Big Red Group appoints Jemma Fastnedge to new role of Chief Sustainability Officer

Australian owned and operated, Big Red Group, the country’s largest experience marketplace acknowledges the challenges and significant opportunities presented by the ESG Agenda and as such has appointed Jemma Fastnedge to their newly created role of Chief Sustainability Officer.

Based in Sydney, Fastnedge will head up the company’s environmental, social, and governance agenda (ESG Agenda) across the organisation and its stable of experience brands including RedBalloon, Adrenaline, Experience Oz, Local Agent and Lime&Tonic.

Fastnedge shares “we have a responsibility to protect the natural environments, cultural diversity and heritage we showcase through the experiences we sell, and we’re currently witnessing the industry focus shift from ‘growth at any cost’, to ‘growth compatible with society and environment’. I am eager to take the whole organisation on a journey, and also to support our thousands of experience providers to deliver positive change.”

Fastnedge has over 19 years of travel industry experience spanning operations and general management, has held the role of Chief Executive at RedBalloon, co-founded employee engagement program Redii, and most recently was the Chief Operating Officer at Big Red Group, which included ESG within her remit.

At its heart, the ESG Agenda creates positive local economic impact by supporting the growth of the Big Red Group’s supply partners.  The organisation seeks to ensure its experiences are inclusive and sustainable, which allows the group to deliver positive change within the industry, for stakeholders and the wider community.

With an emphasis on stewardship, the Big Red Group ESG framework is centred around three key pillars which ladder up the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:

1. Less stuff more stories: Our growth and that of our partners can be driven through sustainable consumption

2. Connection to country: We respect and protect the land, people, and environment in which our industry operates

3. Experiential inclusion: Great experiences should be accessible for everyone

Over the next 12 months, Big Red Group will commit to net zero emissions, sourcing all power within its control from renewable sources. In addition, the group will work collaboratively with its 2,500+ supply partners to understand and reduce scope 3 emissions – a significant undertaking in an organisation that represents multiple businesses and industries. Providing additional transparency for consumers, the experience marketplace will roll out environmental and inclusive attributes on experiences to assist in consumer decision-making and a range of other initiatives that will be reported on annually.

Big Red Group co-founder and Chief Executive, David Anderson notes “since our foundation in 2017, social impact and governance have been core to the Big Red Group journey. We’ve been ambitious in the positive environmental and societal legacy of the business, and we’re excited to have Jemma solely focussed on bringing this to life at a time when the broader travel industry is bouncing back.”

For information on careers at Big Red Group, go to www.thebigredgroup.com.au/careers/