meet
DOROTA BACAL
PhD
Carbon Manager at RACE for 2030
BORN:
Poland
EDUCATION:
PgCert in Business Sustainability Management,
The University of Cambridge
PhD in Renewable Energy,
Monash University
BEng & MSc in Applied Physics Engineering,
The University of Rzeszow
PASSION:
Carbon Reduction and Accounting, Energy Transition, Sustainability
STRENGTHS:
Powerful, Energetic, Disciplined, Patient
WEAKNESSES:
Coffee and Adrenaline Addict
In 2100, people will find ludicrous the fact that we inhaled nasty fumes from cars on an everyday basis, the same way we find it absurd that in the 1950s, applying radium-based products on the skin was normal. The difference is, they weren't aware of the consequences. We are.
Dorota is passionate about designing and implementing greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies. She is a carbon accountant, with expertise in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
In her career, she has worked with various large emitters across many sectors of the Australian economy, including transport, infrastructure, government, food chain, entertainment and finance. She is a registered Climate Active consultant, helping organisations to reach their carbon neutrality.
Dorota has extensive research experience in solar energy. During her bachelor's and master's degrees, she worked on improving the manufacturing processes and efficiency of solar panels, collaborating with leading-edge tech companies.
She came to Australia in 2016, when she was offered a prestigious scholarship from CSIRO and Monash University to undertake her PhD in chemical engineering. She specialised in solar energy generation, developing novel photoactive materials, which can be used in flexible solar panels.
Dorota is a problem solver and an implementer by heart. Her goal is to go sleep every day knowing that the planet is a bit better than what it was in the morning.
IMPACT
4
PUBLICATIONS
IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
76
CITATIONS
7
DECARBONISING BUSINESSES
61
KILO TONNES OF CO2
EMISSIONS REDUCED
EXPERIENCE
RACE for 2030
CARBON
MANAGER
APR 2021 - Present
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Dorota works closely with industry partners of RACE for 2030 on developing capacity within their business structures to accelerate their transition to the net zero. She is looking at rapid career development pathways for existing and emerging decarbonisation specialists in Australia, focused on growing their expertise in emissions reduction strategies, renewable energy sourcing and energy productivity solutions.
Additionally, Dorota is managing the Carbon Manager Pilot Project - a flagship capacity building initiative of RACE. The pilot supports large emitters in onboarding emissions reduction specialists and enabling innovation in the energy space.
Climate Active
REGISTERED CONSULTANT
OCT 2021 - Present
a
Coming soon
EnergyLink Services
ADVISOR
JAN 2020 - Present
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Dorota provides strategic oversight and assistance to the core EnergyLink Services team. She oversees assurance engagements and consults to a full suite of corporations across voluntary and mandatory schemes such as the NSW ESS, VIC VEU, Climate Active, NGERs and the Safeguard Mechanism.
Polish Australian Business Forum
SECRETARY
AUG 2020 - Present
.
Coming soon
The University of Melbourne
TECHNICAL OFFICER & COURSEWORK DEVELOPER
JUL 2019 - APR 2021
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Dorota was responsible for aligning the University's curriculum with the current industry trends and needs, through the development of new practical classes. Her aim was to encourage independent thinking, teamwork and practical experience among engineering students. She worked on various energy-related subjects run by the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Dorota was also responsible for preparing safety documentation and implementing new safety measures in the University's laboratories. Her main task was to assess and limit the risks of all laboratory operations and plan strategies to mitigate risks of future activities.
During the Covid-19 outbreak, Dorota set up and supervised the virtual campus of the Chemical Engineering Department. She developed strategies of student engagement in e-learning and performed numerous training sessions on virtual tools for the University's staff within and outside of the Chemical Engineering Department.
Monash University
TEACHING ASSOCIATE
JUL 2016 - JUN 2019
.
Coming soon
Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
UNFCCC
COP 24 OBSERVER
DEC 2018
.
Coming soon
Lactalis Australia
ENERGY CONSULTANT
DEC 2016 - FEB 2017
.
Coming soon
WHAT BOTHERS ME?
Net zero strategies that never get implemented.
Businesses often seek external guidance on developing net zero roadmaps. This approach allows businesses to access external expertise without hiring additional, or up-skilling the existing staff.
However, strategies developed by external consultants are often poorly implemented (if at all) because the consultants' engagement ends with the submission of the final report. Without decarbonisation experts placed internally, the driver of change is missing and the implementation hobbles.
HOW DO I FIX THAT?
By empowering businesses I aim to accelerate the decarbonisation of the Australian economy.
It is time to invest in the skills of people within the companies to implement the action plans. I support large emitters with fundamental knowledge which allows them to develop their own company-tailored and embraced solutions, based on well-informed decisions.
I work with companies, not for companies, making sure that they can continue the good work beyond my engagement.
WHAT'S MY END GOAL?
Australian industry ecosystem acting as one and decarbonising together.
Decarbonising complex value chains is not an easy task, with traceability and availability of data causing major issues. Missing pieces of the value chains - companies that stayed behind - must be urgently supported and brought up to speed.
Companies must come together to put us back on the trajectory to a decarbonised world.
EDUCATION
The University of Cambridge
PG CERT
BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
MAY 2020
.
A rapid decarbonisation of industries and businesses is crucial to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Such change in Australia is often driven by a bottom-up approach, with more and more companies pledging their targets towards Sustainable Development Goals. With this in mind, Dorota decided to undertake a Pg.Cert. in Business Sustainability Management at the University of Cambridge. She believes that the additional skills which she gained during this course, will help her to facilitate this transition.
The course provided Dorota with practical knowledge of the social, economic and environmental pressures on private and public sectors, in a local and global context. She learned that sustainability is an integral part of ensuring that companies can continue to operate on the planet with limited resources and deliver benefits to both shareholders and society. Consequently, integrating sustainability across an organisation's entire value chain is critical to secure long-term value creation.
During the course, Dorota collaborated with a global network of sustainability champions. She learned how to effectively argue the business case for sustainability, overcome barriers and seize the opportunities associated with creating a sustainable business. She learned about policy instruments, international agreements, and the role of business and civil society in shaping a zero-carbon economy. She explored different business models and processes for sourcing, producing, and consuming responsibly.
Throughout the course, Dorota completed a number of assignments which allowed her to practice how to effectively communicate sustainability strategies and goals to internal and external stakeholders. She learned how to articulate the importance of sustainability in business and drive social responsibility across organisation's value chain.
Monash University
PHD
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
MAR 2020
.
In 2016, fascinated by the rapid progress of perovskite solar cells, Dorota decided to join Prof. Udo Bach's Research Group at Monash University to continue her education in the field of photovoltaics. Her research was sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the University itself.
During her Ph.D., Dorota worked on flexible solar devices, within the CSIRO Flexible Electronics Group. She became an expert in quasi-interdigitated back contact perovskite solar cells - an emerging type of solar panels, with both electrodes placed at the back of the device. She developed a pilot plant used for in-situ measurements of the perovskite layer during various vapour treatment processes. The plant later contributed towards the achievements of other members of the research group. She was also a "go-to person" when it comes to the photoluminescence and photocurrent mapping, refractive index matching, as well as antireflective and protective coatings.
Dorota has mastered the use of various device fabrication techniques (e.g. photolithography, e-beam evaporation, atomic layer deposition) and characterisation (e.g. SEM, PESA). She has also gained an extensive experience of working in clean room facilities of Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication.
Her work was recognised by the scientific community and resulted in the publication of three research papers:
- Solution-processed antireflective coating for back-contact perovskite solar cells, D.M. Bacal, et al., Optics Express 28 (9), 12650-12660,
- Fabrication of back-contact electrodes using modified natural lithography, A.N. Jumabekov, J.A. Lloyd, D.M. Bacal, U. Bach, A.S.R. Chesman, ACS Applied Energy Materials 1 (3), 1077-1082,
- Back-contact perovskite solar cells with honeycomb-like charge collecting electrodes, Q. Hou, D. Bacal, A.N. Jumabekov, W. Li, Z. Wang, X. Lin, S.H. Ng, B. Tan, A.S.R. Chesman, U. Bach, Nano energy 50, 710-716.
During her Ph.D., Dorota also developed the extremely important management skills: project planning and budgeting, time management and stakeholder engagement. She polished her English language to the proficient level and presented her work on multiple occasions in the professional settings.
Dorota is focussed on the big picture of the energy transition. She recognises the importance of following the industry trends and needs. Therefore, during her Ph.D. and after she participated in many seminars and conferences, strategic for the industry, e.g.:
- All-Energy Australia Conference in Melbourne (2019, 2018 and 2017), organised by Reed Exhibitions Australia,
- FT Commodities Tokyo Summit in Tokyo (2019) organised by Financial Times,
- 24th Conference of the Parties to United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice (2018), organised by the United Nations,
- Polish & Australian Technology and Innovation in Resource and Energy Conference in Sydney (2018), organised by Austrade and Polish Trade Agency,
- Australian Cleantech Competition in Sydney (2016, 2017, 2018), organised by the Australian Cleantech.
The University of Rzeszow
MSC
APPLIED PHYSICS
JUL 2015
.
For the first time in her career, Dorota left behind the safe and well-known world silicon solar cells and started to research the emerging area of thin film technologies.
Under the supervision of Prof. Ihor Virt and Dr. Grzegorz Wisz, she manufactured and performed detailed studies on photovoltaic cells made of cadmium sulphide and cadmium telluride.
Her Master's Thesis The Growth Conditions and Properties of Photovoltaic Structures made by Physical Vapour Deposition Methods was granted a High Distinction.
During the time spent in the Laboratory of Materials Technology for Industry Application, Dorota mastered the various techniques of semiconductors and metals deposition (e.g. DC&RF Magnetron Sputtering, Pulsed Laser Deposition, e-beam and thermal evaporation) and device characterisation (e.g. SEM, interference microscope, transmission spectrometry).
In June 2015, she presented her results at the International Conference in Truskaviets (Ukraine), Laser Technologies and their Application.
The University of Rzeszow
BENG
APPLIED PHYSICS ENGINEERING
FEB 2014
.
Coming soon
