This Climate Business

Noho is a Kiwi furniture start-up taking Kiwi sustainability to the USA. Noho’s chairs are made of recycled fishing nets and the first of a line of products that CEO, Richard Shirtcliffe, says are rethinking what wellbeing means for home and for the planet.  Now based in chilly burbs of Boulder Colorado, the former boss of Tuatara Beer and Coffee Supreme is leading the charge to take Noho to the U...

Sir Peter Gluckman says New Zealand is woeful at long-term planning – and the environment suffers as a result. In the latest paper from Koi Tū: The Centre of Informed Futures, Sir Peter and Anne Bardsley argue for a new Sustainability Commissioner to be charged with implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and pressure government, business and councils to factor the biosphere in all decis...

Forests are only part of the answer to dealing with climate change, warns Marty Verry, CEO of Red Stag Timber, NZ’s largest timber mill. He says the government’s One Billion Trees Programme could lead to a dangerous glut unless there’s a wholesale adoption of wood for construction, fuel and other downstream products. Could a ‘Wood First’ policy displace concrete and steel? How reliable are forests...

How green was the Budget?  Billed as transformational it contains big dollops of cash for the environment, rail, ferries, housing and insulation. So you’d think that climate campaigners would be happy. Errr, nope. The Budget is a missed opportunity to reshape New Zealand to a low-emissions, high-margin economy and leaves us exposed to that other imminent threat, climate change. I spoke to three ex...

Vaughan Fergusson (formerly Rowsell) is the founder of Vend, the Kiwi tech success. Last year he started the Institute of Awesome, based on a rambling 100-acre section and lodge overlooking the Tasman sea in Raglan. From here, Vaughan and partner Zoe Timbrell planned to run school camps that combine tech with sustainability and outdoor adventures. Covid has put all that on ice for now. But we know...

The Covid-19 ‘rebound’ is the perfect opportunity to create a low-emissions transport system, right? Julie Anne Genter thinks so. The Green MP and Associate Minister of Transport has high hopes for extending bikes lanes, revamping the feebate scheme, introducing high-speed rail and (politely) putting a rocket up Auckland Transport. I caught up with her in her Wellington bubble.  

What if there was a plan for a post-Covid-19 recovery – and not just a plan but an ambition? Rod Drury and Roger Dennis want to create a cross-sector, bi-partisan group to use this moment to achieve some big wins, such as 100% renewable energy, nationwide 5G roll-out and an immigration scheme that lures the rich and powerful down under. The pair have had success before. They convinced the governme...

What future does sheep and beef farming have in a climate changed world? Serial entrepreneur and relentless optimist, Melissa Clark-Reynolds sits on the board of Beef&Lamb and sees a bright future for New Zealand farmers if the sector and government can get the settings right. Hint: it doesn’t involve pine trees. In a wide-ranging interview covering turtles, synthetic meat, Al Gore and of course C...