Making an impact with a sustainable job at Goodman

Marie Maggiordomo joined Goodman in 2014. Since she came on board, the business hasn’t stopped evolving and Marie has kept on growing and working in different roles. In 2017, she started working on Innovation & Sustainability. “Being sustainable is key if you want to remain relevant and future-proof,” she says. “At Goodman, we don’t ‘go green’ because we have to; we do it because we truly believe in making an impact.” Convinced that there is no such thing as a ‘magic sustainability formula’, Marie and the team explore various paths – from carbon emissions to biodiversity, the wellbeing of employees on site, through to the types of buildings Goodman develops to the mindset of the entire workforce. As a result, Marie is certainly not the only one at Goodman who considers the environment a key priority in her day-to-day job.

A sustainable job is a team effort

Marie stresses the importance of working together as a team. This is true for Goodman as a whole, but especially for the Innovation & Sustainability team, which works across all of Goodman’s departments. “Whatever decision we make needs to be implemented by other teams,” Marie explains. “And our jobs doesn’t end there. It’s a question of leveraging the teams that have the local knowledge we require to make things happen.” More specifically, the technical managers know best what works in their country, and Marie and her team count on their support and determination to achieve long-term change.

Making a real impact

The construction industry accounts for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, so there is clearly room for improvement. Marie: “We need to work with the entire supply chain, of course, but we can definitely make an impact as a team, too. I am proud to say that Goodman has always been a front-runner in sustainability, and is now even considered a leader in the field.”

The fact that the innovations introduced by Marie and her team have a visible effect is one of the aspects of her job she loves the most: “It is rewarding to see the positive impact of your actions on the environment – to see your ideas implemented and to be there every step of the way, from analysis to execution. If you have a solid plan, you can make things happen. And if you fail, that’s okay, as long as you learn from the experience.” Marie likes it that everyone at Goodman gets the opportunity to try and to do better next time.

Opportunities for personal growth

Lastly, Marie is especially fond of Goodman’s flat organisational structure. “I’m leading the Innovation & Sustainability team,” she says, “but we don’t have titles. We have roles instead. And because those roles keep on changing, I continue learning all the time, and no two days look the same.” Likewise, Goodman as a company is constantly evolving, Marie concludes: “We don’t accept the status quo. We want to be ahead of the market, and we always go that one step further. We continually improve what we do and how we do it. We don’t wait for change: we create it. That’s how we not only adapt to the world around us, but also shape that world.”

Want to make a difference, like Marie? Take a look at our job vacancies, and get inspired by Marie’s video testimonial.