Henrietta Jukes has joined the Komatsu Australia executive team as General Manager Safety and Sustainability, a newly created role as the machinery company strengthens its position on sustainability throughout the workplace and industry.
Jukes will work with the executive team to lead safety and ESG strategy initiatives and achieve Komatsu’s strategic goals in these areas. Komatsu’s national safety team will report directly to Jukes, with a core focus on elevating their safety initiatives to an industry best practice level.
“It’s an exciting time for the business, as Komatsu’s electrification and smart construction offering continues to advance, and our workplace practices adapt to ensure we’re more sustainable and safe. That will continue to be my focus, and supporting our teams to create value together.”
Jukes brings with her a wealth of experience, having worked at Westside Corporation, ERM Australia and GHD in Australia, plus some time in Abu Dhabi with GHD. She has a Bachelor of Geography and Environmental Science (Hons), Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management and Post Graduate Certificate in Occupational Hygiene.
Jukes said she was looking forward to using her years of experience to progress Komatsu as a sustainability leader.
“My experience working across the health, safety, environmental risk, governance and occupational hygiene sectors means I’m ready to take Komatsu to another level on our strategic safety journey and building on the work already done on ESG. I’m looking forward to the challenge, and most importantly the opportunities inside and outside Komatsu to move the business forward, and make Komatsu the preeminent place for people to work,” Henrietta says.
Jukes will be based at Komatsu’s Wacol operations in Queensland, and will be visiting the wider Komatsu team across the country over the next few months.
Jukes’ appointment follows the release of Komatsu’s 2022 Annual Report. The report shows the business achieving strong results across its key CSR themes – enhancing quality of life, developing people and growing with society.
The report shows that in FY21 there was a 19 per cent reduction in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions from product use (compared to 14 per cent the previous year), a 37 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from productions (compared to 30 per cent the previous year) and a 64 per cent reduction in use of water across their plant globally (compared to 52 per cent the previous year).
The report also shows pleasing results across Komatsu’s initiatives to develop a strong and diverse workforce, and collaboration with stakeholders to resolve social issues.
You can read the full report here.