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 12th April 2018
There have been 79 responses to the Sustainability Matters reader survey. A set of
preliminary results are attached for possible interest. They have yet to be analysed
in detail and decisions made. Every contribution is much appreciated. Thank you.
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – First edition of newsletter
• Measuring the Meaning of Life
• The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index – July 2017
• How Climate Activists Failed to Make Clear the Problem with Natural Gas
• A New Global Standard to Address Bribery Risk: ISO 37001
• Energy Hogs: Can World’s Huge Data Centres be More Efficient?
• The Case for Taking Early Action on Climate Change
• Southeast Asia Closes Island Beaches to Recover from Climate Change and Tourism
• Waste Land, Promised Land
• GRI Standards and
• Impact Investing Fund Goes Live in NZ
• Learning from Tūhoe – Four Practical Insights to Run Great Design Workshops
• Will the ‘Educated’ Save the Environment?
• The Growth Delusion: Wealth, Poverty, and the Well-being of Nations
• The Statistics are Mind-Numbing …
• Trading for Good: A Report on Small and Medium-sized Social Enterprises
• World Congress of Accountants
• It’s Time for Companies to Clean up Their Act
• Greenpeace International Ends its Forest Stewardship Council Membership
Sustainability Matters 29th March 2018
A big ‘thank you’ to the 71 readers who have responded to the Sustainability Matters survey.
The results are very encouraging, thought provoking and challenging. There are some
very diverse suggestions! If you have not yet contributed I welcome your input and
encourage you to participate – ideally before your Easter break. The link is;
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3CKomQhVV-J5aymUtK1LIl7JadXjvouyvTwhfSuylff3LwA/viewform
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group –A Plea to the Accounting Profession: Governance
for Sustainability – Taskforce discussion document
• Submissions on NZ’s Priorities in the International Climate Change Negotiations
• Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting
• On the Louisiana Coast, A Native Community Sinks Slowly into the Sea
• Kauri – 17 Other Species Depend on Them
• Donation Opportunity – Sustainability Matters?
• Our Dying Soils: The Invisible Crisis Under Our Feet
• Investing for Wellbeing – The New Zealand Treasury Investment Statement
• A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment,
and Zero Net Carbon Emissions
• Numbers Magazine: The Sustainability Issue – Autumn 2018
• ‘Smart Partnering’ for Both Business and Societal Value
• Global Opportunity Report 2017 – Dare to Think Big
• Why India’s Farmers Want to Conserve Indigenous Heirloom Rice
• Merger from Hell Just Approved
• Women in Environment, Conservation & Sustainability Leadership
• In Britain’s Playgrounds, ‘Bringing in Risk’ to Build Resilience
• First 10-star Dwellings Built in Auckland
• NZ and Australia’s SDG’s Rankings.
Sustainability Matters 15th March 2018
A ‘heads up’! About a day ago you should have received an invitation to participate
in a survey about Sustainability Matters. I welcome your input and encourage
you to participate – a good time to do so could be when you look at this
edition. The link is;
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3CKomQhVV-J5aymUtK1LIl7JadXjvouyvTwhfSuylff3LwA/viewform
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group –A Plea to the Accounting Profession:
Governance for Sustainability – Taskforce discussion document
• How The Global Accounting Profession Is a Catalyst for Achieving UN Sustainable
Development Goals
• New [NZ] Research Confirms Sustainability Drives Growth
• Do You Derive Benefits from Sustainability Matters?
• Think Resilience Guided Course: March-April
• A Zero Carbon Act for New Zealand: Revisiting ‘Stepping Stones to Paris and Beyond’
• Thermal Piles for Ground Source Heating & Cooling – Webinar
• Rod Oram: A Radical Reinvention of Our [NZ] Economy
• Farming Must Respect the Past But Build a Different Future
• #PressforProgress to End Modern Slavery – Join the first wave
• Urban Heat: Can White Roofs Help Cool World’s Warming Cities?
• Green Bonds Do More Harm than Good
• China’s Public Transport Planners Ponder How to Cope with Rapidly Rising Urban
Populations
• The Third Industrial Revolution: A Radical New Sharing Economy
• What Money Can’t Buy
• US Government Loses Bid to Halt Children’s Climate Change Lawsuit
• Sustainable Procurement
• Why ‘Free Trade’ Agreements Serve Corporations First
• The Town that’s Found a Potent Cure for Illness – Community
• Password Leaks are a Rich Source of Information for Hackers.
Sustainability Matters 1st March 2018
A ‘heads up’! In the next week or two you are likely to receive a survey. Yes, surveys are a
‘pain’. I’ve not circulated one for many years. Completing it will help inform the ongoing
content, design, format etc. of Sustainability Matters. YOUR opportunity – YOUR input!
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – “Sustainable Development Reporting” – Taskforce report
• Why Climate Risks Matter to Business in 2018
• NZ’s Environmental-economic Accounts: 2018
• System for Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)
• ‘Do You Have a Moment?’ – Potential for Serious Consequences Ignored
• Do You Derive Benefits from Sustainability Matters?
• Greenwashed Timber: How Sustainable Forest Certification Has Failed
• Report – Responsible Business
• Tax Changes in China Driving Big Environmental Changes
• Do Algae Excite You?
• Eco Design Advisor Annual Conference
• Can the World Find Solutions to the Nitrogen Pollution Crisis?
• Lecture: Prof Johan Rockström – Planetary Boundaries
• Economic Growth is Not Compatible with Environmental Sustainability
• An Ecosystem for Environmental Education
• Sustainability: Can Our Society Endure?
• Dying Waters: India Struggles to Clean Up Its Polluted Urban Rivers
• Go Green Expo – Auckland
• Small Steps Big Strides: Building Sustainable Habits at Home
• Southland to Get Its Oats
• CFO Summit and Awards (NZ) 2018
• To Fight Climate Change, We Have to Make Cooling a Hot Topic
• The Emergence of the Sustainability Manager in Business
• Targeting Value: Setting, Tracking & Integrating High-Impact Sustainability Goals
• John Tyndall 1820 – GHG Pioneer.
Sustainability Matters 15th February 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – “Talk of the Country”
• New Zealand’s Climate Change Programme
• New Focus of a New New Zealand Government
• ‘We Have To Change Capitalism’ To Beat Climate Change, says Blackrock Vice-chair
• The Regenerative Practitioner
• The Significance of Climate-related Risks and New Recommendations for Financial Disclosure
• Why Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investment Matters and How To Respond
• Practical Workshop on Measuring the Dollar Return on Investment of SHEQ* Training
• Stronger than Steel, Able to Stop a Speeding Bullet – It’s Super Wood!
• Women in Environment, Conservation & Sustainability Leadership Summit
• A Good Life For All Within the Planet’s Means
• The 12 Dates which Shaped Accountancy
• Social Impact and the Argument Against Unqualified ‘Growth’
• Could this One Simple Idea Be the Key to Solving Farmer–Environmentalist Conflicts?
• Malaysian Institute of Accountants Adopts and Advocates
• Sustainability Professional Credential Program Turns One
• Read this Before You Go Sales Shopping: The Environmental Costs of Fast Fashion
• Reform of NZ’s Resource Management System – The Next Generation
Sustainability Matters 1st February 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Working Group – Historic Milestone
• CA ANZ Continues to Engage with the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles
• State of the Planet! – NZ Inc
• Sanfords SDG’s,
• Creating Value – Benefits to Investors
• Prosperity Without Growth – Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow
• Budget Priorities – NZ Government
• Plastic Found in Mussels from Arctic to China, Enters Human Food
• Environmental and Sustainability Advisor
• Principal Advisor – Business Productivity and Sustainability
• Response to UK Government Corporate Governance Reform Green Paper
• Groundwater Use Could Be Significant Source of Carbon Dioxide
• Here’s a New Air Conditioner that Cools Without Warming the Planet
• The ‘Greatest Pandemic in History’ was 100 Years Ago – But Many of Us Still Get the Basic Facts Wrong
• Sustainable Development Goals Summit, 23 April 2018, Wellington
• How e-commerce is Changing Us and Our Planet
• PwC UK Sets Emissions and Renewables Targets for 2022
• Green Building Commitment by Top NZ Firms
• Chile Creates Five National Parks Over 10m Acres in Historic Act of Conservation
• One City in China Has More Electric Buses than All USA’s Biggest Cities Combined
Sustainability Matters 18th January 2018
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events – The most recent was December 2012!
• New Year Honours – Rachel Brown
• CA ANZ Signs up to Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
• Integrated Reporting and More in Dutch Coy’s
• Leadership in Sustainable Business
• Most Ocean Plastic Pollution From 10 Rivers
• Creating Value – CFO Leadership
• World Congress of Accountants
• Low Carbon Auckland – 2017 Annual Update
• New Zealand’s Role in Depleting the Western Sahara
• GRI Standards and
• Impact Investment Case Study: Waipa Catchment, Waikato, New Zealand
• Purpose 2018
• Why Climate Change Isn’t Our Biggest Environmental Problem, and Why Technology Won’t Save Us
• Plastic – Graphics of How Much
• Seven Charts Explain the Plastic Pollution Problem
• NZX Guidance Note: Environmental, Social and Governance
• Improving Working Conditions in the Supply Chain
• Our Money, Our Future
• Net Positive Is a Move in the Right Direction