Executive Summary
2. Environmental issues are driving profound and permanent changes in the conditions under which many New Zealand's firms operate. Sustainability is not a fad. It is a long-term trend with significant risks and opportunities for both individual firms and the economy more generally.
3. Consumers are demanding goods and services with environmental integrity. They want to know that the businesses they are dealing with operate in a sustainable way. Growing regulatory pressure will make sustainability an imperative. Increasingly, businesses will be denied market access or be market constrained if they cannot show their environmental credentials.
4. Being more sustainable makes good business sense, therefore, both in terms of reducing costs in the long-run (through whole of life resource management) and adding value through creating points of difference. It will be better for firms to be ahead of the game than behind it.
5. What holds for individual firms also holds for the country as a whole. Environmental sustainability has the potential to help transform the New Zealand economy. New Zealand is well-placed to position itself as a world-leading exponent of smart, innovative and business-savvy responses to environmental issues, leveraging off its "clean, green image" and reputation for business integrity.
6. While understood in some circles, however, many New Zealand firms do not see environmental sustainability as a critical issue or, if they do, see it as an additional cost that has to be managed rather than as an opportunity to expand and develop their businesses.
7. What, then, can the government do to help get the message across to New Zealand business that increasing attention to environmental issues is a potential win-win for firms, the economy and the environment? What can the government do to help develop the capability of firms to respond in a more strategic and integrated way?
8. This paper proposes a three-pronged strategy:
- establish and articulate a medium to long term goal for the country as a whole, namely to position New Zealand as a world-leading exponent of smart, innovative and business-savvy responses to environmental issues, leveraging off its "clean, green image" and reputation for business integrity;
- in partnership with firms and/or sectors likely to be responsive to the need to become more sustainable, advance a small number of initial, well-chosen initiatives or actions of a potentially transformative nature (the emphasis being on making an intelligent start, learning by doing, and not embarking on too wide an agenda);
- seek to broaden current business-capability initiatives to a wider range of firms and sectors so that mainstream business has a good understanding of the emerging market-based risks and opportunities and an ability to respond to the challenges.
9. This paper discusses a range of actions with respect to (b) and (c) above (noted in bold for ease of reference) organised under four separate, but related, levels of activity:
- identifying market opportunities;
- building the capability of New Zealand firms;
- building the capability of key New Zealand sectors;
- building New Zealand's capability for international leadership.
10. Although officials have not sought formal responses from business interests, pending consideration of the issues by Ministers, there would appear to be a broad consensus behind the strategy suggested above, and a willingness to engage. Specifically:
- the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board (GIAB) has now discussed sustainable business issues at two meetings, including a half day session;
- the half day session was attended by chief executives and/or senior representatives from Business New Zealand, NZTE, Ag Research, Landcare Research, FRST, PGG Wrightson, and Fonterra;
- proposals relating to Qualmark and the development of a mechanism to position New Zealand on the positive side of the travel miles issue have been discussed with industry interests in the context of the mid-term update of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy - the update process has involved significant stakeholder and industry engagement and there is a wide level of support for these initiatives;
- existing sustainable business organisations such as the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Business Network are encouraging the government to take strong leadership.
11. A summary of the actions discussed in this paper is as follows:
Initial actions under the business partnerships initiative
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Identifying market opportunities |
Building the capability of NZ firms |
Building the capability of key NZ sectors |
Building NZ's capability for international leadership |
| Existing work to be given a higher priority |
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Accelerate development of an environmental accreditation scheme under the Qualmark |
Accelerate work on the development of national aquaculture standards |
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Invest more heavily in research on agricultural emissions, and partner with other countries to boost the critical mass and profile of the work |
| New work to be undertaken |
Strengthen NZTE market intelligence for firms |
Increase government support for existing sustainable business networks and programmes such as the "Get Sustainable Challenge" and "Better by Design" programme |
Develop a medium-long term strategy to position New Zealand on the right side of the travel miles issue |
Consider New Zealand's potential to lead aspects of the development of environmental technologies, particularly with respect to bio-fuels |
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A comprehensive review of sustainability capability programmes undertaken in conjunction with private sector representatives |
Undertake one or more high profile demonstration projects linking sustainability issues across sectors, e.g. energy/tourism |
Provide government support for the environmental certification of New Zealand's key fisheries |
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Consider the development of a green travel guide showcasing New Zealand's sustainable tourism businesses |
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