Social entrepreneur Larissa Michelsen adds a role in corporate sustainability to her purpose-driven portfolio

Larissa Michelsen

The founder of social enterprise Pacific Med Tech has always been driven by a determination to do good. She now manages her social enterprise as well as a day job addressing climate change risk for New South Wales’s social infrastructure, including the Sydney Opera House.

Tackling climate change. Improving access to high-quality healthcare. Considering her commitment to addressing global issues, it’s hard to believe that sustainability specialist and social entrepreneur Larissa Michelsen’s career journey began with designing everyday consumer products. “As a kid, I loved pulling things apart and learning how they worked,” she says. “My interest in studying product design engineering came from wanting to learn how to make better toasters!”

But once she entered the workforce, disillusionment set in – and an interest in sustainability took hold. “If I was going to make products, I wanted them to be ‘worth’ the use of the materials that went into them, and not just end up in landfill,” she recalls.

She turned from toasters to med tech, embarking on a Master of Engineering Studies specialising in medical devices and technologies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. “For me, designing medical products felt like a worthwhile use of my design skills and interests,” she explains. “I wanted to know how to qualify stories from nurses and patients, as these are invaluable for making effective products. This led me to take every class I could on qualitative research and public health.”

Her growing preoccupation with taking a more values-driven approach to her career saw her connect with social entrepreneur Janette Searle. The pair met when they worked together on a project researching issues affecting healthcare in the Pacific Islands. “Janette and I hit it off straight away, as we both think in systems-based solutions,” says Larissa. They joined forces to launch social enterprise Pacific Med Tech in 2020, with the aim of improving the accessibility and use of medical equipment in Pacific health clinics.

It wasn’t an easy start. “Launching an internationally-focused social enterprise in March 2020 was quite a challenge,” notes Larissa. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the pair to pivot and instead focus on a second area of need that their project had identified: sanitising medical rooms and equipment and providing access to high-quality cleaning products.

Their solution was Pacific Clean, a range of commercial cleaning products. The line was designed to improve infection control across the Pacific and has since supplied Kiribati, Tonga and Samoa with high-quality, cost-effective cleaning products that suit the needs of a Pacific Island medical clinic. “The business model ensures that Pacific customers are provided with equipment at low prices, and a percentage of profits go to charity,” adds Larissa.

To maximise its impact, Pacific Clean has partnered with Take My Hands, a charitable trust founded by Janette in 2010. The charity sources high-quality medical equipment from New Zealand and redistributes it across the Pacific, ensuring that Pacific hospitals receive the necessary resources to deliver better healthcare. It’s been a particularly potent partnership, observes Larissa. “This work demonstrates the power of social entrepreneurship to drive sustainable, life-saving change in underserved regions.”

Pivotal to their success was the pair’s participation in the Velocity programme delivered by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). “It was like doing a mini-MBA on steroids,” remembers Larissa. “The quality of the presenters and mentors was excellent. They guided us on how to refine our business plan and sell our idea.” And sell it they did, winning the Social Enterprise category of the programme. “The biggest reward, aside from the giant cheque, was access to the Venture Lab programme and a six-month business mentorship,” says Larissa. “We’re forever grateful to Ken Erskine, who acted as our psychological fitness instructor.”

Her entrepreneurial experiences also delivered another simple but profound lesson: “Going through the process of starting a business took away my fear and showed me how to turn my thoughts into action,” she reflects. “It’s incredibly easy to start a venture in New Zealand – if you have an idea, give it a go.”

Still driven by her desire for meaningful mahi, Larissa has recently segued into strategic corporate sustainability. While Pacific Clean continues to power ahead, she has moved back to Australia to take up a position as Associate Director of Climate Change Risk at the New South Wales Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport (DCITHS). The role involves embedding climate change risk assessments across New South Wales’s premier social infrastructure portfolio, including the Sydney Opera House and other key sites.

This time, her shift in focus was motivated not by the experiences of others, but by her own. “The Black Summer bushfires in late 2019 threatened the lives of people living near my hometown on the south coast of New South Wales,” she explains. She remembers waiting by the phone, powerless to help and expecting the worst. The ordeal galvanised her to work in sustainability. “I want to tackle the root cause of the helplessness I felt during that summer,” she explains. “I aim to do everything in my power to lessen the impacts of climate change so that others don’t have to experience the same fear for their family’s wellbeing.”

Far from being daunted by the task ahead, Larissa says she’s “inspired” by what has already been achieved in this space. “Excitingly, we’re no longer debating the ‘why’ of climate change, but now tackling the ‘how’ to change our economic systems to enable a cleaner and greener future for society,” she says. “I look forward to helping lead this change, as I believe organisations that start early will be the winners, both financially and in terms of longevity.”

Equally inspiring for Larissa is her involvement with the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF). The New Zealand-based Fellowship connects innovators, entrepreneurs and investors, enabling them to collaboratively address global challenges. It’s the perfect fit for the passionate changemaker, who feels empowered by its community of similarly purpose-driven individuals. “I have met some of my favourite people through the Fellowship,” she observes. “They inspire me to be better, to do better and advocate for doing the mahi to create the world you want to see.”