Marco Lotz is Nedbank's sustainability carbon specialist whose role includes monitoring, managing, and reducing the bank's carbon footprint. He contributes to group policies on environmental issues and shares his expertise with clients. Some of his achievements include co-authoring a carbon footprinting guide and receiving awards for his work. Marco views the biggest highlight of his job as opportunities to transfer knowledge over coffee. He is passionate about sustainability and has used his engineering PhD to carve out a career helping others manage their carbon footprints.

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sustainability carbon specialist
Nedbank’s award-winning
Meet
While carbon reduction is Marco’s primary focus, he
wears many hats here at Nedbank, and his role within
the Enterprise Governance and Compliance Division
includes the monitoring, management, and reduction
of our group’s carbon footprint to support and extend
our vital carbon neutral status. He also contributes to our
group policies on electricity, climate change, liquid fuels
and various other environmental sustainability matters
and shares his expertise with our clients and other external
parties to help them success on their climate change and
sustainability journeys.
Just some of his recent achievements
include co-authoring the Carbon Footprinting
Guide, being awarded the South Africa
National Energy Association’s (SANEA)
Energy Education Award, and been
named the South African Energy
Efficiency Convention (SAEEC) Energy
Patron of the Year.
Despite all these great
achievements, Marco still maintains
that the biggest highlight of his
job is any opportunity he gets to
transfer valuable knowledge over
a coffee. So 3sixty took him up
on this, and spent a few minutes
picking his brain.
Dr.MarcoLotz is passionate aboutsustainability.Somuch
sothathe has puthis PhD inengineering toworktocarve
outa careerhelping others tomanage and limittheir
carbonfootprints.Bestofall,this talented professional
is alsoa Nedbanker,sohe’s using his expertisetoMake
Things Happen,forourbank,clients and country.
Q: What role do you
believe effective energy
management and carbon
emissions reduction has
to play in helping to fully
realise Nedbank’s long-
term vision?
Q. What’s
your ‘take’ on
sustainability?
Q. Give us a quick
‘tour’ of your
sustainability
career.
A: I started my career in the sustainability space in
2006, which was the same year SA signed the United
Nation’s Kyoto Protocol. My first job was at a carbon
consultancy, which I subsequently left to run my own
small consultancy firm with a business partner. It was
through this consulting work that I got to know the
Nedbank Sustainability Team and, eventually got to
join that team by moving to Nedbank when it became
carbon neutral in 2010.
A: Throughout my career, I’ve focused on ensuring
that sustainability projects either lower operational
expenditure or deliver strategic new market
opportunities. As an example, the constrained energy
environment means that opportunities for electricity
generation are now becoming more attractive. Without
this focus, pure social or environmental projects can
lack the financial sustainability that is required to
deliver their full benefit. This isn’t driven by corporate
greed, but is rather a way to make sure projects can get
the finance they need to ensure a flourishing future for
generations to come.
A: Energy and carbon management offer us
the opportunity to minimise our pollution,
achieve cost reductions, and build our
business on sound sustainability principles.
What’s more, by effectively managing
our own energy and carbon amounts, we
position ourselves to deliver the same
benefits to our clients and all our other
stakeholders - which is a big step towards
being Africa’s most admired bank.
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