The primary purposes of Sustainability Matters are to improve the performance of New Zealand organisations from a sustainability, or "triple bottom" line perspective, and to advocate sustainability thinking and action.
Frequently this requires a change from "business as usual" to a different approach which not only reduces costs and improves financial performance but also results in much needed improved outcomes for people and our planet. We owe this to our children and to at least the next six generations i.e. seven generations.
The traditional measure of organisation success - financial outcomes - is an incomplete method of measurement and excludes key elements. These exclusions result in an "unbalanced scorecard".
Is this thinking new? No, far from it. Rachel Carson via her 1962 book "Silent Spring" was perhaps the person who more than any other alerted us to the need for changed thinking.
The thinking can be applied to entities of any size, in any sector, located anywhere.
Newsletters
As part of what we do a newsletter is published (usually) once very two weeks. It is four pages and is intended especially for chartered accountants** and those who use their services. It is distributed to subscribers by opt-in eMail. There is no ($) charge; donations are always welcome! By coincidence the newsletter is called Sustainability Matters.
** Because they have immense potential to influence others and to make huge positive differences to our world.
Sustainability Matters 2nd August 2018
In this edition you can read about;
• Sustainability Working Group – Insights to 17th July 2001 meeting
• New Government Indicators – Significant Announcement
• Investing for Wellbeing Panel: Balancing Commercial and Social
Outcomes: Keynote Speech
• Reserve Bank Governor – Climate Leaders Coalition Briefing
• NZ Companies, Councils, Not ‘Walking Talk’ on Climate Risk
• Submissions – Proposed the Zero Carbon Bill
• The Upcoming Zero Carbon Bill: What it Means for NZ Organisations
• 16 of the World’s Leading Banks Collaborate to Tackle Physical Risks of
Climate Change
• Preparing for Stronger Refrigerant Regulations
• Researchers Use 36 years of Bike Race Footage to Illustrate Belgium’s
Changing Climate
• Carrots n’ beets Strengthen Concrete
• Bamboo Can Power Sustainable Development
• Barefoot is Best for Kids’ Bodies and Brains
• Rice Farmers are Substituting Ducks for Pesticides
• Electronics Recycling About to Get a World-wide Shake-up
• Economic Development NZ 2018
Sustainability Matters 19th July 2018
This edition is 6 pages rather than the usual 4 as was expected at the time of the most recent (19th June) edition.
Several stories merit greater length than they would usually receive;
• Sustainability Working Group – Insights to 17th July 2001 meeting
• 60 Leading Kiwi CEOs commit to Climate Action
• Demystifying the ‘Alphabet Soup’ of Reporting Frameworks
• Annual Earth Building Conference
• 25 Years Ago I Coined the Phrase ‘Triple Bottom Line’ – Time for a Rethink
• Government Dialogue on Natural Capital
• ‘Global Warming is Happening’ – Defence Adds Climate Change Issues
to its Strategy for the First Time
• New Book Promotes Kiwi Success
• Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference
• SBN Members Step up to Show Us Your Lunch Box!
• Indian Start-up is Turning Trash into Treasure
• Women Will Drive Transition to Electric Cars
• Ireland World’s First Country to Divest from Fossil Fuels
• Minister Promises to Extend Scope of Social Value Act
• Krill Fishing Industry Backs Massive Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary to
Protect Penguins, Seals and Whales
• Senate Inquiry says Ban All Single-use Plastics by 2023
• Crushed Porcelain from Old Toilets Transformed Into a Valuable Resource
• Trees That Count
• True to Label: Measuring Value in the Non-profit Sector in Aotearoa
New Zealand
• Incentivizing Sustainability Reporting by SMEs Through Policy: A Primer
• A Different Type of Ambulance
• Too Far Too Often – Energy Transfer Partners’ Corporate
Behaviour On Human Rights, Free Speech, and the Environment
• Climate Change and Agriculture: The Investment Implications
• Tourism and Sustainability
• Not Bowling Alone: How American Grassroots Communities are
Collaborating to Realise Effective Change
• Certified Sustainable Beef in Canada
Sustainability Matters 21st June 2018
This edition is 7 pages rather than the usual 4 firstly because there is so much going on.
Secondly, because of family activities it is unlikely there will be an edition on 5th July;
• Sustainability Working Group – Meeting and video-link facilities
• Zero Carbon Bill Consultation Opens
• Low-emissions Economy – Submissions in Response to Draft Report
• Mexico has Found a Beautiful Way to Clean its Polluted Air
• Investing for Wellbeing: Balancing Commercial and Social Outcomes
• Treasury Seeks Feedback on Proposed Living Standards Dashboard
• NZ’s First Ever Circular Economy Summit
• Auckland Council Green Bond Offer
• Child Car Seats – 8,000 recycled
• I’m Natural Not Plastic
• Event Series on Child Poverty, Wellbeing and Human Capital
• Entries Open for ‘Oscars of Sustainability’!
• New Zealand Waste
• Ecoware has Produced its First Comprehensive Sustainability Report
• Three Surprising Resource Implications From the Rise of Electric Vehicles
• Exploring the Impacts of Shareholder Activism on Sustainability:
A Shareholder Activism for Sustainability Report
• Beyond Paper and Promises: Assessing the Impacts of Corporate Pulp
and Paper Commitments on Forests and Frontline Communities
• Wellbeing and Public Policy Conference
• British MPs Want Big Companies to Report on Climate-change Risks
• Cornfields Could Play a Role in Recycling Old Electronics
• Thousands of RMA Breaches – Many Fewer Prosecutions
• Liquid Air Storage Technology Challenges Long-duration Battery Storage
• Resilience
• First of Its Kind Loan: Barclays’ Borrower Pays Less if Sustainability
Targets Are Met
• Organisational Fit for Purpose
• Recycle Yoghurt Pouches to Win Upcycled Prizes
• Researchers Map Environmental Conflicts
• What Are We Innovating For?
• Call for Papers: 17th A-CSEAR Conference
• An Alphabet of Reading Accessibility Issues
Sustainability Matters 7th June 2018
This edition is 5 pages rather than the usual 4 because there is so much going
on and secondly because the edition due 5th July may not be produced on account of family activities at that time;
• Sustainability Working Group – Meeting and video-link facilities
• If Humanity has Changed the Climate by Mistake, Can We Change it With Intent?
• Low-emissions Economy – Draft Report
• It Takes Passion and Vision to Create Change
• Systems Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Personal Resilience
• Expert Panel Critical of Government’s Climate Change Planning
• A Healthy Economy Should be Designed to Thrive, Not Grow
• Beyond GDP: Measuring New Zealand’s Wellbeing Progress
• Conscience and Resistance
• Feeding Cows Seaweed Cuts 99% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Their Burps
• Integrated Reporting Training
• Top Tips for Finance Teams
• Resilience Reader: Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval
• Seismic Thrift: Welcome to the Shopping Centre for Recycled Goods
• Plastic Waste In to Homes Costing US$280
• 2018 End of Childhood Report
• Food Index Calls Meat and Fish Companies Worth $152 Billion ‘High Risk’
• “Backward, Forward, Outward, Inward” the Four Dimensions of Materiality Assessment
• The Muddling of Price and Value
• Kiwi Couple Launch Green Businesses in Indonesia to Protect Sea Turtles
• We Are On Course to Double the Combined Effort of 11,000 Years in the Next 25 Years
• Alternative Protein Reports Published
• Rebooting Recycling – What can Aotearoa Do?
• Divesting from Fossil Fuels – 890 Institutions
Sustainability Matters 24th May 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – Reporting framework inventory
• Getting Climate Smart: A Primer for Corporate Directors in a Changing Environment
• The Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together
• Wellbeing in Abundance – Looking After Our Own Backyard
• SYSTEMS RULE: How Board Governance Can Drive Sustainability Performance
• Neonicotinoid Pesticides Ban by EU
• Mitre 10 to Remove Single-use Plastic Bags
• NZ Buildings Create More Emissions than Previously Thought
• Plastic Bag Found in Mariana Trench; Deepest Place on Earth
• Bill McKibben’s 5 Big Messages on NZ and Climate Change
• Creating Living Buildings (CLB) Short Course August 2018
• Product Announcement: Trucost SDG Evaluation Tool
• WasteAid Photography Competition The Wonders of Waste
• Materiality: Driving Integrated Thinking
• Time for More Government Leadership on the Sustainable Development Goals?
• NZ’s Largest Farmer Embraces Future as Envisaged by Labour Government
• Resource Management Update
• Hawke’s Bay eco-business Churns Organic Waste to Energy
• New Phase of Globalisation Could Worsen CO2 Pollution – Study
• A Movement of Movements to Transform to a Wellbeing Economy: WEAll
• Costa Rica to Become the World’s First Zero Carbon Economy
• The Circular Economy Opportunity for Auckland and How Business Can Realise It
Sustainability Matters 10th May 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – Reporting framework inventory
• Factfulness
• Getting to Zero: Challenging but Achievable
• Wise Response Submission to the Tax Working Group
• Native Knowledge: What Ecologists Are Learning from Indigenous People
• Adding Social Value via Service Procurement
• Creepy Cuisine: The Rise of Edible Insects
• Supercharge Your Carbon Reporting with Science and Transparency
• The Gateway Bug: A Documentary About the Future of Food
• SBN – A Job in Wellington
• The Housing Summit 2018 – Because It’s Time for Change
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – thinkstep Committed
• This Animal Kills More People In a Day Than Sharks Do In a Century
• Local Government (Community Well Being) Amendment Bill
• Psychology for a Better World: Working with People to Save the Planet
• Scientists Hope New Enzyme Will ‘Eat’ Plastic Pollution
• Why You Can’t Have Free Trade and Save the Planet
• Modern Slavery Reporting – Issues and Implications for Business
• Dutch Company Uses Bison to Maintain Pure Drinking Water
• Manager – Sustainability/Better Business Reporting.
Sustainability Matters 26th April 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – First edition of newsletter
• Bill McKibben in NZ
• NZ’s Government is Looking Into the Future of Tax – and Wants Your Opinion
• Sewage Overflows Surged by 379% Last Year – Water New Zealand Report
• Connecting Finance and Natural Capital
• The Future of Everything: Why the Third Industrial Revolution Is a Risk to NZ
• Every 2 Minutes Malaria Kills a Child
• Solar Panels – When Useful Life is Over?
• We Need a Safe Climate More than We Need Oil and Gas
• if you want big change, network it!
• Wrangler Shows Economic Benefits of Sustainable Cotton Farming
• Finance Key to Net-zero Economy – Shaw
• Monthly Electric and Hybrid Light Vehicle Registrations [NZ]
• Food Giant Danone is Now the Largest B Corp In the World
• The Most Important Climate Treaty You’ve Never Heard Of
• Our Land 2018 – Warnings and Wake-up Calls
• US Loses Bid to Halt Children’s Climate Change Lawsuit