As the General Manager of Renewable Gas and Fuels, your role is responsible for number of critical areas in the business, can you tell us about your role?
Leading renewable gas and fuels development at LMS Energy and Helmont Energy represents an exciting opportunity to support the transformation of Australia’s energy landscape. My role focuses on developing and delivering biogas, biomethane and low carbon liquid fuels projects that can help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. What makes this work particularly meaningful is the full-circle journey from my contaminated land background. After years of cleaning up the environmental legacy of historical energy production like former gasworks, I’m now helping create renewable energy solutions that hopefully prevent these issues from occurring in the first place.
The role combines technical oversight with strategic planning, but perhaps most importantly, stakeholder engagement across multiple sectors. A particularly rewarding aspect is applying my contaminated land experience to ensure our renewable projects succeed, especially in stakeholder engagement where building confidence is crucial. The ability to break down complex tasks, understand stakeholder perspectives, and provide comfort in project delivery – skills developed during my time in contaminated land sector – continues to prove invaluable as we help shape the regulatory frameworks and industry standards that are evolving to support the emerging sector.
How do you define ESG, and why do you think it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses and industries?
My perspective on ESG has been shaped by my journey through contaminated land management to renewable energy development. Being exposed to the legacy of historical business practices that didn’t consider environmental impacts, or were even common practice at the time, you develop an appreciation for the importance of environmental leadership. Working in contaminated land remediation, I witnessed the substantial costs – both financial and social – of managing legacy environmental issues. Now, in renewable energy, I see organisations embracing ESG not just as good practice, but as a key foundation to their license to operate as an essential for long-term success for renewable energy facilities. This shift represents a mature understanding that environmental responsibility and business success are intrinsically linked. Companies are realising that proactive environmental management builds trust within communities, creates opportunities and ensures long-term business resilience.
With the increasing focus on carbon reduction and environmental responsibility, what steps should companies take to ensure they are not just compliant but also innovative in their environmental strategies?
Let’s be honest – meaningful environmental innovation comes at a cost and involves significant risks. The path to genuine carbon reduction isn’t about easy wins; it requires substantial investment, careful testing, and accepting that not every initiative will succeed. At LMS Energy, we’ve learned this through developing innovations like dry anaerobic digestion, leachate evaporation technologies, and pioneering solar installations on landfills – none of which were straightforward.
What we’re seeing now, particularly in the renewable gas and low carbon liquid fuel space, is that companies who invested early and stayed the course are emerging as industry leaders. This didn’t happen overnight it’s the result of years of commitment, showing that while innovation is crucial, it requires genuine dedication, significant resources, and a long-term perspective.
You have an interesting career transition, moving from a focus on contamination management to a role in sustainability. Could you share your journey and the motivations behind this shift in your career?
My transition from contaminated land to renewable energy was certainly shaped by seeing both the challenges of our energy past like former gasworks and seeing the clear opportunities for our future. Working on complex remediation projects like the Goulburn and Wollongong Gasworks sites taught me important lessons about risk management. When overseeing these large and complex projects you need to be meticulous and ensure everything is done right from the start, one mistake or the reliance on poor data can be costly.
The move into renewable energy, particularly through the Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub project at Jemena, was for me about being able to prevent future environmental challenges that I had experienced. Leading one of Australia’s first hydrogen and the first biomethane project taught me that while innovation is exciting, the detailed and meticulous risk management approach that I learned during my time in contaminated land work is crucial for successful project delivery.
The reality is that both sectors require similar core skills: technical expertise, risk management, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to navigate complex regulatory frameworks. Just as in contaminated land where environmental auditors and technical specialists provided crucial guidance, my transition into renewable energy has been supported by subject matter experts who understand the intricacies of new technologies. Success in either field comes down to recognising and learning from these specialists while applying rigorous project management approaches.
What key skills and experiences from your work in contamination management have been valuable as you’ve made the transition to focusing on sustainability?
The skills from contaminated land work that truly matter in sustainability aren’t just technical – they’re about understanding how to manage complex, long-term environmental challenges. Working with environmental auditors on remediation projects taught me the value of rigorous, evidence-based approaches. Also, that when managing sensitive remediation projects in urban environments like the Goulburn Gasworks site taught me that technical excellence isn’t enough – you need to bring communities and stakeholders along with you. This lesson has been invaluable when introducing new renewable gas projects to communities who naturally have hesitation about novel technologies in particular hydrogen.
Looking back, what advice would you give to someone in the early stages of their career who is interested in moving from contamination management to sustainability?
For those looking to move from contamination to sustainability, understand that your technical foundation is more valuable than you might think. The rigorous approach to detail that contaminated land work demands is exactly what’s needed across emerging and scrutinised sectors. Rather than seeing contaminated land experience as something to move away from, view it as a foundation to build upon. The reality is that understanding both the legacy issues and future opportunities in energy gives you unique insights that are increasingly valuable. For instance, my gasworks experience proved pivotal in understanding the historical transition from towns gas (30-50% hydrogen) to natural gas, so when hydrogen blending into natural gas networks was proposed, we could confidently say this wasn’t exactly the first time.
The key is to recognise that while the technologies might be different, the fundamental skills of managing complex challenges remain the same. Don’t undervalue your existing expertise, this advice extends beyond just sustainability – for any career transition, seek out mentors who can guide you. Whether it’s a client whose work you admire or a respected colleague, find people who can share their experiences and insights. Some of my most valuable professional growth has come from the guidance of a few key mentors who took the time to support, share their knowledge and challenge my thinking which got me to where I am today.
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About Jarrod Irving
Jarrod Irving is the General Manager of Renewable Gas and Fuels at LMS Energy and Helmont Energy, where he leads strategic initiatives in biomethane and biofuels to support decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors. With over 13 years of energy industry experience, Jarrod specialises in developing and delivering complex renewable gas projects, particularly in renewable gas development.
Jarrod has been instrumental in developing biogas-to-biomethane facilities across Australia and contributed to pioneering hydrogen infrastructure in NSW and QLD. He serves as Chair of the Renewable Gas Alliance at Bioenergy Australia and is an active member of GreenPower’s Renewable Gas Certification steering committee, where he champions industry partnerships and advances policy frameworks.
A recognised leader in renewable energy, Jarrod is dedicated to driving Australia’s energy transition through practical, innovative solutions that support the pathway to net-zero emissions.
