This Climate Business

New Zealand was an early mover in corporate climate disclosure; these days around 200 of our largest companies publicly report on what they’re doing about their emissions and the risk they’re exposed to from climate change. Now the government is considering relaxing the reporting regime because, we’re told, it’s onerous and expensive. Victoria University’s Dr Yinka Moses has studied climate r...

The industrial adhesives essential to MDF, particle board and the like are a health hazard and a $12billion business. New Zealand company Nilo has a better, kinder glue made from recycled plastics. Managing director Tim Williams tells Ross Inglis all about a sticky business.

On May 13 the best and brightest descend on Rotorua for the Sustainable Brands conference, the first time this global franchise will host a major event down under. Now in its 17th year, Sustainable Brands is a ‘community of optimists who believe in brand-led market transformation’. It takes a brave man to feel optimistic right now and perhaps even braver to run a conference. Vincent talks to SB’s...

In September 2023, a group of scientists and writers had a paper published in a niche academic journal. The paper “World scientists’ warning: The behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot” might have quietly retired in a graveyard along with a thousand other important but forgotten tomes - except it didn’t. At last count the paper has had 70,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of academic...

Just three years ago, the average price of a takeaway coffee was $4.33. Since then prices have marched north with Stats NZ officially recording the average to be $4.85 but good luck finding that in Auckland or Wellington. The reason: coffee beans. The price of the most popular bean, arabica, soared 70% in 2024 and nearly 20% so far this year to an all-time high . What’s going on - is someone skimm...

How do you promote sustainability effectively? Do you sugarcoat the bad news? Or scare them with the facts? When does green marketing become greenwashing or the reverse, greenhushing? The way we talk about sustainability can make a massive difference in its adoption. Especially in this febrile atmosphere of anti-woke, techbro, climate-denying toxicity. To get some insight on how to hold our tongue...

New Zealand’s newest target for reducing greenhouse gases is as little as one percent better than our previous one. Newsroom’s Marc Daalder tells Ross Inglis why the target matters, why it is so modest, and what it means for business.

As New Zealanders struggle with the worst recession in 34 years, a group of economists have warned that the government’s austerity programme is making it worse. One of those critics is Dr Ganesh Nana, former Productivity Commissioner and Chief Economist and Research Director at BERL, Business and Economic Research Limited. Ganesh is a regular advisor to industry and government and was part of...

With both science and storms pointing to a warming world, New Zealand food producers must prepare for climate change. But is the sector sleepwalking into disaster? How can food sector not just survive but flourish in a hothouse climate?

New and novel proteins could threaten New Zealand’s traditional strengths in dairy, red meat and seafood. Predicted to be lower in emissions, lighter on water and land, cruelty-free and at industrial scale, new and novel proteins may become the first choice in a climate-constrained world. Can we adapt?

 An explosion in the number of small food brands in the last 20 years hints at where New Zealand's future food opportunities exist: in global niches. New Zealand’s strength in co-ops and single-desk trading gave this tiny country global clout in commodities. But with consumer demand fracturing along almost individual lines - and combined with ever-improving innovation and rapid manufacturing...

 Sir Jonathan Porritt is patron of the Aotearoa Circle, the founder of Forum of the Future and a leading advocate for sustainability and climate action. He spoke to us on a hot UK morning about the future of food.

New Zealand’s food and fibre industry is built on generations of selective breeding - from ryegrass and cows to kiwifruit and apples. But recent improvements in gene technologies offer a step-change in how we can create new resilient and productive varieties. Will New Zealand seize the opportunity or be left flatfooted in a race to the future?

Every two years, delegates meet at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity - a sort of nature version of the more famous climate COPs. This year, COP16, was held in Cali, Colombia, and there were high expectations following the successes at the COP15 in Montreal in 2022 which launched the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) . However, despite some breakthroughs, funding and agreements fell short...

As sea levels rise, home insurance premiums follow. A new report from the Helen Clark Foundation and engineering consultancy WSP New Zealand says it’s time we sorted out how best to protect our homes. Report author Kali Mercier tells Ross Inglis what residential property insurance could look like in a time of climate change.

Vincent had the pleasure of interviewing Albert Tucker, chairman of the Karma Cola Foundation , and a leading figure in the Fairtrade movement. The interview was part of a talk he gave at a Sustainable Business Network event, so apologies for sound issues as it was a live recording. Albert is an amazing individual. He was born in Sierra Leone but fled with his family to the UK before the civil war...

If 2023's Cyclone Gabrielle proved anything, it was that New Zealand is woefully exposed to the risks of climate change and has no coherent strategy for moving people and assets away from them. Sustainability consultant Kelly Flatz tells Ross Inglis that the national conversation about managed retreat is only just starting.

A new report by medical journal The Lancet shows heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases caused by climate change have reached record levels. In our concern for its effect on economy or the environment it’s easy to forget that climate change is also health crisis. To ensure it’s not forgotten, more than 1000 health professionals are members of Ora Taiao; a p...

You probably know Essity more what’s in your house: Purex and Sorbent in your loo and Handee towels in your kitchen. You may also know that this tissue is produced in a mill in Kawerau, central North Island, across the road from the old Tasman Pulp & Paper mill. Perhaps what you didn't know is that by the end of this year, the Essity mill will have ditched gas to run almost all on renewable ge...

Few businesses have figured out how to make Aotearoa's native bush 'pay'. Helen Paul Smith husband Scott have patiently created a health and beauty brand, Oku, entirely from native extracts and bioactives. Reinvesting the profits into regenerating Ngahere in the Waikato, Oku is an inspirational story of business done right.

In late August the wholesale energy price spiked as high as $1000 mwh (megawatt hour) as the country felt the effects of a dry winter - when the hydro lakes aren’t replenished by ice melt and rain. The spike has added woes to an already woeful economy and at least one factory - Winstone Pulp International - announced closure. In response, the government announced a suite of actions, including&nbsp...

If you think you’re forgetful, spare a thought for New Zealand businesses. Mutu, a Kiwi start-up, says they routinely forget assets they bought and never used - up to five million tons of them annually. Mutu’s resource-sharing app does the remembering for them and adds up the cash and carbon savings they make by using stuff they already own.. 

James Hughes looks into the future and tells New Zealand’s councils just how bad life could get as a result of climate change. James, technical director for climate and resilience for engineering consultancy Tonkin + Taylor , performs climate risk assessments. You could call it staring into the abyss; he tells Ross Inglis it’s often the starting point for difficult conversations about the impacts...

Solar developer Rānui Generation started ground works the Twin Rivers Solar Farm, near Kaitaia. The 31MWp project could power 6,000 households or 25,000 electric vehicles for a year - and it’s the first of four solar farms planned around the country. To talk about the project and what role solar will play in our energy future, Vincent was joined by the CEO Jason Foden . Media release RanuiGenerati...

You might know Steven Moe as a lawyer for Christchurch based Parry Field, specialising in charities and the impact sector; or as the chair of Community Finance - an investor in community housing; or as the host of Seeds, a longstanding weekly podcast; or as the author of The Apple Tree, or as a mentor for Christchurch incubator Ministry of Awesome or a quietly spoken father and friend. Howeve...