half the fun.
“It started in high school,” she says. “Earth and Environmental Science was always one of my favourite subjects – particularly the term we spent on Oceanography.”
Sustainable study
Looking for a degree that allowed her to deep dive into theory, but that was also peppered with practical units, Emma enrolled in a Bachelor of Marine Science at Macquarie University. She took classes across the entire Science and Engineering Faculty – diving into areas as diverse as biology, geo-science and meteorology – and was lucky enough to head to Indonesia on exchange after landing a New Colombo Plan scholarship.
“I completed one semester at Udayana University in Bali,” she says. “It was an amazing way to develop practical and cross-cultural skills, as well as expanding on the theory I had learnt.”
The real deal
While at Macquarie Uni Emma grabbed every opportunity to apply her research skills in the real world, putting her hand up for extracurricular opportunities – a standout being a geology excursion across New Zealand.
She even followed up her final year with a Masters where she explored a topic she was particularly passionate about – the impact of a changing climate on fishery supply chains.
And now? With two roles in two different environmental organisations (!!!) – Emma has double the workload, but is making quadruple the impact.
“In my core role, I manage contaminated land investigation and remediation projects,” she says of her gig at EP Risk Management. “We look at contamination issues affecting soil, groundwater, oceans and rivers from current and historic land uses.”
And then there’s her operations position at Climate Risk Advisory, where she uses her data and climate science smarts to help businesses respond to potential climate problems.
And her advice for those keen to get into a similar field? “Get as much experience as you can outside of the classroom!” she says. “Internships or research positions are a great way to learn more about the kinds of roles you might want to end up in.”
Emma’s pathway to becoming an environment and sustainability scientist
- Bachelor of Marine Science, Macquarie University
- Master of Sustainability, University of Sydney
- Environment and sustainability scientist, EP Risk Management
- Operations manager – Climate Risk Advisory
This profile first appeared in Careers with STEM: Science 2025 and was produced in partnership with Macquarie University
