Positive change in an unpredictable world

Kate van der Merwe, FCA, has carved out an impressive career in sustainability driven by her passion to effect positive societal and climate change 

An abiding sense of adventure and curiosity has guided Kate van der Merwe’s career from accounting to sustainability, and from the corporate realm to the world of nonprofits, as she continues to pursue her passion to effect positive societal and climate change.

Originally from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa’s east coast, van der Merwe studied social science at the University of Cape Town before qualifying in Ireland as a Chartered Accountant and forging a successful career as a sustainability consultant.

Driven to explore

“I think it’s my background in social science that has made me so curious and driven to explore,” van der Merwe says.

“The social sciences have a good dose of curiosity and exploration, but in the early stages of my career, I found myself struggling a bit to find roles in the messy ‘real world’. 

“I lived in the UK on a working visa for two years after college and, being a South African, my mobility was restricted. I decided to go into Chartered Accountancy to open doors and cross borders.

“At the time, I told my humanities-driven self that finance was the linchpin of economic systems, and it might one day allow me to effect some positive societal change.” 

Van der Merwe relocated to Ireland in 2006 to train as a Chartered Accountant with a firm in Dublin.

Her qualification in 2009 coincided with the onslaught of the global financial crisis, however, prompting her to return to Southern Africa, where she spent five months travelling around the region.

“It really was a case of ‘when life gives you lemons’, because that trip was pivotal for me,” she says. 

“It brought me back to my childhood surrounded by so much biodiversity. I was fortunate growing up that, during the holidays, we were able to go to the beach, to the mountains and, every now and again, to the bush.” 

“Years later, my childhood experience would also become the driving force behind my interest in the social aspect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

“The apartheid system was still in place when I was at primary school and then Nelson Mandela was released, and we had our first democratic elections in 1994. Those experiences instilled in me an awareness of the importance of social justice and equality.” 

Early career

Van der Merwe returned to Ireland in 2011 to take up finance roles, first in the pharmaceutical industry and then in the technology sector.

“I joined Google and I was immersed in this environment in which values, such as sustainability, were on the agenda. Google was doing interesting work in renewable energy innovation at the time.

“Then I received my naturalisation to become an Irish citizen, and that stability compelled me to think about what I could do to become an active participant in bringing about positive change. I started to find my voice.”

At the time, van der Merwe says she felt an “urgent sense of responsibility” in the face of the burgeoning climate crisis and global biodiversity loss.

She decided to embark on a master’s in renewable energy and environmental finance at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, dropping to part-time hours with Google to facilitate her studies.

“My master’s marked a sea change for me—a deliberate journey of exploration. The key was finding the strength to speak up about the things that are important to me, and that’s not necessarily easy to do,” says van der Merwe.

Once her master’s was complete, she joined Trócaire, where she became Financial Planning and Analysis Manager, supporting the NGO’s carbon measurement and reporting processes, and developing organisational carbon budgets. 

“I wanted to return to working with an NGO, on a short-term contract. I was looking for a total contrast to the powerful, cash-rich corporate world—a grounding experience, working in a much more resource-constrained environment.

“Fortunately, thanks to my network, a nine-month role came through with Trócaire and I stayed with them for a year-and-a-half.

“I really grew with Trócaire. It is an amazing organisation with many passionate, committed people who are so bold in how they approach the change they want to make. That perspective was invaluable.”

Transformational projects

In the years since—and now on the cusp of taking up a new role with Hometree, the nature restoration charity—van der Merwe has worked as a sustainability consultant, lending her considerable expertise to the advancement of transformational projects at the intersection of finance, social and environmental sustainability.

Her advocacy efforts extend beyond this work, however, to a range of voluntary roles, including board member with the Irish Social Enterprise Network and advisory committee member with Friends of the Earth Ireland. Van der Merwe is also a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland Sustainability Working Group.

“My approach is to use systems thinking to look at sustainability in a holistic way across a multitude of spaces, and to introduce this concept wherever I have a platform,” she says.

“People often think of ESG solely from an environmental perspective, forgetting about the social piece. In actuality, both are highly interdependent and very much impact each other. 

“Then, you have to look at the problem of who has a voice and who doesn’t? I am fortunate to have a voice, but others don’t. Often, decisions are made that impact them and they have no influence.”

Van der Merwe has just completed a postgraduate certificate in climate entrepreneurship at Trinity College Dublin.

“In everything I do today, I think back to that time just before I started my master’s in renewable energy and environmental finance when I felt like I was waiting for other people to come and save us all,” van der Merwe says.

“I found my voice and now I want to continue to build my network, experience as much as I can and do as much as I can to change society for the better and support the fight against the climate crisis.

 “I think a lot of people are nervous about taking action, or feel, like I did, that others will do it better on their behalf—but, right now, we are at an absolutely pivotal stage. 

“The existing system—the old way of doing things—is dying. It is going to change and what we do now will determine the new system that emerges. 

“We really need the silent majority to speak up to support ESG. We are the cavalry, and I don’t think we can afford to be complacent, particularly in the face of current developments, such as the backtracking we are currently seeing in the US under Donal Trump’s presidency.”

Interview by Elaine O’Regan