just Good Business by mediaweb

Villa Maria’s nose for the future • Logan Brown’s taste for action

just

GoodBusiness

www.justgoodbusiness.co.nz

ISSUE 01

Dollars & Sense Growing green capital p8

SUSTAINABILITY STARTER KITS Eco-Label or Eco-Babel? p14

HOW ENERGY EFFICIENCY

fuels business growth p28

Built to last

editorial September/October 02012 PUBLISHER Toni Myers MANAGING EDITOR Vicki Jayne vickij@mediaweb.co.nz PROJECT MANAGER Wendy Smith wendys@mediaweb.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Julio Bin, Damon Birchfield, Clare Feeney, Ian Niven, Jamie Sinclair, Wendy Smith ADVERTISING MANAGER Pam Brown 09-529 3000, 0274-790 691, pamb@mediaweb.co.nz DESIGNER Jennifer Adams COPY & WEB EDITOR Gill Prentice PRODUCTION MANAGER Fran Marshall franm@mediaweb.co.nz Phone 09-529 3000, Fax 09-529 3001 enquiries@mediaweb.co.nz www.mediaweb.co.nz PO Box 5544, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141 just GoodBusiness magazine is independently owned by Mediaweb Limited and is published quarterly. Editorial material does not necessarily reflect the views of Mediaweb Limited. Copyright © 2012: Mediaweb Limited. All material appearing in just GoodBusiness is copyright and cannot be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher. Editorial contributions are welcomed. Letters to the editor are also welcomed, but pen names are not acceptable. just GoodBusiness is printed by PMP. Subscriptions: One-year NZ subscription (4 issues) $30 (GST incl). Free with subscriptions to NZ Management, NZ Local Government, AdMedia, Hospitality and FMCG. Enquiries: Mediaweb Limited, PO Box 5544, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141, New Zealand. Phone: 09-529 3000, Fax 09-529 3001, enquiries@mediaweb.co.nz www.justgoodbusiness.co.nz

100% From wellmanaged forests

C000000

“

o be successful, you have to have the mentality to think long term…” That’s Villa Maria executive director Fabian Yukich talking about his company’s approach to sustainable business practice (p21). It’s an approach that could equally be tagged as “just good business”. Which is what this magazine is all about. As both our lead story and local case studies help to highlight, sustainable business practice is really indistinguishable from good business practice. It also comes with a Vicki Jayne raft of rewards – both tangible and intangible. What business enterprise wouldn’t want to: • put a framework around its pursuit of greater efficiency; • future-proof its operations; • encourage innovation; or • provide a clear set of values to inform business strategy, engage staff and create a platform for stronger community engagement? Why embrace sustainability? The real question is why not? For starters, a tough business environment can make anything outside of core business, or just plain survival, seem like an unnecessary distraction. Resources – time, personnel, money – are already stretched to the limit. Where to even start? Others are confused by the jargon. But do you have to learn the language of GHG emissions or understand the vagaries of international carbon markets in order to address the size of your own carbon footprint? Why not just see ‘carbon’ as a kind of proxy for ‘waste’ – and focus on finding ways to reduce it. Some businesses may regard “sustainability” as a pointless exercise or passing fad. That would be short-sighted. With waves of change already surfing their way down offshore and local supply chains, companies risk losing existing markets or missing new business opportunities if they don’t get on board. So our aim – through jGB’s magazine and website – is to make the journey easier by sharing stories, interviewing experts, providing information and offering explanation. Our ‘sustainability starter kit’ feature (p14) summarises some of the pathways to sustainable practice; our case studies (p20 on) highlight the journeys others are undergoing. We’re also keeping a diary of our own progress (p32), from our choice of sustainability starter kits through the challenges and rewards of the process. This is the first of what will be a quarterly production being distributed through Mediaweb’s business titles and backed by a resource-rich website. It’s tagged September/ October 02012 in deference to a project being undertaken by The Long Now Foundation as an antidote for our civilisation’s “pathologically short” – and decreasing – attention span. They are creating a clock that with both accurate mechanism and enduring myth, is designed to tick off the next 10,000 years. Now that’s long-term thinking!

justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

vickij@mediaweb.co.nz

Cover Story

8 Dollars & Sense – Growing Green Capital

Whether measured in cash or kudos, sustainable business practice comes with a raft of rewards. Why embrace sustainability? The real question is why not?

contents

2 Passing it on

Geyser’s green star rising, Tonga’s first solar farm, Auckland’s environmental heroes, Cavalier’s green innovation... and more

5 Opinion: What value trust? 6 Sustainability Calendar 7 Book Review: The Zeronauts Feature 14 Sustainability Starter Kits Eco Label or Eco Babel? 8 “There is growing realisation that ‘sustainability’ is essentially good business practice.”

jGB Interview 18 Danusia Wypych:

CarboNZero or CEMARS, Earthcheck or EcoSmart – jGB samples some of the many paths to sustainable practice. Which is right for your business?

Sustainability Manager, Z Energy

Case Studies 20 Villa Maria: A Nose for the Future 22 JAWS gets its teeth into CEMARS 24 Logan Brown: The Taste of Action

26 Nelson City: A Framework for the Future Expert Input 28 Energy: Fuelling Business Growth

“To be successful, you have to have the mentality to think long term.”

Ian Niven

29 Counter Culture: Look At The Books Jamie Sinclair 30 Change Leader: C-Suite Sustainability Clare Feeney

31 One World: Rio+40 Julio Bin 32 Steps to Sustainability

The jGB diary, Wendy Smith

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

Passing it on

Tonga’s first solar farm powers up

Auckland celebrates its environmental heroes The Auckland Council has celebrated its first Sustainable Environment Awards since the transition to a super city. The awards are given out across four categories, with the supreme award going to the judges’ top pick across all categories. The winner of both the Community and Supreme awards went to Sustainable Paremoremo, an initiative started in 2007 when a small group of people came together with a common goal to “strengthen their community”. Since its inception, the group has grown to the point where it now supports 120 properties undertaking pest management, roadside planting days, the planting of 30 fruit trees at the local school, a home insulating initiative, and a local “sustainable living” publication which goes to over 1500 locals each month. Other category winners included Isabelle Verney (Youth), John Smith (Individual), and Owairaka District School (School) all of whom displayed outstanding leadership in their respective categories. The Awards are held biennially, see www.auckland council.govt.nz for further details. World first backing made from 100% recycled wool carpet (top), compared to jute (bottom).

2 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

The Tongan King and Prime Minister, His Majesty King Tupou VI, recently celebrated the construction of Tonga’s first solar farm along with New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon Murray McCully and a number of other guests. The 1MW farm built by Meridian Energy was paid for by a grant from the New Zealand Aid Programme. The project is the first renewable energy initiative completed in the small Pacific Island nation where more typically electricity comes from polluting diesel generators. The farm was given the name “Maama Mai” by the Tongan King and means “let there be light”. In a country not short of sunlight it’s hoped the farm will produce about 1880 megawatt hours of electricity per annum, or roughly four percent of the capital city Tongatapu’s total electricity demand. The project has also created employment and introduced new “solar” skills for up to 35 locals. Meridian will maintain its involvement in the project for the next five years before full ownership transfers to Tonga Power in 2017.

World beating “green” carpet New Zealand wool carpet maker Cavalier Bremworth is claiming a world first with its just launched “Flashbac” – new carpet backing made entirely from recycled wool carpet. Developed over two years with Auckland’s Textile Products, Flashbac replaces existing imported jute and will see about 1200 tonnes of waste carpet diverted from landfill each year. The company’s environmental innovation has been lauded by New Zealand’s Green Building Council and is expected to help grow Cavalier Bremworth’s export earnings.

Answer to digital dumping

Sustainability becoming a standard event

✔

Standards New Zealand has released a new sustainable events management system, the ISO 20121:2012. The new standard has been created by the events industry to assist in the sustainable management of all types of events be they sporting, business, cultural, or political. The new standard was also trialled by the London Olympic Organising Committee for the 2012 games. Building on well known management systems such as the ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 20121 provides a framework to identify any of the potentially negative social, economic, and environmental impacts of events. The new standard can be ordered from the Standards New Zealand website: www.standards.co.nz.

An estimated half a million TVs due to become obsolete in next year’s switch to digital can now be recycled thanks to new technology up and running at Abilities’ Glenfield workshop. Officially opened by the Minister for the Environment Amy Adams on August 29, the European “Hot Band” technology is the first of its kind in New Zealand and was installed with Waste Minimisation funding. It provides a local solution to processing cathode ray tubes and as well as reducing landfill brings economic benefits to New Zealand, says Abilities CEO Peter Fraher. Abilities which provides meaningful work for people with disabilities employs 150 staff and provides recycling services for businesses including The Warehouse and Fonterra.

A million milestone Kiwi enterprise Living Earth is celebrating a million-tonne milestone – that’s the amount of organic waste it has diverted from landfill in its 18-year history. The company, which boasts an annual turnover of $11.5 million, has also now sold more than one million cubic metres of compost and is adding to its waste diversion tally at the rate of 100,000 tonnes a year.

Be Fit for the Future! How do you build the leadership and management knowledge needed to shape success in times of rapid change? Fit for the Future 2012 addresses these questions with high profile speakers including Michael Henderson, a world-leading pioneer in creating high-performing workplace cultures, Charles Anderson, CEO of Sovereign Assurance and sustainability champion, and Sam Judd who has motivated thousands to join him in cleaning up our coastline. There will also be presentations on consumer trends and green building design. This year’s conference is being held at The Cloud, on Auckland’s waterfront at 1.30pm on September 27. Find out more and register at www.fitforthefuture2012.com.

smarter management systems

www.the-ecoportal.com

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

Passing it on

Geyser building The paint (eco friendly of course) in the country’s first 6 Green Star rated building has finally dried and the new Geyser building in Parnell is now open for business. Utilising green walls and passive ventilation, the building designed by Patterson Associates showcases a range of innovative sustainable design features. It boasts a retail space, 24 offices, and uniquely, a 165-car stacking machine. The building’s key eco credentials include a design expectation that it will use one third less energy than a similarly designed conventional building; half the amount of artificial lighting and water; 100 percent fresh air (as opposed to the typical 25% in standard air-conditioning); a rainwater system to store and supply water to the toilets and irrigation system; utilisation of showers, lockers and cycle parks to encourage active transport, as well as being close to major public transport hubs. Green Building Council CEO Alex Cutler believes businesses locating themselves in the Geyser will be making a statement about their commitment to staff, customers and the planet. “Much of the focus of green buildings is on benefits such as energy and water savings, but just as important is the quality of the working and living environment,” she says. See www.geyserparnell.co.nz.

Lighting consumes about 40% of the electricity in a typical commercial building. Are you wasting money lighting unoccupied spaces?

EECA Subsidy is now available for Wattstopper Lighting Controls. Contact Eurotec for details.

Control Six Catalogue

No matter what type of building you’re looking at, there are areas where specific lighting controls are the perfect solution. Room layout, common operating characteristics and usage patterns can virtually compel a specific control solution. • Offices • Conference Rooms • Restrooms • Lunch/Break Rooms • Utility/Storage Rooms • Exteriors They all have a ‘best fit’ energy-efficient lighting control solution that provides maximal energy savings and increased convenience and productivity. To find out how Wattstopper can reduce your energy bills contact Eurotec today on 0800 111 990 for a free copy of the Wattstopper Control Six brochure - it's the bright way to a better future. Eurotec Limited : Tel : 09-579-1990 Email: sales@eurotec.co.nz Website: www.eurotec.co.nz

4 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

EUROTEC

ET/WATT/2012

Wall mount Occupancy Sensors

Ceiling mount Occupancy Sensors

opinion

In Sustainability we Trust Why do those committed to leading successful and sustainable businesses rate “trust” so highly? Bridget Marsh explains.

t the beginning of 2011, I interviewed 13 business leaders happy to share their tips for building a sustainable business. Two standout themes emerged from their responses – the first was the importance they placed on “trust”. Trust was seen as being at the very core of their work in business sustainability. Obvious, maybe? Then why isn’t it more common? Today, you frequently hear how “greed” has caused some of the worst cases of fraud and corruption in recent years. Underpinning that greed are belief systems that include: there is not enough to go round so I need to get the lion’s share in order to take care of the people I care about; more of anything is better; and that’s just the way it is, there’s nothing I can do about it. You sometimes hear it being rationalised as “that’s business”, “gotta make a living”, or “everybody’s doing it”. But at what cost? Often these are externalised and so paid by society – financial collapse or oil spills are amongst worst examples. Trust is underpinned by different beliefs.

These include optimism about people’s innate goodness; that resources are sufficient if we just use them more wisely; that humans can learn to live on our one planet; and that believing these things creates a more enjoyable way to live. While the idea of trust is conceptual, it has real and measurable results. Stephen M R Covey, American business advisor and author of The Speed of Trust: the one thing that changes everything sees trust as a quotient of success. When trust goes up, speed also goes up and costs go down. However trust doesn’t just happen. It can (and indeed must) be deliberately created in the brand and good name of the business first by declaring motive and intention. It is then built through the integrity with which decisions are made, the truth of marketing messages and product information, the reliability and quality of products, and the transparency of processes and systems. It’s about walking the talk. Trust is also earned from employees who are shown respect, listened to and paid fairly – and it is repaid through

added effort. Trust is therefore a source of business sustainability through • Accelerated growth – we buy from and refer friends to businesses we trust; • Enhanced innovation and improved collaboration; • Stronger and faster partnering or stakeholder alliances; • Better execution – if we trust enough to ask questions, we will make fewer mistakes; • Heightened loyalty from customers, employees and community. So trust is crucial and drives business results. The second standout theme from the interviews (in case you were wondering) was that every one of these business leaders knew exactly what kind of world they want to live in and what they as owners and managers need to do to create a business that fits into that world. Bridget Marsh is a sustainability strategist and director of Creating What Matters. Her “Tips for Building a Sustainable Business” e-book can be downloaded at www.creatingwhatmatters.co.nz.

MORE SALES FOR FAST

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

HOW DID STEVE JOBS SELL APPLE PRODUCTS? HE DIDN’T. HE SOLD INNOVATION AND BEING PART OF THE ‘I’ CLAN. THE REST WAS SALES TECHNIQUE – DONE EXCEPTIONALLY OF COURSE!

Conscious consumers buy to be part of the clan saving the planet. The number of conscious consumers is reportedly the fastest growing sector in New Zealand.

At Creating What Matters we’re about Growing Sustainable Businesses Faster. If you’re planning on creating a sustainable business, read this FREE report “13 Business Leaders Share their advice in Building a successful Sustainable Business”.

Download it here: creatingwhatmatters.co.nz/tools/tips-for-building-a-successful-sustainable-business

P. + 64 9 412 9485

www.creatingwhatmatters.

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

calendar

September 2012 4

Beacon Pathway Sustainable Housing Symposia “New Zealand’s housing crisis: A tale of two cities: Auckland and Christchurch”. In Christchurch. (Auck 11 Sept/Wgtn 24 Sept). www.beaconpathway.co.nz

18-19

Government Sustainability Conference 2012

Auckland Conversations The Living Building Challenge and the Migration to a Restorative Future. www.dinz.org.nz/Events/

19-20

Leading the way to a sustainable public sector. Melbourne. www. government sustainability.com.au

Certified Global Reporting Initiative

Moving on Up

(GRI) training for sustainability reporting. In Wellington. (Auck Sept 26-27). www.envirostate.co.nz

Enviro-Mark Silver and Gold. Wellington. www. enviro-mark.co.nz

Tomorrow’s Business An Afternoon with Dick Smith and Sam Johnson hosted by Rod Oram. www.tomorrowsbusiness.org

Enviro-Mark for Absolute Beginners Wellington. www. enviro-mark.co.nz

25-27

Foodtech Packtech

Fit for the Future Conference

Auckland. www. foodtechpack tech.co.nz

Auckland. www. naturalstep.org/en/ new-zealand

October 2012 3

Enviro-Mark for Absolute Beginners Auckland. www. enviro-mark.co.nz

Enviro-Mark Masterclass

Towards Transparency – Best Practice Sustainability Reporting Workshop

– Measurement and Monitoring Workshop. Auckland. www.enviro-mark.co.nz

14-15

myBiz Expo Auckland. www. mybizexpo.co.nz

Auckland. www. envirostate.co.nz

November 2012 21 Introduction to Enviro-Mark and Bronze Certification Auckland. www.enviro-mark.co.nz

22-24 SBN’s Sustainable Business Awards

SBN’s Sustainable City Showcase

Auckland. www. sustainable.org.nz

Auckland. www.sustainable.org.nz

See www.justgoodbusiness.co.nz for our comprehensive events calendar.

6 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

books

Zeroing in on Zero The Zeronauts – Breaking the Sustainability Barrier John Elkington Published by Earthscan Routledge RRP $49.99 In a business world that is so hard wired to focus on growth, you would think the concept of zero would be a hard if not impossible sell. But if anyone in the sustainability industry can make a decent fist of it, it would have to be sustainability’s serial overachiever John Elkington. From “zero carbon” to “zero waste” to “zero fossil fuels” to “zero nuclear”, “zero” it would seem is really hitting its straps so far as business parlance goes. Not only that, but now Elkington has coined the term “Zeronauts” as a means of defining the new breed of business entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs who get the challenge of “zero” and are hell bent on finding breakthrough solutions to get there. “The evidence,” Elkington suggests, “is that most CEOs and other members

of the global c-suite so far fail to grasp the nature and scale of what’s coming at them… In The Zeronauts I have tried to capture today’s mindset challenges as I see them – and to introduce some of the

people who are developing potentially breakthrough solutions.” With sections on “Cracking the 1 Earth Code”, to “Breaking Through” to “Beyond Zero”, Elkington builds up his case from the bottom – looking at everything from the role that citizens must play through to corporates, cities, countries and finally civilisation. Importantly, though, it is also his view that incremental change will be inadequate to see humanity safely through to the end of this century without enormous social and ecological upheaval. He argues that what is needed is a “zero revolution” and a widespread commitment to breaking through the numerous barriers to sustainability. With interviews and quotes from a wide array of movers and shakers in the sustainability sector, The Zeronauts provides individuals and companies alike with a comprehensive and very useful summary of current sustainability initiatives and thinking. – Damon Birchfield

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

feature

cover story

Dollars & Sense Growing green capital

Whether measured in cash or kudos, embraced for short-term savings or long-term company health – sustainable business practice comes with a raft of rewards. Why embrace sustainability? The real question is why not, says Vicki Jayne.

t’s been just five years since UK supermarket giant Marks & Spencer launched what it called “Plan A” – a staged roadmap toward sustainability. A recently released progress report tots up some of the rewards. The company has improved energy efficiency by 28 percent, achieved its target of becoming carbon neutral, eliminated waste to landfill, and integrated sustainability into financial reporting and review. It has also created a communal effort around its journey – engaging customers in an initiative that’s raised £20 million for charity, enlisting suppliers in sustainability training, and introducing inclusive employment practices. Payback includes £185 million of net benefits now available for reinvestment in the business. That’s a strong business case for sustainability, according to company CEO Marc Bolland. He says M&S is now a “better, greener, more ethical” company with a sustainability template in place to help fuel its expansion from “primarily a UK store-based retailer into a multichannel international retailer”. So far, it’s been a journey that delivers money up front, a more efficient business model and a lot of market kudos. And the M&S story is not an isolated example. Smart business operators around the globe have spotted the “risk/opportunity” writing on the wall and responded. There is a wave of change already reaching these shores through supply chains. We should be riding it – but with local response still lagging many of our offshore markets, we risk just getting dragged along in the undertow. As a recent report on “New Zealand’s Position in the Green

8 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Race” puts it, we are losing our “pure advantage”. While countries like Korea, Singapore and China are investing heavily in “green growth” opportunities worth an estimated $6 trillion a year, it points out that we “continue to look for economic solutions from extractive industries such as coal and oil”. Despite promotion of this country’s clean, green image, we now lag other countries on environmental indices – and tourists from more rigorously greening countries are starting to notice. Not only are we failing to capitalise on our natural advantages but we also risk undermining them. This despite what now constitutes a fairly sizable cadre of Kiwi first movers who have already proved that embracing sustainability has a whole range of upsides – from removing bottom-line costs to generating company-wide innovation and market growth. Why is this country still dragging the chain on doing what is no more than ‘just good business’?

Drivers for change The prompts for embracing sustainability are both internal (eg, values, vision, future proofing) and external (eg, markets, supply chains). Some businesses are using it to put a framework around being more efficient. The push down through supply chains – either direct from offshore or via larger local companies that are in turn facing offshore demands for more accurate carbon footprint data – is becoming a significant driver for certification, according to

“There is growing realisation that ‘sustainability’ is essentially good business practice.”

Photos: thinkstockphotos.com

Landcare Research GM technical Ann Smith. That demand is also starting to generate more reliable local emissions data around areas like freight which has normally been abstracted from UK data sources, she notes. “So the supply chain is starting to work.” There is also growing realisation that “sustainability” is essentially good business practice, notes Sustainable Business Network’s general manager James Griffin. “It’s about using resources efficiently, increasing resiliency to enable the business to prosper long term, developing and engaging staff, supporting the communities in which they interact, creating new innovation platforms and enhancing brands.” Apprehension of business risk is also a factor, according to Landcare Research business development manager Christine Harper. “That can be a big driver for certification in target markets. Credible certification is a great risk reducer for companies of all shapes and sizes.”

Rewards There’s no shortage of low-hanging fruit when it comes to reducing waste. Across New Zealand’s business sector, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has identified as much as $2 billion in savings to be claimed through energy-efficiency measures – many of which have a payback in under three years. The 46 Auckland companies that attended last year’s Eco Smart Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

feature

cover story

10 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Branding NZ What value does sustainability provide to the New Zealand brand and its offshore reputation? The general consensus is “huge”. Landcare Research business development manager Christine Harper says the sustainable use of natural resources is central to much of the organisation’s work. “The clean green brand we hear about still underpins our primary industries which comprise our main exports – as well as the various ways people around the world engage with New Zealand.” SBC’s Penny Nelson says the word from some members is “critical”. “Globally, there is a shift to greener forms of economic growth and we are a trading nation in which much of the trade is based on stewardship of natural resources. “That whole integrity of production processes is an increasingly important factor – so, yes, global reputation is a big issue.”

Photo: thinkstockphotos.com

Business programme (supported by EECA and Auckland City) saved an average of $3600 during the first year of implementation. It’s easy to assume everyone has energy issues sorted, notes Harper. That’s where the discipline of an audited process can help. “In terms of making it happen, a certification programme like Enviro-Mark helps maintain the focus. Companies really start to interrogate resource efficiency around energy and waste. And that is where money can certainly be saved.” Ann Smith agrees that once on a programme, companies can always identify cost savings and efficiencies. “It’s often quite a surprise for companies to find where their hot spots are – where their emissions come from. And that also often identifies opportunities to be innovative. If emissions come from core business areas, then it forces innovation.” She cites EECA’s internal travel trading system, which allows staff to trade their allowable travel emissions using green-orangered warning signals, as a good example of innovative solutions to address problem emission areas. Those approaching ‘red’ have to negotiate with the ‘greenies’ who haven’t used their budget. That helps keep both emissions and travel budgets under control. Initial savings can be quite critical when companies start their sustainability journeys, says Sustainable Business Council executive director Penny Nelson. But further down the track, it tends to become less important. What emerges from SBC case studies in this area as well as member feedback is that just as sustainability drivers differ from company to company, so do rewards, says Nelson. “The sorts of things that really come through are reducing costs, reducing risks, identifying new products or new opportunities, engaging staff and growing brand value. Then there is the whole area of protecting reputation and enhancing community licence to operate.” Innovation is cited as a longer term benefit as is recruitment, she adds. “Bigger companies report that the top graduates they are trying to attract are now asking questions around sustainable policies and practices. So they see this as a means of attracting the people they want working for them.” That is very much the case for professional services companies, notes KPMG director and sustainability leader Jamie Sinclair who also sees sustainability as a multi-layered journey. Going for the low-hanging fruit is just plain good business sense. “The time and energy we put into an energy audit of our Auckland HQ was returned eight-fold through initial savings. It’s a no brainer – this is very basic stuff. What do you do about energy or about printing, or how to reduce air travel… “What’s next is a more challenging discussion around how business strategy impacts on the longer term sustainability of your organisation.”

And that has to be seen in a bigger context. In a report entitled “Expect the Unexpected”, KPMG International recently identified 10 “global sustainability megaforces” affecting the future of every business. These are climate change, energy and fuel production, material resource scarcity, water scarcity, population growth, wealth distribution, urbanization, food security, ecosystem decline and

This smile is sustainable.

There are many good reasons to work with Abilities Group, like great results, competitive rates and our ongoing commitment to recycling and sustainability. But most importantly, when you outsource to us, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re giving someone a reason to feel proud and valued, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something truly worth sustaining. Talk to us about your outsourcing requirements 09 444 0611, or visit www.abilities.co.nz

Enriching the Lives of People With Disabilities.

Packaging PCB Assembly Recycling E-cycling Secure Document Destruction

feature

cover story

Measuring progress deforestation. Against that backdrop, sustainability is a lens through which to frame the future, says Sinclair. “These are the forces that will be impacting on business in coming years – ready or not – they are coming. What do we need to do?” Environmental consultant and author Clare Feeney sees the journey into sustainability as one of staged advantage. “The first thing companies start to do is identify where to make savings – energy and waste reduction. When you look at the whole issue of reducing carbon footprints, carbon can be seen as just an indicator of where waste occurs. Cutting that comes straight off the bottom line.” The whole process of properly measuring and analysing where savings can be made then starts to generate more fundamental changes. Staff get engaged in the process because they can see where systems or practices could be made more efficient – and now have a platform to put forward suggestions for change. “Once you get that engagement, a switch flips over and you’re on track to being a true learning organisation where innovation is embedded,” says Feeney. “Then you start to look down your supply chain at where waste can be eliminated; you look at customers and product end use; you find new forms of packaging; you start analysing product life cycle… it’s like standing on the top of a mountain and seeing the whole ecosystem of the company laid out beneath you. It really can generate quite radical change in terms of finding new ways to do what you do.” So what are the roadblocks? Getting sustainability onto business agendas too strongly focused on current survival is one. If the drive comes from middle management, it is likely to peter out before the real longer term benefits

12 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Simon Harvey.

Has sustainability become mainstream in New Zealand? Views differ. While the number of organisations seeking some form of certification is rising, sustainability reporting remains static, uptake of ISO140001 is poor, water reporting fairly non-existent, and concerns around “carbon miles” seems to have abated. Financial recession hasn’t helped. It did shorten business focus to more immediate survival, says Landcare Research’s Christine Harper. “Interest from SMEs did drop off though that’s picked up again in the past six weeks. But we’ve been kept fairly busy with larger organisations which see benefits in terms of operating across diverse groups of sites – even franchisees. [Sustainability] gives them a standard way of addressing issues they want to be consistent across the brand.” Perhaps not mainstream just yet – but that is definitely on the Sustainable Business Council’s agenda, according to Penny Nelson, with some recent research suggesting there had been a significant shift in attitude. SBN’s general manager James Griffin is even more bullish. “Mainstream? Absolutely!”

Ann Smith.

Clare Feeney.

Jamie Sinclair.

Penny Nelson.

kick in. There has to be buy-in – and leadership – from senior management. Once the easy rewards have been earned, companies can stumble at the investment hurdle, says Feeney. Accounting systems are not always geared for longer-term paybacks on sustainability investments. That’s where the values bit of the equation needs to kick in. Ethics and sustainability fit into the same box. It is basically about eliminating negative impacts – on staff, in the community and on the environmental system that supports all business and community endeavour. “It’s just back to business as it always was which is about delivering value to customers and those you work with – not making as much money as fast as possible and externalising costs onto the environment or citizenry,” says Simon Harvey, director of The Natural Step. “So if you are keen to operate as a good business person, you should be thinking about all the impacts of what you do and that is when you become more efficient with resource use. That moves into thinking how can you do things differently to eliminate those impacts – and a lot of companies find better, more rewarding ways of doing business as a result of that enquiry.” Jamie Sinclair reckons business can take a much stronger lead. “I am passionate about business and I think there is so much opportunity for New Zealand in pushing this – for business to be forging ahead and not worrying too much about what governments are doing. That is just a distraction. “If business goes down this path, then governments will follow.”

HOW PESTER POWER HELPED A SUPERMARKET BAG AN AWARD FOR IN ENERGY SAVINGS

% 40

When his eco-conscious five year old asked him what he was doing to save energy, Whanganui PAKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nSAVE owner Gareth Jones took up the challenge. He enlisted energy management experts ECOsystems and embarked on an energy efficiency makeover: adding skylights to bring in natural light, replacing air conditioning with free cooling in summer, installing lighting sensors and controls and retrofitting double-glazed doors on fridges and freezers. Now the supermarket is achieving 40% energy savings a year and bagged themselves an EECA Award as a result. And it all started with a five year oldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s question.

Whatever your business, find out how you can make the most of the energy you use. Visit www.eecabusiness.govt.nz

Ogilvy/EEC2493

feature

getting sussed

Sus ainability starter kits

Eco-Label or Eco-Babel?

CEMARS or carboNZero, Earthcheck or EcoSmart – the burgeoning supply of eco-ticks, checks, measuring and management systems can be just plain confusing. So which is best for your business? jGB offers a sample of starting lines.

he paths to sustainable enlightenment are many – and growing. A recent tally carried out by Landcare Research identified at least 50 ranging from simple carbon calculators to fully accredited environmental management systems. Which one to choose? Does it matter? First forays into the area can be like entering the Tower of Eco-Babel. Do you learn the language of GHG emissions and carbon disclosure; of measure and mitigate or values and vision? Does sustainability even have a common language? The following are some suggestions for navigating through the sustainability maze.

Share the conversation You don’t have to start from scratch. There’s a couple of decades worth of knowledge out there accumulated by first movers and available through various industry or not-for-profit organisations – like the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), Sustainable Business Council (SBC), or the Employers & Manufacturers

14 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Association (EMA). All offer their own starter kits. Established in 2002, the Sustainable Business Network now represents around 550 organisations ranging from SMEs and NFPs to large corporates. Membership provides access to a wide range of information, networking opportunities and resources including GetSustOnline – a free online sustainability assessment tool. Its “Get Sustainable Challenge” helps any size organisation turn good intentions into action and acts as entry point for SBN’s well-established annual awards programme. It also developed and runs the GreenFleet programme (focused on reducing and ‘greening” transportation) and Carbon4Good (an associated carbon offset programme). The Sustainable Business Council was born of a recent merger between Business New Zealand’s ‘Sustainability Forum’ and the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development. So its membership encompasses a solid cross-section of the NZ business scene from SME to multinational, with strong interest in sustainability issues shown by many of the 14,000 plus

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look at what your stakeholders or supply chain or board is likely to be demanding before navigating through the choices.â&#x20AC;? Photos: thinkstockphotos.com

feature

getting sussed

members of Business NZ. The SBC’s aim is building prosperity through an enterprise model that delivers value to customer and citizen, environment and economy – and current projects range from practical to visionary. The former include its Business Sustainability Benchmarking Framework and Sustainable Supply Chain Management toolkit; the latter, the Vision 2050 for New Zealand that some it young future leaders developed. The EMA recently added an environmental focus to its broad-based business training options with the “eco smart business” work programme which breaks environmental management down into relevant and achievable tasks. It is supported by Auckland Council and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, comes with web-based management and reporting and leads to an accredited “Eco Warranty”. Over the past year, 46 Auckland businesses completed the programme and a further 30 have signed up for the training which is delivered by International Certifications.

Self interrogation Given the whole eco-label list is almost too daunting to contemplate, best to put it aside for a moment and first interrogate your own reasons for pursuing more sustainable business practices. What do you want to achieve? Is it values or market driven? Is it about mitigating risk or saving money? Is it about ‘doing the right thing’? Will it help future proof the business or attract top staff? “I think I’d be advising companies to first of all look at what their stakeholders or supply chain or their board is likely to be demanding of them before they go out and navigate through the choices,” suggests Landcare Research general manager, technical, Ann Smith. That will help narrow the range of options. For this article, the focus is less on product labelling as organisation-wide sustainability starter kits – though the former can be a practical approach for complex manufacturers with a wide product range. Often the two go hand in hand – and for smaller companies, producer and product can be rolled into an overarching sustainability drive.

Choose a starting point Of the various toolkits available in New Zealand, some are single-issue focused (water, waste, energy etc) while others are specifically geared to a particular industry sector. Examples of the latter include Green Star accreditation for buildings, Earthcheck for hospitality providers, or Qualmark – NZ Tourism’s official badge of quality and environmental performance. Some of the labels indicate resource sustainability – for example Forest Stewardship Council ensures products are sourced from sustainable forests; the Marine Stewardship

16 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Portal power Control tower, central ideas bank – or just one platform ‘to rule them all’, web-based ecoPortal is designed to simplify environmental management by putting all the relevant data in one readily accessible and quickly comprehensible site. Although originally designed for SMEs, the system has been adopted by large distributed organisations (users include Unitec and Auckland City), says ecoPortal co-founder Logan Wait. “It effectively creates a collaboration platform where everybody knows what they are doing and has all the tools in one location.” The system is flexible enough to be adapted to any business or industry, allowing them to put strategy into action and centralise the sort of data needed to pursue accreditation. It was specifically built to align with ISO 140001, says Wait. Health, safety, quality and business risk data can all be included and a visual and interactive interface makes accessing the information both simple and intuitive. Sustainabilty managers love it, says Wait, because it makes their lives a lot easier. “It offers a way of capturing all the relevant information and presenting it in a strategic way to show how it aligns with the overall direction of the organisation. “That makes it easier to get engagement from staff, improves communications with senior management and provides a transparency they didn’t have before.”

“You need the data but you also need to translate that into messages that help deliver the full value of the process.”

Council offers the same assurance for fish; while Bio-Gro is New Zealand’s leading certification agency for organically grown produce. But putting aside product or industry specific options still leaves a swathe of generic offerings designed to help companies kick-start their sustainability journey. This is where choices can get a tad tougher and more strategic. For offshore or supply-chain driven then self-checking systems don’t really cut it. “If data is being supplied into your supply chain, I think it’s risky to supply that data unverified because then it can be challenged,” warns Smith. Anyone starting down the sustainability track will quickly find that measuring stuff – from energy in to waste out is central to most environmental management systems. If you don’t measure, you can’t manage. But the process is not just about counting things – it’s about values, organisational culture and long-term business strategies. The challenge is getting a bit of both, suggests Landcare Research business development manager Christine Harper. “You need the data but you also need to translate that into messages both to staff and to markets that help deliver the full value of the process.” Landcare’s own offerings cover a lot of ground and have the advantage of being readily scalable, well-recognised and third party verified. Enviro-Mark is a five-step programme that offers an easy starting point, especially for SMEs that need a bit of hand holding, some timely action prompts and a pathway for ongoing improvement. Once organisations have moved through basic bronze and silver up to gold, they can continue on to platinum and diamond levels, which pretty much ensures their ability to gain the internationally accredited standard ISO 140001. “The difference between Enviro-Mark and international standards accreditation is that we help people along the way to ensure everything is in place before the audit takes place,” explains Harper. Also from the Landcare stable are CEMARS and carboN-

Zero accreditation which represent a pragmatic response to the reality that, whatever governments are doing, supply chain pressure to start counting carbon is becoming more intense. CEMARS is essentially the first two steps towards carboNZero – measuring your organisation’s footprint and putting in place verifiable steps towards reduction. CEMARS can also be applied to products (based on lifecycle impacts) and services. To achieve carboNZero, those carbon emissions that can’t be eliminated are offset through the purchase of verified and registered carbon credits which can be generated in several different ways – ranging from tree plantations to energy-saving projects. The full range of options is too detailed to go into here but “credits” need to be independently verified and registered. Measuring and mitigating is only one aspect of this journey. Sustainability is a fundamental shift in thinking – from exclusive focus on financial bottom line to a wider take that includes the social and environmental impact of business. That’s the start point for The Natural Step – a systems-based process that provides a holistic recipe for transformative change. Embraced by a wide range of both large, complex organisations and small business, it addresses the “why” aspect of this journey – the reality that the relationship between economy, society and the ecological home in which both operate is out of kilter. “When people realise that the economy is created by people to meet their needs rather than seeing it as some beast you need to feed to keep happy, it can be a bit of an illumination,” says Business Lab director Simon Harvey, who runs the TNS programmes in New Zealand. And when the way the economy is being run undermines our human needs for access to clean air, water and good food, then it just ain’t doing its job. What TNS offers is a recipe for re-framing organisational decisions and activities in the light of four science-based sustainability principles related to: concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust; concentrations of substances produced by society; physical degradation of the environment; and the ability of societies to meet their needs. “It gives people a simple tool to evaluate where they’re at and ask what if you address all those things, how would we do what we do,” says Harvey. “That helps create a transformational shift in how the business operates. Once you realise what the constraints are, it then becomes a redesign challenge.” But, wherever or however the journey begins, the outcomes for business practice and organisational thinking represent a step change towards what has been described as the “new normal”. While “sustainability” is not yet mainstream in New Zealand, it’s certainly heading that way, so whatever track your business takes, best get to a starting line soon. Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

jGB interview

Driving Sustainability Danusia Wypych has had her foot to the floor since becoming sustainability manager at Z Energy. She talks to jGB about driving the company’s sustainability agenda. jGB: Before launching the new brand, Z Energy initiated a conversation with its customers and the community. Can you tell us why and what the feedback was? Danusia Wypych: We are experts in a lot of areas but sustainability hasn’t historically been our strength. In all honesty, we sell fuel. So the hurdle to becoming a sustainable business is a little higher for us. Not long after we took over the business, our CEO and one of our general managers got together with a number of leading sustainability thinkers and doers. We asked them “what matters” for Z in going after sustainability. These were rich conversations that left us with the message that we have a lot of ground to cover and need to be able to provide energy responsibly from other sources. Additionally, we did research (with 17,000 people) on what New Zealanders expected from a Kiwi company. What became quickly apparent was that New Zealanders had higher expectations of a Kiwi company than overseas-owned companies. They expect us to act responsibly, to demonstrate concern for the environment, to give back to local neighbourhoods and to be the first to put things right. So before walking the talk, and all the way along the journey, we’re keeping our ears and minds open. jGB: What are three of the biggest issues or challenges from a sustainability perspective currently facing the energy industry? DW: Thinking specifically about transport energy, there are more than three but let’s start with: The moment of choice – New Zealand’s light fleet (the cars you and I drive) can undergo a significant transformation. In the next 10 years, almost half that fleet will be retired. So the cars we buy for the next 10 years will dominate the fleet we are driving in 2025. If you want to change the future, we have to start now. Ignoring the “Fifth Fuel” – energy efficiency (also known as the fifth fuel) is well understood in the electricity market and people buy energy efficient appliances. There are also a lot of simple ways to get more out of a tank of fuel. The challenge is bringing

18 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Danusia Wypych.

this to life to people so it is easy, fun, contagious and it sticks! Emissions – transport emissions matter, both locally where they contribute to poor air quality and nationally as part of our national emissions profile. jGB: We’d imagine that in your job you must deal with a lot of “bad” environmental news, such as peak oil, climate change, declining biodiversity. What keeps you showing up for work each morning? DW: I tend to focus on what’s missing in a situation. I took on this role in Z because of the gap that exists between where we are as an energy company and where we could be. My job isn’t to solve the world’s problems, it’s to get Z “match fit” for playing its part in solutions. Whether that’s around emissions, waste reduction, sustainable design or different transport energy, we are capable – and up for facing the challenges – of becoming a sustainable energy company. Between where we are and where we could be, there’s a hell of a lot of gap to show up for every morning. A lot of people see “the gap” as a bad thing. I see it as the space where opportunities can come alive. jGB: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given since you started working in the sustainability sector? DW: I think one of the best perspectives I’ve been given by the people around me is: “The world is the way you see it.” jGB: What are you celebrating at Z Energy right now? DW: Right now we’re pretty stoked to be able to offer our commercial customers a new service that lets commercial transport operators monitor business drivers such as fuel consumption, driver compliance, fleet maintenance and road safety, in conjunction with an innovative New Zealand company called EROAD.

We’ve also given the team a high five for the work that brought Z to NZ, rebranding and refitting over 220 sites across the country. When I joined, I had an internal cringe about how much waste such a transition could create. You can imagine my relief when I found out over 80 percent of the materials were recycled, repurposed or sent overseas to be reused. jGB: What does behaving sustainably mean to you and what would success look like from an organisational perspective? DW: Sustainable behaviour means you’ve gone beyond projects and processes to integrating the considerations for resource use, waste generation and the wider impacts of your products and services into the way you do business. We’re pretty clear about what success will look like from an organisational perspective in the next three years, and we have published our sustainability commitments to 2015 in our most recent Annual Review. This includes becoming New Zealand’s leading biofuel supplier by 2014, reducing our own carbon intensity and helping other companies improve their safety performance. In the longer term, our business will be sustainable when we have generated more transport energy options and delivered value and fuel to our customers.

jGB: If a business is serious about getting into sustainability, the first thing they should do is...? DW: Be honest about what really matters. At Z we thought about what sustainability looks like for our organisation. For us it’s not just about getting our own house in order. We will need to help New Zealand reduce emissions from transport if we really want to make the most of our opportunity to create a more sustainable outcome. If you are going to get serious about sustainability as an organisation, it pays to think of it as a journey that starts out as a way of doing and ends up as a way of being. jGB: If you could change one thing about the world to make the biggest difference, what would it be? DW: The one thing I would change is the number of people who experience the world as a place that “is” instead of a place that “can be.” For me a lot of the distance between how we are and how we would like to be as people, families, businesses and communities comes down to a sense that it is difficult to change the way things are. When I look back on all the technical and social change that we have created and adapted to, all I see is the potential to direct the same curiosity, focus, energy and resources into what we want to achieve now.

re bscu t. o d r n ies a nds apa t n a warr k sta r n a e M e r nt g , Enviro a t s n s i l d of co-labe l r o e naw

For more than a decade we’ve helped hundreds of New Zealand businesses tread lighter on the planet and achieve robust environmental credentials. With independent auditing, our Enviro-Mark Diamond certification exceeds the requirements of the world’s best known environmental standard (ISO14001:2004). You’ll differentiate your business, win more sales, reduce your costs, and overcome those compliance headaches. Do ‘the right thing’ … for your bottom line.

Ph 0800 ENMARK (366275) www.enviro-mark.co.nz Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

case study

Villa Maria

A nose for the future What are you handing on to the next generation? It’s a question that goes to the heart of inter-generational wine producer Villa Maria. And it’s at the core of the company’s sustainable business focus.

abian Yukich has been talking sustainability for about 20 minutes before “markets” merit a mention – and then only because the interviewer raised it as a potential advantage of “going green”. Market perception was just not a factor when Villa Maria’s executive director started his own journey with a company whose footprint boasts a strong future focus. “The markets weren’t particularly interested in sustainability when we started down this track in the 1990s. We didn’t even call it ‘sustainability’.” What was included as a specific objective when Yukich (a winemaker by trade) joined the company in 1998 as project manager for its new Marlborough winery was being “environmentally responsible”. He says the brief was to design for a 50-year timeframe – so looking after the environment emerged as an intrinsic value. “It really evolved from a desire by owner George Fistonich to leave something for the next generation. That’s how it started.” Nearly 15 years down the track, Villa Maria is not just collecting awards for its wine but for its environmental performance. This year it earned a Green Ribbon Award from the Ministry for the Environment for its ongoing commitment to environmental best practice. A founding member of “Sustainable Winegrowing NZ”, it later became the first major New Zealand wine producer to achieve CEMARS (Certi-

20 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

fied Emissions Management and Reduction Scheme) certification. Its organic production is certified from vine to vat and Yukich himself was dubbed “Sustainability Champion” at the 2010 NZ Sustainable Business Network Awards. He says that being a pioneer has had its challenges. Some energy saving technology was still in its infancy. “At Marlborough, we put in a heat recovery plant to capture the waste heat from refrigeration for use during the winemaking process. At the time it was a big deal because you couldn’t just get those systems off the shelf back then.” At around the same time, the company also started its shift to organic growing with the purchase of 80ha in Hawke’s Bay. “The scale we initially attempted to do it on proved a bit much so instead of doing the 80ha in one hit, we broke things down into manageable bits – it was about learning how to do it and do it efficiently, then moving on to the next thing.” He believes that having a clearly stated environmental objective was what provided the impetus and discipline to do things differently – even though it often cost more than conventional practice. “With our Auckland winery, which was a bigger project, it opened up more opportunities. There were old buildings on the site that we recycled – partly into the new structures and partly elsewhere. We met

with the local marae whose guardianship of the land goes back hundreds of years and discussed what was important to them. “Water quality was a biggie so we put measures in place beyond what was required at the time to ensure any water coming off carparks or driveways had sediment removed before it went into the creek.” The company opted to go for CEMARS accreditation in the early 2000s because it wanted to address energy usage in a structured way, says Yukich. “We made a conscious decision not to go for a carbon zero because for us it is all about making our operations more sustainable rather than worrying about carbon markets. Like BioGro or ISO 14000, the audit process forces you to set and meet targets – get external verification and then set more ambitious targets. “If in the workplace you get so busy doing the things you normally do – like making wine and selling it – that you start ignoring what you set out to do, then an external auditor is there to prompt you. It’s important to have that discipline in place.” The rewards for pursuing sustainable practices could be described as a slow build. “Initially it cost us money because we had to invest to get the payback,” says Yukich. “The heat recovery systems had terrible payback to begin with but as the business has grown and power prices gone up, the payback has improved – plus it’s

“To be successful, you have to have the mentality to think long term.”

Villa Maria’s Joseph Soler vineyard in Hawke’s Bay has operated on organic principles since 2001.

Villa Maria’s executive director and sustainability champion Fabian Yukich.

given us the infrastructure we need to make further savings.” But he believes you can’t think like an accountant in terms of getting measurable payback within a set timeframe. “To be successful you have to have the mentality to think long term. A family winery is an intergenerational business so I think sustainability dovetails nicely with what what we are already doing in terms of winery design. “We’ve gone a bit further now in that

anyone who is making a capital investment in the business has to justify it from a sustainability viewpoint – if it’s a new tractor, they have to ask what is the impact and how can it be done better.” That encourages innovation – and engaging staff at all levels on the sustainable journey turns out to be something of a self-fulfilling process, says Yukich. “One example is the worm farm at our Auckland winery which came about because kitchen staff at the restaurant figured the return on reducing waste was worth the investment. Now that waste all goes back into the organic vineyards.” It’s a process that he says has to be championed at senior level. “That’s when you get buy in. Once people are aware senior leadership is behind this, it encourages them to come up with ideas – and they certainly keep coming. It is about getting it into the culture on both a big and small scale – even down to managing office rubbish tins so that we recycle

as much as possible. Everywhere, people can see examples of what they can do.” While environment has been a strong focus, Yukich points out that it is only one leg of the sustainability tripod – the others being economics and the social/cultural bit. “Along the way, we realised that Villa Maria had been doing that last bit anyway – in terms of contributing to local community or being an equal opportunity employer. It all just fits with the company ethos.” Wine is a product that involves everything from vine to end market so ensuring the whole value chain is sustainable is just plain common sense, says Yukich. “You can also see it from a New Zealand perspective. As a country we export a lot more than we consume ourselves and our image overseas as sustainable producers is an important one. We have some natural advantage in that our energy is 70 percent renewable – compared to Australia’s 10 percent – but we need to keep moving the goalposts.” Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

case study

JAWS gets its teeth into CEMARS Why is an IP law firm curbing its carbon emissions? There’s a bunch of very pragmatic thinking behind James & Wells’ embrace of sustainable business practice.

arlier this year, James & Wells proudly claimed to be the world’s first IP law firm to achieve CEMARS certification for reducing its carbon footprint. The PR exposure certainly did no harm – but the business case runs much deeper. Showing leadership is part of it, as partner Simon Rowell explains. One of three main drivers for the company’s sustainability journey, he says, is closer connection to key market segments. “The clean tech industry represents a huge opportunity for New Zealand. We wanted to be able to relate on a deeper level to those companies and be seen as the leader in our field in sustainability, not a follower. “Also the sustainability segment itself is a very savvy and exciting area and by its nature will demand sustainable suppliers. We were already involved in the segment as a major sponsor of Natural Products New Zealand industry association and we wanted to appeal as the go-to guys for this market segment. It allows us to have different conversations with customers, not just IP-related.” More immediately, the drive for a direct impact on the bottom line has already led to savings in travel, petrol, electricity and paper costs. And thirdly, the sustainability journey offers a new touchpoint for staff engagement, says Rowell.

22 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

Buy-in wasn’t immediate. For starters, the concept of “sustainability” was not well understood. “It was only through joining the Sustainable Business Network [SBN] and mixing with those who are already doing it that we started really understanding what it was all about. For us it is very much around making sustainable long-term profits – being in there for the long haul but not at the expense of your people or the planet.” Getting leadership buy-in was perhaps the biggest challenge. While the process can start anywhere, there does have to be someone in senior management who buys in strongly and has the influence to convince others this is something the company as a whole should get behind, says Rowell. There were “a few raised eyebrows” and the odd grumble when the company launched its new policy with a car-free day. But that exercise got people thinking and Rowell himself now regularly uses public transport when heading into the city. It’s more efficient, he says, than sitting in traffic. While the process had initially been kicked off in the context of a marketing strategy meeting, Rowell says it relates well to overall business values that include being “fresh”, “dynamic”, “courageous” and “committed”. “We had to take a forward step because that is the nature of our firm. There’s certainly a marketing aspect in terms of

appealing to customers as a good corporate citizen. Also there is the personal motivation of doing the right thing – and leading in that thing, not doing it eventually because everyone else is.” First step was getting to grips with the concept. “We realised we knew nothing about it which is why we joined SBN. It has a wealth of great information and resources and has been invaluable to us on this journey.” To get a rough benchmark of where it stood, the company undertook SBN’s “Get Sustainable” challenge and built up a sustainable business plan before signing up for CEMARS. “We wanted to go for the best and most scientifically sound accreditation we could. When we decide to do something, we want to do it as best we can,” says Rowell. “The accreditation means an external audit and gives us credibility – it means we can be confident when we go into the market with messages on our carbon reduction efforts.” So far that’s involved tighter controls over things like travel. With four offices around New Zealand and a strong need to keep in touch with offshore business trends, cutting air travel completely is not an option. But installing video conferencing and encouraging use of technology like Skype helps.

“We wanted to go for the best and most scientifically sound accreditation we could.”

Cleaning up coastlines is a focus for staff involvement.

The company has committed to a five percent reduction in energy use which means lights and computers must be turned off when not in use. There’s also a stronger focus on reducing waste – including paper. The company’s Christchurch office is now paperless and the company is exploring more sophisticated document management systems to reduce paper use throughout its operations. No extra staff were taken on to do the necessary certification paperwork. “We had one PA responsible for the CEMARS processes and it was a very large time commitment for her. This year we have a marketing assistant working on that as well as other areas. We’ve certainly committed more marketing budget to it.”

James & Wells’ commitments to wider community sustainability include being silver sponsor of Sustainable Coastlines. Staff get involved in coastline clean-ups – which often means wading through mangrove swamps, says Rowell. But the ocean edge focus fits well with the firm’s JAWS-themed logo and slogan of “getting our teeth into sustainability”. That includes encouraging others to get involved and Rowell says the company has launched an initiative that involves donating to Sustainable Coastlines, five percent of any professional fees billed to members of SBN, the Sustainable Business Council or any organisation with CEMARS certification. “We want to encourage others to join up

because those organisations have been so good for us.” Rowell says that making sustainable profits is now written into the company’s overall strategy. “Our vision is to be the most sought after IP firm in New Zealand. We believe unless we act as a good corporate citizen, the types of clients we want will not seek us out. We also want to be a direct contributor to New Zealand’s prosperity and we can only do that if we sustain ourselves in the long term. “Part of New Zealand’s prosperity is also its environment assets and our involvement with Sustainable Coastlines is part of ensuring our waterway assets remain for future generations to enjoy.” Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

case study

Logan Brown The taste of action

Is the hospitality industry doing enough to promote sustainable practice? Steve Logan, of Wellington’s award-winning restaurant Logan Brown, thinks not.

ne of the Capital’s best-known venues for fine dining, Logan Brown is proud to have attained Enviro-Mark Gold accreditation – but doesn’t flash it around. That’s because being seen to be good is not the point. “That’s not what motivates us,” says owner Steve Logan. “We actually want to change how we behave and the badge is the reward for that. It’s not just about looking good but being good – walking the talk. That’s why I’m interested in getting other people motivated and helping organisations that are going in the same direction.” His personal concern about environmental issues was kick-started into action three years ago by a film called Age of Stupid. Set in a future devastated by climate change and based on one survivor’s trawl through an archive of real news footage, it asks: why didn’t people act when they still had the chance? “I came out of it thinking that I needed to stop worrying and instead try to do something.” Over the past few years, this has involved active promotional and fundraising support for such organisations as 350.org (set up to raise awareness of climate change), WWF, and The Last Ocean (a documentary project highlight-

24 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

ing the need to protect the Ross Sea – our last pristine marine ecosystem). The restaurant has also been steadily reducing its own environmental footprint. Getting on board with the EnviroMark accreditation programme was more happy accident than studied choice. It just popped up at the right time, says Logan. “I’m a guy – I don’t go shopping. But this came along and I thought it would do the job. Well, actually we did all the work and sitting at a desk filling in forms isn’t something I enjoy. But you have to do that and I am good at systems – so we get the renewal of our accreditation ticked off pretty much straight away.” It took around a year to gain EnviroMark’s Bronze and Silver ratings and the restaurant earned “Gold” the following year – in 2010. The process included attending seminars with others on the programme and getting business systems sorted. “Initially you have to ensure things like health, safety, waste water disposal or gas emissions all meet local body regulations. A lot of it is what you should be doing anyway. Then you look at things like reducing energy, water usage, waste. You can replace a bit of plant. “We introduced dual flush toilets and changed some devices in the dishwashing

area. If we had an endless budget, we’d have solar panels and collect our own rain water but there is lots of stuff to get started on.” Within a year, the company was able to reduce waste to landfill by two-thirds, recycling food and compostable waste through Living Earth and ensuring everything from steel bottle caps to dry-cleaning hangers goes back into the resource stream. The restaurant also ensures that the food it serves is acquired from sustainable sources. “All these things make us feel better about what we’re doing.” As to more quantifiable paybacks, Logan reckons the savings his business has made would have covered the cost of being in the programme. “We haven’t really quantified the financial rewards. We are probably holding our cost on a lot of these things. We are definitely running a much better business,” says Logan. He believes restaurants have a lot of power to influence consumers and supply chains but aren’t doing enough to spread the word. “I think the hospitality industry is shocking. They have so much potential to generate change – we use a lot of raw material to turn into something on a plate. There is so much opportunity in

Steve Logan – a champion for change.

that process to really make a difference – to influence consumers, to make changes in their own behaviour. A lot of them have only one bin and tip everything into it…” He believes if you’re not working to improve the choices consumers make, then you’re part of the problem. That’s why he’s one of the movers behind the 42 Collective whose vision is for New Zealand to be a place where it’s “easy to live socially and environmentally responsible lifestyles”. Its flagship initiative is Conscious Consumers – a group that is all about supporting better business. CC currently accredits cafés and their suppliers on the basis of business sustainability with badges highlighting criteria that range from fair trade and eco-packaging to seasonal food use

“We actually want to change how we behave. It’s not just about looking good but being good.” and composting. Its network will shortly be expanded to include other hospitality providers. The rewards, he says, are about living in tune with your values. “I think people feel some kind of guilt that we’ve got ourselves into this situation where we don’t know what sort of world we are handing on to the next generation. The only way to clear that is to do something about it. “While we don’t talk about it much, I think the team here appreciates working for an organisation that cares, that has good values – and is doing something to help make a difference.” Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

case study

Nelson City Council A framework for the future

Nelson City’s journey into a sustainable future has already been nearly two decades in the making. Is its new push gaining real traction?

ow do you create a culture of sustainability in a complex and changing organisational structure –- particularly if there is no shared understanding of just what “sustainability” is? That question is central to a journey Nelson City Council has been on for nearly two decades. It dates backs to 1995 when Nelson became one of a few communities around New Zealand asked by the Ministry for the Environment to do a community planning exercise around sustainable development. It was an initiative that emerged from the first Rio Summit, explains NCC policy advisor Sarah Yarrow. “The Council was one participant, the DHB another. Through a series of discussions the community came up with an action plan for how to move forward and what we could achieve.” It was, she says, a good first effort with lots of buy in. “But if it’s not integrated into an overall system, it tends to fade away. And unless someone keeps driving it, it just ends up sitting on a shelf.” In 2008, another flurry of activity took place under the Transition Towns initiative with various programmes set up by the community to reduce waste, conserve resources and address energy concerns. There were more community conversations around what exactly “sustainable development” should encompass. When everything from biodiversity to bins needs

26 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

to be addressed, the sustainability brief can get fairly complex, says Yarrow. “And when you don’t have a common language and understanding, how do you know when you’re achieving it? It’s where a lot of programmes fall over,” she laments. However, then Mayor Kerry Marshall got behind the idea and pushed Council to come up with a formal sustainability programme. At the same time, NCC received funding from MFE to create a Communities for Climate Protection Action Plan. In the middle of that came a change of governance and a new mayor. But, despite losing Marshall as a champion, new council members took up the sustainability baton, says Yarrow. “Their focus was about being prepared for a world that was changing and building resilience into the community. We were tasked with building on the work that had already been done and to look at how we could create transformative change in the community and within the Council.” After researching both in New Zealand and offshore, the Council chose to adopt The Natural Step (TNS) – a strategic planning framework for sustainability used by both small and complex organisations as a change blueprint. Systems based, it offers a clear set of sustainability principles against which policies can be tested, says Yarrow. “It is just one of many frameworks that are out there but we thought it worked well for our needs – it helped us get to

grips with what sustainable development would look like whether you’re talking about a new road or a new facility… “It’s not prescriptive around actions you take to get to sustainability, it’s more that when you make decisions, these are the things you need to think about. It also offers a good guide for community involve-

“What the process we’re going through requires is full organisational change – and that’s a big undertaking.” ment and collaboration.” Both Council staff and community leaders participated in TNS workshops giving them a common language and framework for moving forward. That led into a round of community consultation and future visioning workshops. “We worked with environmental and social networks and the business community looking at how we want Nelson to be in 2060.” Then it became an exercise in “backcasting” from that vision, the steps that have to be taken now and in the future in order to achieve it. It puts a stake in the ground that helps empower current choices, notes Yarrow. “Traditionally, we forecast what the

world might be like as a result of today’s changes and plan for that. With all the doom and gloom around peak oil, power prices rising, climate change impact… it can be a bit depressing. With backcasting, you always have the vision of where you want to be in your mind, then try to ensure all the actions you take line up to head towards that vision.” Its “Framing the Future: Towards Nelson 2060” vision is now the focus of a series of community workshops designed to put the vision into action. The aim is a strategy that not only guides Council planning but also will be used by businesses and organisations throughout the community. So, just what is the buy-in? At Council level, the chief executive has made the development of a sustainability strategy one of his own key performance indicators and that’s proved valuable in getting the executive team on board, says Yarrow. But maintaining the focus in the light of major events (Rugby World Cup, major

NCC supports community initiatives like Enviro-Schools.

flooding etc) and busy work programmes is a challenge. “What the process we are going through requires is full organisational change and that’s a big undertaking. But we’ve started embedding the thinking. “When we were developing our asset management plans, those sustainability principles were the background against which people made decisions. I think that is a great leap forward because all the funding and decisions about infrastructure get made at that level. It’s quite fundamental to what councils do.”

Out in the community, momentum is also building. NCC has a sustainability advisor to support community change; it’s a major participant in Enviro-Schools; after a decade of community wide effort air quality this winter is notably better; waste to landfill is reducing; and community initiatives are bedding in, says Yarrow. “What is key to this is building up knowledge and capacity in the community and we can see the results of that. Is it becoming business as usual? We’re not quite there but that is the aim otherwise it will be a strategy that just sits on a shelf.” Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

energy

Fuelling business growth

Ian Niven

What’s energy efficiency worth? Try $600 million and counting. Ian Niven tots up the benefits.

he global financial crisis and subsequent years of slow or negative growth across the developed world has presented challenges for businesses not seen since the great depression. While our economy has performed better than some, the recovery has largely proved underwhelming with many businesses struggling to find their way back to prerecession levels of profitability. There are many ways firms can improve their fortunes in tough times. These include developing new products, finding new markets and reducing costs. Some of the most resilient firms are now using energy efficiency to effectively reduce costs and bolster their balance sheets in the short-term while building a solid platform for growth. Energy efficiency reduces costs with savings going straight to the bottom line. But energy-efficient businesses also enjoy greater productivity, profitability and a more competitive market position. As the developed world moves to a lowcarbon economy, consumers are increasingly demanding sustainably produced goods and services – energy efficiency goes hand in hand with sustainable production. The opportunities for New Zealand businesses to use energy efficiency to improve their prospects are significant. Collectively they could save up to $2 billion through energy-efficiency measures, many of which have a pay-back of three years or less. Realising these potential savings could help insulate businesses against tough market conditions and free up capital for investment in the likes of R&D, or new plant. A number of our most successful business

28 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

across all sectors of the economy are leading the way. Air New Zealand was the Supreme winner at the recent 2012 EECA Awards and the numbers are impressive. Since starting its energy-saving drive in 2005 our national carrier has clocked up energy savings worth more than $540 million and it is avoiding 142,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Seeking to be the ‘world’s most sustainable airline by 2020’, it is also enhancing its brand in an industry known for using a lot of energy and is regularly recognised in prestigious international airline awards as a market leader. But it is not just the big energy users that benefit from energy efficiency – opportunities exist in all sectors and for businesses of all sizes. For example, research undertaken by EECA Business, in collaboration with Fonterra and the former Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, shows a huge opportunity for dairy farm energy efficiency by transferring heat from the milk chiller to the dairy shed hot-water system. Some farms could save up to 30 percent on their dairy shed electricity bill by utilising otherwise wasted heat in this way. An accounting firm could focus on upgrading the more energy-intensive systems such as heating, air conditioning or lighting which, in our experience, could result in energy savings of up to 50 percent. Something that all businesses using energy efficiency to drive growth have in common is leadership. It is critical that holders of the purse strings in senior management commit to energy efficiency because without this focus, projects either don’t get off the ground

or don’t yield their full potential. The executive management of all the 2012 EECA Energy award entrants has shown extraordinary leadership and commitment in securing energy efficiency a place at the top table and keeping it there. Together the awards entrants saved and or generated $600 million worth of energy and reduced or avoided 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. While companies like the 2012 EECA award winners are reaping the rewards of energy efficiency, the challenge for EECA Business is to make the decision to invest in energy efficiency an easy one for all. Key to our success will be inspiring business leaders and making them aware of the potential that energy efficiency holds – not only to improve their balance sheets but to fuel growth, and build reputations. Here are some of the key questions business leaders should be asking: 1. How much do we spend on energy each year across the organisation? 2. How much could we save, and how are we doing compared to our competition? 3. Do we have the right policies, plans and processes in place to enable us to manage our energy use? 4. Does the way we manage energy form part of our overall approach to productivity and minimisation of waste? 5. How do our customers and suppliers expect us to manage our energy use and carbon footprint, and what would be the impact on our competitive position and brand if we failed to meet these expectations? Ian Niven is general manager, business at EECA.

counter culture

Look at the books!

Jamie Sinclair

Wondering where to start your sustainability journey? Check your financials, suggests Jamie Sinclair.

“

f sustainability is ‘just good business’, how come I don’t know where to begin?” For many New Zealand businesses, I get the sense that this question explains a reluctance to openly embrace sustainable business practices. Very few organisations currently have staff dedicated to understanding sustainability inside out, applying it to the business and managing the implementation. There is also a confusing array of jargon and seemingly impossible ambitions to go alongside “sustainability”. Net zero carbon footprint by 2015 ... really? News flash. Finding the place to start your sustainable journey is not rocket science. Start in your P&L. 1. Pull out from the financials what is important to improving the sustainability of your business 2. Test the measure 3. Set targets 4. Monitor progress.

Off the books? Ultimately, business sustainability is about doing the things to make sure we are still in business, and thriving, in 10, 15, 30 years’ time. We all know that the financial results do not tell the whole story about the sustainability of a business. The value of a company is largely “off the books” in terms of reputation, brand strength, customer base, product quality and process efficiency. But the accounts do provide a pretty useful place to identify a starting point for what really impacts business sustainability. So how does this work? Take a profess-

ional services firm like mine. The biggest cost (and asset) we have is our people. The key “sustainability” question for us then becomes – how do we ensure we can employ and retain the people with the ability, skills and desire to deliver against our business objectives? Ta da! Our business sustainability starting point is defined. For a fishing company with a large quota holding and energy hungry vessels, key questions might be: How do we grow the value of our quota and maintain catch levels over time? How are we managing fuel usage? For a manufacturer with high raw material and energy costs: How do our processes minimise waste and energy? How secure and robust are our sources of raw materials? Are our suppliers aligned to our business values?

Test the measure Reviewing the accounts gets us to the starting line. Great. But to begin the journey, we then need to determine which measures will highlight our progress. Taking the professional services situation, measuring cost and utilisation of staff will not help. These are backwards looking measures that tell us where we have been, not where we are going. Measures of sustainability might relate to retention, turnover, satisfaction and engagement. This process might take some thought and you may have to fill some gaps (eg, instigate a staff survey or monitoring tool) but you will be heading in the right direction.

do we want to achieve and what is our timescale? I am a firm believer in goals and targets provided the business is committed to them. This commitment is the rub in making business sustainability a reality. For the manufacturer, a target may be 20 percent reduction in energy usage by 2015. Lower costs may not necessarily indicate sustainable progress; if the target is met because production has decreased and margins have stayed the same, this is clearly unsustainable. In this case, the target should be a gross reduction in energy costs coupled with an increase in revenue or margin. This can only be achieved by changes to the way the production process is managed. These types of challenges, based on strong, well articulated targets, lead to leaner and meaner companies that have sustainability at their core. Weak governance or lack of adherence to targets however will leave companies exposed to an unsustainable future.

Don’t get bamboozled by sustainability It’s not a mystical cult, subversively ruining our lives. It’s simply about focussing on the important stuff, using measures that may not directly come from transactions or be represented in dollars and cents but that ultimately drive long-term business value. Take a look. Check the books for the starting line. Make sure to measure and target. It’s just good business.

Stay on target

Jamie Sinclair is a director in KPMG’s Advisory

Once you understand the focus and measures, you can set some clear targets. What

team and leads the firm’s sustainability services practice.

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

change leader

Sustainability in the C-suite

Clare Feeney

What role does the top floor play in improving companies’ environmental performance? Clare Feeney kicks off a key debate.

he 1954 film Executive Suite referred to the floor space occupied by a company president, well known for his “one-man” governance of the firm. His untimely death triggers a round of struggles at the top and the plot follows the machinations of would-be ascendants occupying the next level of management. The term “executive suite” still refers to this prime office space, with the “C-suite” referring to its denizens – today’s standard triumvirate being the CEO, CFO and COO. These are the guys – and it’s usually men – who set a company’s strategy, coordinate its activities and allocate resources across business units. However, in the past 20 years these C-somethings have steadily proliferated and now encompass a whole range of functional roles. A recent Harvard Business Review paper listed seven C-level jobs including chiefs of information, marketing, finance, supply chain management, and human resources as well as general counsel and, head of the pack, the CEO. A cursory internet search reveals a whole lot more – including such oddities as “chief business architecture officer” and the truly silly “chief cleaning officer”. So what criteria qualify one for entry into this august group? What strategic and operational skills are vital if the C-suite is to deliver and improve both short and long-term business performance up in a world characterised by increasing financial, economic, political and environmental uncertainty? Right now, 60 percent of companies in the Global 2000 are replacing their C-suiters – compared with a normal

30 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

quarterly turnover of just 10-20 percent, with many of the new recruits boasting novel leadership titles. Clearly these new C-suite positions are being created to fill a perceived gap in the skill set round the top table. It seems that in an uncertain world, companies are seeking representation from all areas of perceived strategic and operational risk or opportunity. Among the burgeoning new C-suite titles is another emerging group – chief visionary officer, chief strategy officer, chief innovation officer – and an expanding group of chief sustainability officers, CSOs. While the CEO is often characterised as the one person who sees how everything in the business fits together, there is growing evidence that sustainability best reveals such an overview. That’s because it can help open the eyes of people from top floor to shop floor as to how the whole business operates – and in ways that make people learn new things. This is backed by a growing body of research suggesting that “sustainability” is seen as key to a firm’s future. A recent survey by Boston Consulting Group showed most Fortune 500 companies have hired CSOs, with over 60 percent agreeing that sustainability is increasingly important for competitiveness and that they are committing more management time and investment to it. Global management company Accenture has embarked on a year-long research programme on sustainable organisations, to invite debate on the role of the major C-suite functions (it has identified 10) and how each can help implement sustainability. The underlying question is whether

sustainability is better delivered from the C-suite via a dedicated CSO or by embedding sustainability into everything. Clearly Accenture thinks that sustainability’s elevation to the C-suite indicates the need for an organisation-wide mandate. This agrees with wider research showing that strong executive leadership is crucial for firms looking to improve their sustainability performance. Clearly, being able to deliver performance in a core business area is the key to the door of the C-suite. As to what is core – I’ve identified a few questions that could help companies reframe how they consider whether sustainability merits being given that key. Is it a core business strategic issue? Does it save costs? Does it increase profits? Does it create business value? Does it help us manage risk? Does it improve our legal compliance? Does it generate competitive advantage? Will it improve the longevity of our business? Will it allow our operations and supply chain to demonstrate corporate responsibility in social, environmental and other ethical areas? Does it affect our relationship and reputation management? So – what do you think? Should sustainability join the C-suite? This debate will continue online. See www.justgoodbusiness.co.nz. Clare Feeney is an environmental consultant, accredited speaker and author of Seven Steps to Successful Environmental Training Programs. www.clarefeeney.com

one world

Rio +40

Julio Bin

Two decades on from the first Rio Summit, Brazilian-born sustainability adviser Julio Bin wonders what the world will be like in another 20 years.

n 1992, at the first Rio Summit, a 12-year-old girl called Severn Suzuki, gave a six-minute speech in one of the plenaries which said more about sustainable development than most of the politicians at the conference. Her message drew everyone’s attention to a social and environmental reality that governments and companies commonly prefer to overlook in their pursuit of “economic growth”. Unfortunately, 20 years later, her speech is still current. What has changed, however, is the evolution of technology and the strength of social media. “Before it was difficult to be heard; today anyone can express their opinion. You have a voice, now use it,” said Severn Suzuki in another emotional speech at the Rio Conference this year. Back when she first spoke, in 1992, I was living in Rio but confess that my advocacy for sustainability related only to my personal beliefs. However, I still remember the “noise” that the conference generated. I was 28 years old and could not imagine how much the Rio 92 Summit was going to influence the rest of my life. Although physically close to the Summit, conceptually I was very distant. So my only involvement, like most of us, was by following the news on the radio, newspapers and TV. Those were the main mass media we had then. This is the fundamental difference between the meeting then and the recent 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, otherwise known as Rio +20. One of the sessions I

attended this year was called Rio + Social. Here a series of speakers, including New Zealand’s former PM Helen Clark, spoke to an audience of social-media savvy bloggers and tweeters. By midday, the Rio+Social hashtag had made it to first place in Brazil’s blogosphere and become a top-10 topic in social media around the world. Technology has completely changed the world’s dynamics, especially in the way we communicate and learn. The internet

“The future we want needs concrete and immediate actions.”

is a vast universe of possibilities, and social media is the tool connecting us as one world community. Sustainable development is now an accessible concept and more important, evolving and available to the “future generation” often mentioned in the concept’s definition. The conference in Rio de Janeiro produced an important document, but we cannot measure the success of the meeting only by words or texts – or the cost-benefit ratio of the event becomes questionable. The future we want needs concrete and immediate actions. We all know how unsustainable an economic model is when people and nature are overruled by profit. Life has to become the major variable in all decisions and the

planet has to be managed for the benefit of all. “There is no planet B.” In my opinion, after being present at Rio +20 and knowing the practical results of all other summits and conferences on sustainable development, it is time to change the format of these global meetings and actually involve global citizens to discuss the issues related to (our) life on the planet. With the technology and resources already available, decisions could be crowd-sourced (distributed to groups of people online and offline) so humans and computers can work together to find and suggest solutions. I believe that sustainable development is achievable with planning, strategy and a more ethical, democratic and comprehensive methodology to decide and implement actions regarding our common future. There have been so many changes over the past 20 years that I cannot begin to imagine how the next two decades will be. I am optimistic though and sincerely hope to be well and celebrating my 68 years writing an article about Rio +40, happy with the results of a truly global conference. I will also be feeling proud to have been part of a movement that not only changed the economic model, but transformed our society and made the world a better, more just, responsible and inclusive place. After 15 years working as a sustainable business specialist and sustainability adviser in Brazil, Julio Bin has recently moved to New Zealand. Contact juliobin@gecko.com.br

Issue 1 2012 | justGoodBusiness

diary

Steps to Sustainability What happens when you suddenly become your company’s sustainability champion? Wendy Smith shares her own and Mediaweb’s journey towards accreditation.

hen Mediaweb first decided to go ahead with just Good Business, we knew that we would have to start seriously walking the sustainability talk. Advocating but not acting would just not cut it. We also knew that a lot of our business readers are interested in sustainability but don’t know where to start. The just Good Business project and our own sustainability journey presented an opportunity to use ourselves as guinea pigs and hopefully help others embarking on the process. This is the start of our sustainability diary.

providers. My hunt began online. Which best suits our business? What legislation applies to us? Do we need accreditation? How do I get to grips with standards speak and carbon jargon? How much will all this cost? After the first pass at information gathering, I found I needed something to measure the tools and programmes against. This became an exercise in defining; who we are, what we do, what our needs are, what is important to us and what we would like to achieve. In hindsight the defining process is a good first step.

About us

Some conclusions

Mediaweb is a relatively new publishing company that is pioneering its own decentralised work model. Our core business is magazine publishing, event management and contract publishing in the business-tobusiness market. Our workforce is made up almost entirely of contractors working from home with one central office hub for administration, hot desking and meetings. My own job role is flexible but busy, so managing a sustainability programme has to fit alongside work as usual. The solution – adopt a short-bursts approach to the research and find a sustainability programme that will accommodate time constraints.

After refining research through the lens of our situation, the following issues emerged. • Cost. Employing a consultant seemed too open-ended cost-wise and existing programmes such as Eco Smart, EnviroMark, The Natural Step, and Sustainable Business Network’s Get Sustainable Challenge appealed as cost-effective options. (Some of these programmes offer subsidised course fees to early enrollers). Online self-assessment tools like the Sustainable Business Network’s GetSustOnline and Envirosteps are also very cost-effective options as DIY starting points. • Credibility. We want our sustainability credentials to be robust and decided accreditation was therefore essential. • Practicalities. Time poor and with a contract-based workforce, we need good support and a process that is well set out

EMS Understanding that an environmental management system (EMS) is probably the most common way to incorporate sustainability into a business, I went looking for definitions, tools, and

32 justGoodBusiness | Issue 1 2012

– something that everyone who needs to be involved can easily understand. • Complexity. Once I started to get a sense of how much was involved, the advisor-supported programmes began to look even better.

Much conversation With all this to sift through, I started talking to people – course providers and business people who had done the programmes. I strongly recommend this – I had some great conversations, understood issues better and gained confidence that Mediaweb could achieve what other companies have achieved. It was through these conversations that I started to develop a relationship with Enviro-Mark. It ticked all the relevant boxes and I felt I was already getting great support from Kristen and Chris. It was great also that the people at Enviro-Mark and Landcare Research were interested in what we were doing with just Good Business and over the last month in discussions about just Good Business and their programmes, they have become a jGB sponsor. So, we’re signed up and underway – attending our first Enviro-Mark seminar August 29. Now the real sustainability action begins... For more information about the programmes mentioned above see “Sustainability Starter Kits” (p14). For links to courses and other useful information about environmental management programmes, definitions and tools go to www.justgoodbusiness.co.nz/resources

IAL! C E P ON S I T P I CR SUBS

Special Introductory Offer Subscribe to just Good Business – $30 for a 1-year subscription (4 issues) OR Take advantage of our 2-for-1 deal: 50% off the normal one-year subscription price for NZ Management – plus just Good Business for FREE.

SUBS SPECIAL NZ Management

$39.00 inc GST & P/P

just Good Business

$30.00 inc GST & P/P

Subscribe today: phone (09) 529 3000, fax (09) 529 3001, post the form below, or email subs@mediaweb.co.nz

YES!

I’d like to order an annual subscription to:

❑

NZ Management & just Good Business ($39.00)

just Good Business ($30.00)

❑ New subscriber ❑ Renewal

Name: Job Title: Company name:

Type of Business:

Address:

Postcode:

Phone (home): I am paying by

Phone (work):

Email:

❑ Cheque (enclosed). Please make cheque payable to Mediaweb Limited ❑

Card No:

CVV/CSC number:

Visa

❑

Mastercard

❑ Tick here if you require a tax invoice or receipt

Name as it appears on the card: Signature: SubsSpecia

Expiry Date:

Mail to: Mediaweb, PO Box 5544, Wellesley Street, Auckland, 1141, New Zealand • Email: subs@mediaweb.co.nz

From time to time we run subscriber-only offers related to other magazine titles we publish. If you do not wish to receive these, please tick.

If you do not wish to receive offers from third parties, please tick.

Like most New Zealanders, we’re proud of our natural environment. We’re even in awe of it. We should probably also spend less time talking about it and more time actually wandering through it and breathing it all in. In that spirit, Air New Zealand has joined forces with the Department of Conservation to preserve and protect some of our country’s most inspiring natural locations. Right now our partnership is focused on New Zealand’s nine Great Walks. We’re helping to preserve and enhance their biodiversity. They’re places every Kiwi should try to experience in their lifetime. Go explore them at airnz.co.nz/greatwalks and then...

get out & walk

mage: Mackinnon Pass on the Milford Track.