Rob Fowler accepts the well-deserved 2009 Sustainable Super Fund award.

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The 2009 Sustainable Super Fund award has pride of place in Rob Fowler's office. Although the Ethical Investor award names HESTA, Fowler's employer, as the recipient, it's largely this man's vision that has begun to move sustainable investment principles irrevocably into the Australian investment industry mainstream.

It's not just about big ideas, though: Fowler is dedicated to truly actioning sustainability within his field.

"What we're actually trying to do," he explains with his trademark enthusiasm, "is to have all fund managers consider sustainability issues in their selection of companies."

After all, sustainable businesses tend to be more profitable in the long run, he argues. They're better for investors' wallets as well as our planet's future.

In the wake of a global financial crisis fuelled by greed, championing sustainability within the finance industry seems both logical and necessary. But Fowler had sharpened his focus on investment sustainability even before he became HESTA's Executive Manager - Investments and Governance in 2004.

Sustainable by nature

"I've always been outdoorsy," Fowler grins. The two years he spent living on beautiful Churchill Island in Gippsland, where he lectured in financial accounting in the late 1980's, obviously suited his nature: these days, though he's based in Melbourne, Tasmania is Fowler's preferred holiday spot.

"My favourite walk is the Hazards beach and lookout walk on Freycinet," he says. "It's just a beautiful view, and a beautiful walk to do in a lovely, pristine area."

It's here that he can switch off from work, to "get outside and do things" like cycling, swimming and bush walking, or pursue his passion for wine when the weather turns bad.

Coupled with his enjoyment of nature, ultimately it was a growing awareness global warming that spurred Fowler to take action on sustainability.

"I'm fairly late to it," he says. "Climate change has been the real catalyst for me to start and take a more in-depth interest in what we're doing to our planet."

A unique position

Fowler routinely rides his bike to work, and encourages partner Trish, who doesn't ride, to catch public transport rather than drive. Along with recycling and reducing waste, his household, like thousands of others around the country, is embracing "the journey" toward greater sustainability.

But as an economist, Fowler could see that sooner or later, consumer concern about climate change would affect business, too. His focus on corporate governance expanded accordingly, to take in the other pieces of the business sustainability puzzle.

"It's really only been in the last five or six years that the market's started to recognise the influence of environmental and social factors on a company's ability to continue to generate wealth for its shareholders," he explains.

During that time, Fowler embraced both the concepts and the practicalities of sustainable investing. He used a scholarship he'd won to attend the Cambridge University's Prince of Wales Business and Environment Program. He joined the Investor Group on Climate Change, on whose committee he now holds a seat.

He also saw HESTA sign on to both the Carbon Disclosure Project and the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing - charters that actively promote sustainable business behaviour and reporting.

Fowler's professional experience - from early life as a chartered accountant, followed by roles in stockbroking, portfolio management, and business development - gave him deep insights into every corner of the finance industry. Now, through his role with one of Australia's largest industry super funds, he's responsible for the investment of around $14 billion of super savings.

This combination of knowledge, experience and personal interest has put Fowler in a unique position: he's one of the few people in Australia with the ability to have a real impact on the business side of the sustainability equation. It's a responsibility that he appreciates - and accepts - wholeheartedly.

Walking the talk

Although he might play down his green credentials, the work Fowler's already done to mainstream investment sustainability speaks for itself.

He's actively encouraging the investment industry to link the sustainability of companies' practices with their ability to generate returns for investors through ESG Research Australia.

Launched last year in conjunction with VicSuper and UniSuper, this initiative seeks to take the kinds of sustainability expectations Fowler places on HESTA's own fund managers and apply them across the industry.
Ultimately, he hopes, the result of this work will be that Australian investors "won't need to have a separate [investment] option for sustainability - it will be ingrained in all mainstream products."

A firm believer in leading by example, he's also overseen the adoption of a sustainability charter within his own organisation, to reduce the fund's carbon footprint and promote an awareness of sustainability among staff and fund members.

While many industry players struggle to put sustainability principles into practice, and the average consumer wonders if big business will ever truly embrace sustainability, Fowler takes the changes he's already making in his stride.

He describes his philosophy simply: "It's better to have people in the tent and moving forward slowly, rather than not moving at all."

But Fowler leaves you with the impression that if he's leading the charge, progress is inevitable.