NZ has no choice but to become sustainable, UK expert says

Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Porritt says there is 'absolutely no choice' but for businesses to consider environmental and social impacts.

Businesses need to raise their ambitions to become a low emissions and sustainable country in the future, a sustainability expert says.

Jonathon Porritt, the director of non-profit sustainability organisation Forum of the Future in the UK, said New Zealand was already in a good position with 80 per cent of its energy being renewable, but the country needed greater commitment to its 2050 zero carbon emissions goal from businesses.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw spoke at an energy conference on Wednesday morning, asking for the industry's experts to put forward their submissions for the zero carbon bill in May.

Shaw said carbon free was the way forward, and the greatest economic opportunity for the country in a generation.

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Porritt said there was 'absolutely no choice' but for businesses to look beyond economic impacts and focus on environmental and social impacts too.

'Some companies have sustainability at the heart of their organisations, but for most, it's catch-up time,' Porritt said.

'These changes are coming thick and fast. This year New Zealand has had four or five major tropical storms. New Zealand loses 200 million tonnes of topsoil every year through erosion.'

'New Zealand has been pretty much a laggard country in recent years but with the change in government we're seeing a significant change of heart which is very encouraging.'

Forum of the Future director Jonathon Porritt says climate change demands that more businesses step up in their industries.

Businesses with a sustainable agenda are twice as likely to grow than those not engaged, according to NZI's latest sustainability data.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw says New Zealand becoming carbon free is the greatest economic opportunity for the country in a generation.

Porritt said he was disappointed in the lack of education around sustainability.

'It's ridiculous that we're still playing catch-up.

'It's a real shame because the principles of sustainability development were first thought out at least 20 years ago,' he said.

Porritt will be speaking about the need to move non-financial performance measures up the corporate agenda at the New Zealand CFO [chief financial officer] Summit in Auckland on Thursday.

Conversing about sustainability initiatives with the heads of finance in organisations was an important way in getting businesses to incorporate sustainability strategies into their overall business model.

'Let's be honest, the average CFO spends absolutely no time worrying about sustainability, but we want them to. To bring change.'