Joan Ko is a sustainability leader at Arup, where she is also project director for projects initiated by the Resilience Shift. The Resilience Shift, supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and hosted by Arup, is helping to build a global community equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to drive practice towards better, more resilient critical infrastructure and a safer world. The Resilience Shift has worked with universities and companies around the world to develop vital resources and case studies in water and energy resilience, investigations into the role of legislation to drive critical infrastructure, and understanding how Private Public Partnerships can embed resilience outcomes.

Joan works with government, infrastructure, investors and designers to develop mechanisms for shared value and sustainability impact. Examples of her recent projects include: leading the business case for the Fishermans Bend integrated water, energy and waste hub; directing a global investigation into the role of water utilities in integrated city planning; and setting mandatory requirements for living infrastructure in the Melbourne municipality. She has a particular focus on the human dimensions of city resilience.

Joan leads a team of 100 economists, planners, designers and operations consultants, with a focus on embedding sustainability and resilience in cities and transport projects. Previously, Joan was Arup’s Australasia leader for sustainability consulting. Joan is also appointed to the Working Heritage Committee of Management, which repurposes government heritage buildings for community and economic benefit. Joan is currently working with Arup Australasia’s Board to implement the Sustainable Development Goals throughout Arup’s business.