With 12 years under his belt at the Port of Brisbane, our Manager Environment Michael Linde has seen, and steered, significant change across our Port precinct, while also enjoying the flexibility to be present and share special time with his young, growing family.
Early days left a lasting impression
When Michael joined the Port as the Environmental Systems Advisor, he’d been told by the team that robust environmental management was important to the business, but he was blown away by the volume of research that had already been undertaken by the Port.
“I remember looking through the library not long after I joined and there were shelves of reports outlining the environmental research the Port had undertaken – most of it voluntarily – and I remember thinking, this is amazing.
“The research blew me away. It made a really strong impact on me initially – I knew I was working for an organisation that prioritised the work and was willing to invest. It’s great knowing I’ve continued the Port’s environmental work and contributed to projects that have built upon that strong record and history.”
Fast forward to today, Michael is overseeing important initiatives including our offsite stormwater program and renewable energy projects, as well as the Port’s research and monitoring program and environmental management.
Purposeful projects to be proud of
Michael has worked on and delivered his fair share of projects over the years to help protect and enhance the unique surrounding environment.
“Working to understand the sources of sediment to our shipping channel including the Bay, and the offsite stormwater program has been a career highlight for me.
“It doesn’t just benefit the environment and the Port, but a wide range of our stakeholders, particularly our farmers upstream – the sort of outcome you’re always aiming for as an environmental professional. A lot has changed in that space in the last 10 years throughout Queensland, and the Port’s played a critical role in helping to demonstrate the scale of waterway erosion as well as identifying and delivering solutions.
“I’ve also really enjoyed working in the renewable energy space. It’s been great to see the advancements in solar energy – during FY23 over 20% of our electricity was generated by our onsite renewables. It was a marginal technology from a financial point of view when I started, but it’s advanced rapidly and it’s now a standard source of electricity in our energy mix here at the Port.”
Across the board, sustainability and environmental management has become a core consideration for the wider business, an outcome Michael is very proud of.
“People across the organisation have embraced environmental management as part of their core role, which is why we have a strong reputation in the environment space, and that’s enabled the organisation to achieve a lot more than would otherwise be the case.”
Flexibility for a growing family
Looking back on a personal milestone, Michael was the first father at the Port to take primary carer parental leave, saying the flexibility it provided his family is another reason he’s stayed so long.
“The Port gave me a lot of flexibility – I was able to work a four-day week after my son was born for an extended period, and then when my daughter was born, I took 16-weeks parental leave.”
“I had that amazing time with my family and the leave allowed us to settle into our new normal and find a balance.”
“My wife also runs her own business, so it meant we both had the flexibility to prioritise parenthood and our careers – it made the whole experience that much better for our family. It’s not an opportunity everyone gets, and it was greatly appreciated.”
Best career he never imagined…
Michael’s the first to say he never imagined he’d stay in one role for so long.
“The variety and diversity of the work is rare to find in one organisation. No two days are the same, I’m always interested and the work is always evolving.
“It’s the longest I've worked in the one place. Even in previous roles I was at good organisations, but it’s pretty natural once you hit 3-4 years, you can start to get bored. I can safely say I never get bored at the Port – there’s always interesting work to do and that seems common across all the different departments.
“I also find it easy to get things done and the people around me are easy to work with, we all work together to help each other out and have a lot of fun doing it.”