As the inaugural Executive Director of Sustainable Screens Australia (SSA), Maree Cochrane is championing the critical connection between Australia's creative future and environmental protection. She recognises something undeniable: the future of Australian screen content depends on protecting the environments where our stories come to life.

Drawing on a powerful combination of expertise — a decade in production plus ten years transforming behaviors and systems — Maree is guiding the industry as it confronts its significant carbon footprint of 16.6 tonnes per hour of content produced. Beyond reducing production impacts, she spearheads initiatives that elevate sustainable stories on screen, recognising the narratives we create have profound power to shape the future we want to inhabit.

Maree's collaborative leadership has established SSA as an industry unifier, creating spaces where competitors come together to share global innovations and local learnings. She cultivates strategic partnerships with major content producers including Netflix, BBC Studios, SBS, Stan, ITV and Screen Australia, alongside SSA's groundbreaking international partnership with BAFTA albert.

She graduated from Griffith University with a degree in screen production and after completing a fellowship with the Centre of Sustainability Leadership, she returned to the Centre as a Co-facilitator and Coach. Before joining SSA, Maree led the 17,000-member Innovation Network, collaborating with behavioral scientists and supporting the Victorian government to develop approaches to service and policy design with better outcomes for citizens.

Maree lives and works on the lands of the Bundjalung people.