“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

 – Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan

 

There is strong and growing demand for sustainably produced goods and services in New Zealand and overseas. Being sustainable means incorporating good economic, social and environmental principles, affecting the way goods and services are conceived, created, delivered, used and consumed.

 

Assistance for your business

Training - Sustainability is covered in several of the Enterprise Training Programme courses provided by NZTE.

Grants - A variety of government grants may be used for some sustainability initiatives.

Creative - The Better by Design programme includes sustainable design and directory of designers with expertise in sustainable products or services.

Reduce, reuse and recycle

  • Product stewardship - Product stewardship schemes can minimise product end-of-life impacts
  • Waste Exchange - helps find markets for by-products, surplus materials and waste.
  • Reduce - Greenfleet can help reduce the environmental impacts of your vehicle fleet.

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“How to” guides

Workplace sustainability - How to make your home and workplace more sustainable.

Workplace recycling - A guide to setting up a recycling system.

Office fit-out - A guide to sustainable office fit-outs.

Printing and publishing - Design, paper and ink choices.

Computers and phones - Guidelines for environmental sustainability.

Energy usage - Analyse your energy bill.

Triple bottom line reporting - Economic, environmental, and social performance.

Global Reporting Initiative guidelines - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

10 steps to sustainability - Steps for companies to become more sustainable.

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Markets and opportunities

Food and Beverage - Sustainability focussed market intelligence for offshore food and beverage markets can help you position yourself better when exporting.

Country Profiles - Many profiles of countries and offshore markets on MarketNewZealand.com include sustainability information.

UK Sustainability (PDF, 165KB) - NZTE commissioned this market analysis of UK food miles and sustainability trends.

Consumer Research - Conscious Wave Inc publishes research into consumer needs and behaviours at LOHAS.com.

Balancing sustainability opportunities and risks (PDF, 1,055KB) - A report produced by Deloitte and the US Food Products Association, June 2007.

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International standards

Risk management - Guidelines from Standards New Zealand.

Social responsibility - Guidelines from the International Organization for Standardization.

Environmental management - Criteria for environmental management from Standards New Zealand.

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Other people’s thoughts

The art of business succession  - A series of eight articles by Deloitte about succession planning to ensure your business survives transitions of management and ownership

Optimal capital structure - An article by Burleigh Evatt on getting the optimal ownership structure for a business.

Traceability systems - An NZTE commissioned report on traceability systems and technology.

Creating the “Wholly Sustainable Enterprise” (PDF, 100KB) - Deloitte article on creating shareholder value through enterprise sustainability.

The Sustainability Yearbook 2008 (PDF, 1.75MB) - published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Simply Sustainable - The sustainable business model developed by the Ministry for the Environment.

Sustainable Building in New Zealand - The Ministry for the Environment’s methodology on sustainable building.

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Case studies

Phoenix Organics - A video case study on a business that was sustainable right from the start.

Les Mills International - A video case study on a business that takes a long-term view of the world.

Methven - Sustainability is at the centre of Methven’s business.

Formway Furniture - Sustainable design at Formway Furniture, and slides from an NZTE presentation (PDF, 1,807) about the company’s sustainability programme.

Designline (PDF, 183KB) - Hybrid buses are saving fuel all around the world.

Living Nature (PDF, 69KB)- Taking natural healthcare into the mainstream.

Zespri (PDF, 3,020KB)- Kiwifruit company Zespri talks about sustainability in this slide presentation.

University of Auckland Law School (PDF, 60KB) - teaching international students about our country’s unique environmental laws.

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Defining sustainability

Being sustainable means incorporating good economic, social and environmental principles into products and services, long-term business planning, day-to-day operations and interactions with customers and suppliers. Moving towards sustainability affects the way goods and services are conceived, created, delivered, used and consumed. Its about making intelligent business decisions and the best long-term use of talent and resources to improve the overall quality of life.

Image used under creative commons licence.

Economic - NZTE’s role in moving New Zealand businesses towards sustainability is focussed on the economic development aspects of sustainability.

Environmental - The Ministry for the Environment offers assistance on the environmental aspects of moving towards sustainability.

Social - The Department of Labour offers assistance on workforce issues:

This information is brought to you by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise