Mr Nick Palousis, Partner, Shaper Group

Nick is a Partner for the Shaper Group, an Australian firm that helps its clients to grow, thrive and prosper by using the principles of sustainability as a core business strategy.  

Nick’s drive is fueled by a passion for proving that we can do well by doing good. A mechatronic engineer and mathematical scientist by background, Nick has spent almost a decade working with companies, governments, non-for-profits and entrepreneurs in Australia and around the world to define and realise the business case for sustainable practices.  

Nick has managed the development of sustainable business strategies, climate change strategies, risk assessments and research projects across a variety of industry sectors, including Agribusiness, Automotive, Infrastructure, Insurance, Investment, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Property, State Government and Urban Development sectors.  

In amongst his current book of Shaper Group clients, Nick and business partner Dan Atkins are advisors to the World Economic Forum’s Driving Sustainable Consumption Project, which is working with some of the world’s most influential companies to develop sustainable business models that are fundamentally more competitive in the market.  

In 2006, Nick was awarded the inaugural Southcott Scholarship, offered by the University of South Australia to undertake PhD research on sustainability in engineering and industry. Nick’s research involves thedevelopment of a risk management methodology for assessing and minimising sustainability business risks from designing and providing sustainable products and services. Through this and other research Nick’s work has been well-published. 

In 2006 Nick was announced Young South Australian of the Year, in 2007 was awarded the British Council Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental Issues & Climate Change, and in 2008 the Australian Davos Connection’s Future Summit Leadership Award and UNESCO Adelaide Award.