Vaere Social is a values-led consultancy founded by Liesl Codrington, specialising in environmental and social planning
We shape places for people - resilient, sustainable and climate-ready communities through strategies that embed equity, wellbeing and sustainability into planning, policy and infrastructure.
About Vaere Social
Vaere Social (from the Norwegian være, “to be”) is a values-led consultancy founded by Liesl Codrington to help shape places where people and planet can thrive. We work at the intersection of social and environmental sustainability, bringing deep social insight, empathy, and strategic alignment to the way cities and communities plan, grow, and adapt.
Our work translates complexity into clear, people-first strategies, grounded in a deep understanding of communities and populations. We help governments and industry connect policy ambition with lived experience, designing frameworks and projects that create connected, thriving, and climate-ready communities.
What we do
We combine strategic insight with human-centred planning to drive measurable social and environmental outcomes.
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We assess social impact not as a checkbox, but as a core part of how decisions affect people’s lives — now and into the future.
Our work brings together rigorous analysis, real-world insight, and lived experience to support planning approvals, policy shifts, and investment decisions. We help ensure that what gets built, funded, or approved delivers genuine social value — not just on paper, but in practice.
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We help decision-makers see the full picture — not just what’s urgent, but what’s important. Not just what’s measurable, but what matters.
Our strategy work brings together social foresight, equity, and climate realism to guide the complex decisions that shape cities, systems, and lives. We ask the hard questions early, bring the right people into the room, and create the space to plan for what’s coming — not just what’s already here.
Because in a world defined by uncertainty, long-term public value is only possible when we plan with clarity, courage, and care.
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Inclusion isn’t a feature — it’s a foundation. And equity isn’t achieved through intention alone.
We work to uncover who planning and policy systems have been designed for — and who’s been left out. By bringing lived experience, neurodivergent insight, and accessibility thinking into the heart of decision-making, we help shift the frame: from doing things for communities to building with them.
Because inclusive systems don’t just feel better — they work better. For everyone.
“Liesl has one of the finest minds in the business for understanding people and populations, and translating that insight into how we build communities and places that thrive.”
Collaborate
While Liesl is currently engaged with the City Renewal Authority in Canberra, Vaere Social remains open to meaningful collaborations - particularly in social planning, impact assessment, climate adaptation, and infrastructure strategy that contribute to a fairer, more resilient Australia.
Contact us
liesl@vaeresocial.au