Engineer-turned-CEO Davina Rooney explains how a systems-driven engineering mindset is the ultimate tool for modern governance.
When Davina Rooney was appointed CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) in 2019, the association had certified more than 2250 Green Star projects.
More than a third of Australia’s office space carried a Green Star rating and around 1.3 million people visited a certified Green Star shopping centre each day.
But the sustainability landscape was shifting fast. Climate science, disclosure frameworks, nature targets, and health and wellbeing expectations were expanding the GBCA’s remit. This complexity proved fertile ground for Rooney, who trained as a civil engineer.
In 2025, GBCA certified more Green Star projects in a single year than in its entire history. This achievement reflects a deliberate, systems-driven approach to market transformation.
Alongside the ubiquity of Green Star ratings in the office market sit thousands of certified homes, hospitals, schools and warehouses, hotels, data centres and community precincts.
Governments have embedded Green Star into planning systems and policy settings. The GBCA has forged international partnerships to align rating tools, green finance and mandatory reporting. Developers, designers, owners and investors have embraced the Green Star rating system not as a compliance obligation, but as an opportunity to deliver better buildings.
“Engineers are trained to see the system – the plan, the pathways and the implementation steps – in a very structured way. We think in terms of both design and delivery. We know how to fly the kite and how to land the kite.”
Turning signals into structures
This systems perspective shapes how the GBCA scans global signals, breaks down emerging issues and interprets them for Australian conditions.
“Our role is to read the global tea leaves – what’s happening in climate negotiations, reporting frameworks, mandatory disclosure obligations, sustainable finance, trends in nature, health, wellbeing – and to translate this into practical action for Australia’s property and construction industry.”
This method of translation is distinctly engineering. GBCA segments each challenge, diagnosing whether the solution already exists or whether the industry needs a new pathway.
“If we know how to do something, we put it into a rating tool. If it’s still an emerging issue, we frame it in a discussion paper and work through a consensus process.”
The value is in framing the problem clearly, not in rushing to a solution. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We have built a structured approach to industry consensus that works.”
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Building better systems
Alongside her role at GBCA, Rooney serves on the board of Evolve Housing, one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit community housing providers.
“The work of a board is to help the organisation succeed by being both accelerator and brake. Engineers often see risks on the horizon long before they land. They also see opportunities that may seem separate and can link them up in new ways.”
This approach recently shaped Evolve Housing’s strategy for the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFFF). The first round of HAFFF launched amid political uncertainty and volatile macroeconomic conditions. Investors were cautious. Deal structures and return expectations were still settling. But Evolve’s board saw HAFFF as a system challenge: one requiring governance discipline, clear frameworks and alignment with partners.
Evolve secured funding for 11 projects under HAFFF Round 1 – more than 30 per cent of approved properties in New South Wales and around nine per cent nationally – enabling more than 1200 new social and affordable homes.
In the process, Evolve developed internal frameworks that strengthened site readiness, clarified risk-sharing and deepened co-design processes, positioning it to deliver long-term social housing impact at scale.
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Leaving the technical hat at the door
Engineers moving into governance often have to unlearn habits – the instinct to take ownership of a brief, to structure the answer, to be the one with the solution.
“Engineers are problem-solvers,” Rooney said. “But in governance, you have to put the pen down. You’re not there to solve the problem yourself. You’re there to set up the conditions for others to succeed.”
Engineers are also purpose-driven. This desire to make the world a better place gives them a natural, authentic contribution, especially when paired with their strong technical and numeracy skills.
“Engineers can pick up a hidden issue in the P&L, spot a pattern in a risk register, or read across several sets of papers and notice where something doesn’t align. No one can move through a board pack faster than an engineer. When deployed well, it’s a superpower.”
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