Vivienne Reiner

PhD candidate
University of Sydney

Vivienne is undertaking a PhD with the Integrated Sustainability Analysis (ISA) group in the School of Physics. She is a former journalist, science communicator and has completed a Master of Sustainability at the University of Sydney.

Vivienne’s PhD will utilise ISA’s world-leading tools and methodology in sustainability footprinting to undertake triple-bottom-line and disaster analyses, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific - the world’s most disaster-prone region. Her research is interdisciplinary, spanning economic, social and environmental impacts and modelling, using input-output analysis, and extends to applications at the local business and sector/product level.

From this author

Inclusive and workplace acceptance of refugees
Partnering for refugee employment

When considering their talent pipelines, few companies think outside-of-the-box. Most refugees flourish in the workplace, and so do the businesses that hire them.

SDG 16
Institutional investors demand a more sustainable capitalism

Honey gathering is a solitary job in Indigenous communities. The collector then shares the honey with their community but refrains from joining in the honey feast themself. The idea is that the gathering is not about their gratification, it’s about their contribution to the collective.  

SDG15 Bushfires
Optimisation model as a guide to burning forests to save forests

Setting fire to parts of a forest to save it might seem counterintuitive to urban communities. There is no equivalent of torching a few streets to protect a suburb. However, amongst First Nations people in Australia, hazard reduction burning is a well-established practice.

SDG13 - coal mining
Net zero now – it’s the economy AND the planet

In Australia, as elsewhere, the climate wars have focused on the climate versus jobs dichotomy. Yet while Australia remains highly dependent on fossil fuel extraction for its national economic prosperity it has also become increasingly unequal in its distribution of that wealth.