Afleveringen
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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 reporting practices in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, and he tells Ross Inglis that cutting back on them is simply bad for business.
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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.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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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 NZ leader Lewis Patterson.
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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 papers. In short, the paper describes how our modern human behaviour means we consume too much and waste too much. That’s called overshoot - as terrible as it is, it's now new news. What’s novel, is the paper’s proposition that it’s human behaviour - not technology, not law, not economic systems not even our values - that are the drivers: it’s human behaviour. And just as our maladaptive behaviours got us here, so too can better behaviours get us out.
To expand on the paper and to explain its popularity, Vincent was joined by the lead author, Joseph Merz of the Merz Foundation.
Merz Institute
New Paper Identifies ‘Behavioural Crisis’ Driving Overshoot – Merz Institute
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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 skimming a profit here, is it climate change? To help us through this bitter news Vincent was joined by Richard Goatly, one of the brothers from Altezano Brothers coffee roasters.
https://altezanobrothers.co.nz/
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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 tongues better, Vincent was joined by Rebecca Styles, who leads the investigations team at Consumer NZ and Fiona Stephenson, who leads comms at the Sustainable Business Network - both of whom are speaking at the Communicating Sustainability Masterclass in March 2025.
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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 the government’s Welfare Expert Advisory Group. He’s a cricket fan, numbers guy and has a passion for seeing Aotearoa New Zealand reach its full potential in all aspects, social, environmental and economic. Ganesh’s concerns about our approach to managing the economy is incredibly timely.
Vincent recorded this interview largely during an event at the Sustainable Business Network late last year.
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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?
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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 - can we rely on our historic strengths to flourish? Are we investing in the right skills and products to dominate the niches?
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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.
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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?
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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 negotiations were hampered by poor internet connections, conflicting agendas and shortage of time. Two steps forward, one step back.
Witnessing from the sidelines was Manu Caddie, who is part of the Indigenous Caucus, representing the Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust. Manu is also a champion of indigenous IP development in pharmaceuticals and natural health.
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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.
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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.
After graduating with an MA in Social Policy and Administration he moved into community working with Comic Relief and The Big Lottery fund. But his roots pulled him back to African and he now specialises in helping small-scale farmers to use trade to grow their communities, improve their income, and protect their environment. Vincent started by asking Albert to describe life for the cola farmers in Sierra Leone.
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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.
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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 professional body advocating for health-enhancing climate action. Vincent spoke to spokesperson Dr Jan Raymond.
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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 geothermal steam. This shift will reduce the mill’s carbon footprint by 66% compared to 2009, cutting emissions equivalent to taking over 2,200 cars off the road.
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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.
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