Usha is Professor, Sustainable Built Environment at the School of Property and Construction Management at RMIT University.

Usha is co-lead of the Circular Built Environment (CBE) working group established under the GlobalABC / One Planet Network’s Materials Hub hosted by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and jointly implemented by UNEP, UNOPS and UN Habitat. Trained as an architect, Usha’s interest and expertise is empirical applications of sustainability and circularity. Usha has recently launched her book on Circular practices in buildings and construction to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her second book on Building a circular future in Australia: why, what and how? is in press to be released in 2025.

Usha leads a project with MyEco Group (SECOS) on understanding social attitudes and acceptance of compostable alternatives to flexible plastic packaging.