Businesses need to focus on how to make the most of new opportunities driven by the growing shortage of local and world natural resources. The newly elected chair of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, Bob Field, also chair of Toyota NZ Limited, says the planet’s resources are being stretched as never before by a growing population and higher standards of living.
“The global pressures from an expected 50% increase in human population and a tripling of energy demand and vehicle fleet in the first half of the 21st century will provide New Zealand with a unique opportunity to build an international competitive edge as a sustainable economy with eco friendly products and tourism opportunities,” Mr Field says.
“The importance of sustainability in the 21st century is growing - and businesses are only sustainable if the environment and society in which they operate is also sustainable. It’s encouraging that sustainability is becoming more mainstream - but there is much more to do.
“As a council we encourage New Zealand business to regard an investment in sustainability not simply as a cost - but a key opportunity. Preserving the unique Kiwi quality of life can also be achieved in parallel to this business objective. That’s reflected in the Business Council’s recent major research and policy development work on how the country can solve its fresh water allocation problems, improve the performance of a million poorly insulated homes, and put a price on other activities affecting the environment, like greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste going to landfills,” Mr Field says.
Mr Field replaces former chair Nick Main, of Deloitte, who has moved to London to head his firm’s global climate change work, as leader of the 10 year-old Business Council. Its member companies jointly employ more than 88,000 people. Their annual sales of $59 billion equate to about 43% of gross domestic product in dollar terms.
The Business Council was launched in 1999 with 20 member companies by then Fletcher Challenge chief executive Mike Andrews and The Warehouse founder Sir Stephen Tindall. Mr Andrews said at the time: “I think the quality of New Zealand’s economy, environment and society, the size and scope of export opportunities and the domestic and international policy frameworks supporting them, could all be enhanced by a strong, credible and rigorously well-informed business group committed to sustainable development.”
Members believe sustainable businesses are profitable, contribute to social progress and ecological balance – and protect New Zealand’s quality of life.
New Business Council appointments are:
Bob Field, Toyota NZ Limited, Chairman Mark Drury, URS, Deputy Chair (large enterprises) Steve Bonnici, Urgent Couriers, Deputy Chair (SMEs) Nick Collins, Beacon Pathway, Executive Committee Member Brett Tomkins, Deloitte, Executive Committee Member
Existing Committee Members are: Doug Heffernan, Mighty River Power Graeme Norton, 3R Malcolm Rands, Ecostore Mark Gilbert, BMW NZ Rob Fenwick, Living Earth Sean Bignell, Hobsonville Land Company Tim Lusk, Meridian Warren Parker, Landcare Research Sir Stephen Tindall, The Warehouse Dick Hubbard, Hubbard Foods
Biographical notes:
Bob Field, Chair, Business Council: Currently Chairman of Toyota New Zealand, a director of KiwiRail, and Chairman of a private funds management company. Mr Field has 40 years’ international experience in the motor industry, including 25 years as the CEO of Toyota New Zealand. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Canterbury University and post graduate qualifications in accounting and corporate governance. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and has been a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature for the past 25 years, including past service on the WWF International Board in Switzerland and Chair of the local branch. He is also an alumnus member of NZ Business Roundtable.
Mark Drury, Deputy Chair: Chief Executive of URS New Zealand Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of URS Corporation, a publicly held company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A civil engineer, he has been with URS, in its various forms, for 30 years. He was appointed to his current role as Chief Executive of URS New Zealand in 2000. He is also a member of the URS Asia Pacific Advisory Board.
Steve Bonnici, Deputy Chair: Managing Director, Urgent Couriers Limited, started in the transport industry in 1983 and formed Urgent Couriers in 1989, specialising in on-demand courier services, growing it to become the country’s largest privately owned courier company. Mr Bonnici has an MBA from the University of Auckland. Urgent Couriers joined the Auckland Environment Business Network in 1997 and the Business Council in 2000.
Ends
For media assistance, please contact:
Bob Field, Chair: 06 350 3401
Peter Neilson, Chief Executive: 021 395 891, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Graeme Colman, Communications Manager: 021 325 377, 09 360 6515 (home), Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Business Council believes sustainable businesses are profitable, contribute to social progress and ecological balance – and protect New Zealand’s quality of life. The Business Council’s members jointly employ more than 88,000 people in managing resources, manufacturing, retailing and the service sector. Members contribute annual sales of about $59 billion to the economy, equivalent to 43% of GDP. The Business Council runs a national online survey panel, ShapeNZ, to allow public input on major issues. The panel has more than 14,000 members, is built from purchased lists and is representative of the population as a whole, compared with the 2006 census. ShapeNZ members register and provide demographic and previous party vote information to ensure results can be accurately weighted to reflect the New Zealand population. A report is available here on ShapeNZ methodology. Registration is also available at www.shapenz.org.nz.
Thursday, 19 June 2008, Press Release: New Zealand Government
New waste legislation will offer economic incentives and rewards to businesses and councils who do their bit for waste reduction
The Ministry for the Environment as released its new Guide to Product Stewardship for Non-priority Products in the Waste Minimisation Act 2008
The purpose of this document is to provide:
The intended audiences for this document are:
Guide to Product Stewardship for Non Priority Products
Hon Trevor Mallard Minister of Environment
15 April 2008 Speech Notes
Environment Minster Trevor Mallard's speech to the New Zealand Packaging Accord One Day Seminar, The Conference Centre, AUT Tech Park.
In September 2007, the government released a cabinet paper of proposed legislation for a national waste levy, product stewardship, reporting requirements on waste data and a consolidation of waste legislation in a new bill.
A provincial agency is recommending Ontario scrap the $5 per tire "disposal" fee charged to drivers when they get rid of their old tires, and replace it with a levy charged to manufacturers and importers that they could pass on to consumers.
Demand for recycled goods is down, causing a billion dollar industry to lose much of its steam. But another byproduct of the recycling industry's downturn is the creation of new opportunities.
The truck has been developed to collect some of the estimated 10 million plastic agrichemical containers disposed every year in New Zealand.
Manufacturing companies are increasing differentiating themselves by using Life Cycle Management as a point of competitive advantage in international markets. By learning how to manage the life cycle of products more effectively, companies can realise market opportunities and simultaneously improve environmental performance.
To read more about Life Cycle Management please click here
The Life Cycle Management project is a five year programe that aims to build LCM capability among New Zealand manufacturing companies
Read more about the project, who is involved and what its aims are. lcm_leaflet_2 1.12 Mb
New Zealanders strongly support a levy on solid waste but they are divided on who should receive the money, according to survey results released by the Product Stewardship Foundation today.
The Product Stewardship Foundation (PSF) with New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development undertook a ShapeNZ survey of New Zealanders last week on Waste Levies and Product Stewardship. The survey had 2791 respondents with a margin of error of +/- 1.9%.
A US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on opportunities to cut greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions through improved management of materials and land notes that 37% of the country's total ghg emissions come from the provision and use of goods within the USA.
New Zealand Herald
MP claims full support for levy on landfill waste
5:00AM Tuesday April 08, 2008
Green MP Nandor Tanczos says he has been given unanimous support from a select committee for his Waste Minimisation Bill that includes a $10-a-tonne levy on waste going to landfills.
Business leaders, community groups and local government step up to the Government’s challenge to develop a new packaging product stewardship scheme for New Zealand
Efforts to establish a recycling scheme for unwanted computer equipment have hit a stumbling block, with "two or three" multinational computer manufacturers refusing to support a system under which they would pay a levy on imported computers.
A national approach for dealing with Australia's e-waste is closer to being realised, with the public invited to comment on proposed strategies.
OTTAWA — The federal government is contemplating a $35-million recycling program to keep its obsolete and unwanted computers and other gear out of the country's landfills, say newly released documents.
A draft analysis by the Public Works Department says a federal scheme is needed because some provinces lack programs to allow Ottawa to safely dispose of its used computers, fax machines and cellular phones.
"A federal program is still necessary over the next five years to ensure the end of life management of federal government IT equipment as . . . there is no guarantee as to when all provinces and the territories will have take-back programs in place," says the analysis, drafted last September.
Television manufacturers have proposed a levy of about $30 on imported televisions sets to pay for the cost of recycling, and an industry agreement on how to pay for the environmentally-safe disposal of unwanted computers looks within reach.
The challenge for business Organisations that understand that consumers are regarding them through a new green lens and respond to that shift will gain competitive advantage.
Read this interesting article from June 09 Managment magazine.
A new advisory board has been appointed to provide advice to the Environment Minister on issues relating to waste minimisation, Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said today.
New Zealanders are almost evenly split over paying 10c an item extra at shops to recycle packaging.
New waste minimisation law allows for compulsory recycling schemes. Implementing one for containers is estimated to cost at least 10 cents per item, according to packaging industry research.
A new nationwide ShapeNZ survey of nearly 2,397 people shows the country is split 36% for to 34% against any new per-item tax. Some 23% are neutral and 8% are not sure.
Media Release 27th May 2008
PANASONIC BACKS PSA'S PLEA FOR TV RECYCLING
By Matthew Henry
SYDNEY: Panasonic today ramped up pressure on the Rudd government to implement a national recycling scheme for old TVs, calling for an industry-funded scheme to be operational within three to four years.
Panasonic’s pledge to lobby for the scheme follows a recent letter by Product Stewardship Australia on behalf of leading TV brands expressing frustration and disappointment at environment minister Peter Garrett’s inaction on the proposed scheme.
The Ministry for the Environment has released the Waste Minimisation in New Zealand Discussion paper
Click here to read the document
Click here to visit the MFE website
The Ministry for the Environment have released the criteria for the Waste Minimisation Fund
The purpose of the Waste Minimisation Fund is to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation. There is considerable scope to reduce waste and increase the recovery of useful resources from waste. Lifting our performance in recovering economic value from waste also provides environmental, social and cultural benefits and reduces the risks of harm from waste.
This will require investment in infrastructure and systems for waste minimisation and developing educational and promotional capacity. The purpose of the fund is to provide some of the funding to ensure that this occurs.
A proposed bill in the California State Assembly would require producers of certain products and packaging to change the materials they use and develop better ways to deal with the products when they're disposed of.
