Mr
John GertsakisProfile page
Adjunct Professor
Institute for Sustainable Futures
- Adjunct ProfessorInstitute for Sustainable Futures
BIO
John Gertsakis is a sustainability and communications practitioner with over 20 years’ experience as an industry adviser, consultant, advocate and research academic.
He is a current member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Circular Economy recently established by the Australian Government.
John has worked in Australia, New Zealand and Northern Ireland, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia. He is currently a director of the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence hosted by the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, and provides specialist advice on product stewardship policy and implementation.
John is also is the director and co-founder of the Ewaste Watch Institute, a not-for-profit think-tank established to accelerate the sustainability of electronic products.
He was a senior research associate at RMIT University's Centre for Design for 10 years. John works on a range of issues covering product stewardship strategy, circular economy, sustainable product design, policy reform and regulatory analysis.
John’s project engagements cover appliances, electronics, batteries, commercial furniture, reuse and repair, floor coverings, textiles, and plastic products used in the hospital and healthcare sector. He served as Executive Director of Product Stewardship Australia from 2006 to 2011 representing global consumer electronics brands in the detailed development of the Product Stewardship Act 2011.
He was also the Associate Director of the European Union-funded ‘EcoSmart Design Program’ based in Belfast, Ireland from 2003 to 2006.
John conceived the EcoSpecifier product database for interior designers and architects in the 1990s and co-authored Australia’s first report on e-waste/WEEE in 1997 titled: Short Circuiting Waste from Electronic Products. His work on end-of- life strategies for electrical and electronics products includes a scoping study on major appliances for the New Zealand Government.
John is a regular writer and contributor on product stewardship, sustainable product design and circular economy topics for Australia’s waste, environment and sustainability publications.
He is a current member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Circular Economy recently established by the Australian Government.
John has worked in Australia, New Zealand and Northern Ireland, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia. He is currently a director of the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence hosted by the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, and provides specialist advice on product stewardship policy and implementation.
John is also is the director and co-founder of the Ewaste Watch Institute, a not-for-profit think-tank established to accelerate the sustainability of electronic products.
He was a senior research associate at RMIT University's Centre for Design for 10 years. John works on a range of issues covering product stewardship strategy, circular economy, sustainable product design, policy reform and regulatory analysis.
John’s project engagements cover appliances, electronics, batteries, commercial furniture, reuse and repair, floor coverings, textiles, and plastic products used in the hospital and healthcare sector. He served as Executive Director of Product Stewardship Australia from 2006 to 2011 representing global consumer electronics brands in the detailed development of the Product Stewardship Act 2011.
He was also the Associate Director of the European Union-funded ‘EcoSmart Design Program’ based in Belfast, Ireland from 2003 to 2006.
John conceived the EcoSpecifier product database for interior designers and architects in the 1990s and co-authored Australia’s first report on e-waste/WEEE in 1997 titled: Short Circuiting Waste from Electronic Products. His work on end-of- life strategies for electrical and electronics products includes a scoping study on major appliances for the New Zealand Government.
John is a regular writer and contributor on product stewardship, sustainable product design and circular economy topics for Australia’s waste, environment and sustainability publications.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY ORGANISATIONAL UNITS MEMBERSHIP
DEGREES
- Master of Arts (Environmental Design)Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia2003
- Graduate Diploma (Media Studies)Deakin University, Geelong, Australia1991
- Bachelor of Social Science (Socio-Environmental Assessment and Policy)Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia1988
PROFILE TYPE
- Academic