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 17th August 2023
Welcome to another edition of Sustainability Matters; the first in four weeks. While I did contemplate an edition of more than 4 pages to make up for the shortfall, I perceived you may already have too much to read, and providing more might not be helpful for most readers. With that in mind here are the item’s I’ve curated for you;
• Crucial Global Climatic System Could Face Tipping Point in Two Years
• Removing Carbon from Earth’s Atmosphere May Not ‘Fix’ Climate Change
• Climate Change Means Farms Must Adapt
• Just Transitions Guide to Help Aotearoa New Zealand Communities
• Talk About It: How Climate Conversation Groups Inspire Action
• Citizens’ Assemblies Give Hope for Reinvigorating Democracy
• Disaster Recovery Efforts Can Service More than One Goal
• ETS Judicial Review Success
• The Colour of Grass Roots: Diversifying the Climate Movement
• Development of a Company‐Level Cost‐Benefit Analysis Framework
• Regenerating Nature in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Transformative Role of Business
• Scaling Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3): Learnings from the First Movers
• Masterclass: Communicating Sustainability
• Climate Action Aotearoa. The Funders Commitment on Climate Action
• How Do Australian Banks Stack Up on Climate Action?
• Don’t Let a Good Story Get in the Way of the Truth
• Training: Asking Climate Questions at Candidate Meetings
• ‘Old ladies’: How Senior Swimmers Clean Up
• Over 85% of Vietnam’s Major Businesses Commit to ESG Standards
• Mainstream Economists Accused of Playing Down Climate Threat
• Weaving Climate and Ecological Resilience into Our Whenua.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 20th July 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• A Shared North Star: Intergenerational Wellbeing Requires System Change
• Reshaping the Economy
• 2023 Winners of the Ethical & Impact Awards
• Sustainability Fundamentals: Reporting Toolkit
• A Filter Could be a Simple Solution to Your Laundry Releasing Microplastics
• In the Market for Solar power? Don’t Fall for These Tricks
• Brands Put Brakes on Bioplastics Over Biodiversity and Recyclability Concerns
• The Rise of Generation Left Could Spell Trouble for National
• Plastic Waste Briefing
• Greenwashing At the Supermarket: Can We Trust Environmental Claims?
• Artificial Intelligence Tech Gets Gong for Stopping Wind Turbines Hitting Birds
• 7 Sustainability Trends 2023
• Timber Harvests to Meet Global Wood Demand will Bring Soaring Emissions: Study
• Solar-(em)powered: Streetlights Illuminate a Path Towards Climate Resilience
• Limitless ‘White’ Hydrogen May Soon Shatter All Energy Assumptions
• Consultation: Proposed Guidance and Expectations for Keeping Proper Climate-Related Disclosure Records
• A Guide to Just Transitions for Communities in New Zealand
• Consultation on a Biodiversity Credit System for Aotearoa New Zealand
• Climate Change Adaptation: Impact of Extremes
• Shelter in Our Changing Climate: Challenges and Pathways.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 6th July 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• ISSB Issues Inaugural Global Sustainability Disclosure Standards
• Standardised Natural Capital Management Accounting
• 2023 Insights on New Zealand Sustainability Professionals
• Australians Release Climate-related Financial Disclosure Consultation Paper
• Recommendations for e-Product Stewardship Scheme Published
• The Perils of Capitalism and Disinformation: 4 Critical New Books
• Navigating the Polycrisis of Environmental and Social Breakdown
• None of the Sustainable Development Goals on Course to be Achieved by 2030
• Turning Pine Needles from Fire Risk to Renewable Fuel
• 3M in $10.3 Billion Settlement Over “Forever Chemicals” in Water Systems
• Why Birds and Their Songs Are Good for Our Mental Health
• Climate Governance for NFP Directors: Starting the Journey to Net Zero
• Lake Onslow Not Getting a Fair Hearing, Environment Commissioner Warns
• Auckland Climate Festival 2023
• Climate Ambition To Advocacy: A Framework for Responsible Policy Engagement
• Consumer Plastic Packaging
• A Guide to Materiality in Sustainability.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 22nd June 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• We Can Start Thinking in Centuries
• Historic Treaty to Protect High Seas Adopted
• Climate Change Clause Bank
• Revolutionising Safety Culture: With Belief Systems and the Power of Storytelling
• Palmerston North Buses Will Go all Electric
• Finalists Announced for Mindful Money Ethical and Impact Investment Awards
• Degrowth: An Approach to Degrowth for NZ
• The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes
• FutureFit in Business – New Version
• Translating the Climate
• 15th Climate Change and Business Conference
• The First Corporate Science-based Targets for Nature Launched
• As Africa Loses Forest, Its Small Farmers Are Bringing Back Trees
• Carbon and Energy Professionals Conference
• Climate Risk Management and Reporting
• Call for a Climate Shift
• Breaking the Ice on Degrowth in Aotearoa
• Finally, Some Seriously Good News on Climate. And Some Not So Good
• Final Report – A Fair Chance for All: Breaking the Cycle of Persistent Disadvantage
• 2023 National Ambassadors for Sustainable Farming and Growing.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 8th June 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• Seeing More Clearly
• Legal Rights to Sea Turtles, Boosting ‘Rights of Nature’ Movement
• Navigating the New Frontier of Sustainability Standards
• Letters from the Atmosphere
• Why Ideas of ‘Planetary Boundaries’ Must Uphold Environmental Justice
• Review of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act
• More than 5,000 New Species Discovered in Pacific Deep-sea Mining Hotspot
• Improved Climate Action Toolbox
• Electricity Being Made from Thin Air
• 380 New Species Discovered in a Year in Ark of Biodiversity in Greater Mekong
• Talking the Talk But Not Walking the Walk – The Absence of Net Zero Financial Disclosures
• By Fighting the Ozone Hole, We Accidentally Saved Ourselves
• Best Practices in Sustainability Education
• 2023 Global Slavery Index
• Launch of Insights on New Zealand Sustainability Professionals 2023
• Democratic Innovation: Why We Need It and How We Can Do It
• First Steps Agreed on Plastics Treaty Breakthrough at Paris Talks
• Our Actions Tell a Story – oatas
• Electric Cars Too Heavy for Car Parks
• Microcars Invading Cycle Lanes of Amsterdam
• NZI EV Fleet Guide: A Comprehensive EV Adoption Guide for Business Fleets
• With Green Prescriptions, Getting Healthier Is a Walk in the Park.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 25th May 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• Building a Wellbeing Economy from the City Up
• Sustainable Business Awards 2023 Launch
• How to Rethink the Economy with Wellbeing at the Core
• Leonardo Imagination Fellowship
• The Hidden Costs of Poor House Design – and What We Can Do About It
• CA ANZ Sustainability Conference 2023
• Sustainability Enterprise Helps Kiwi Kids
• Climate investment in Aotearoa
• Launch of the Agri-Adaptation Roadmap
• This Foldable Coffee Cup Wants Us to Ditch Plastic Lids for Good
• The Upper Atmosphere Is Cooling, Prompting New Climate Concerns
• #NoFly: Walking the Talk on Climate Change
• CA ANZ launches Carbon Accounting FAQ’s
• Regulators Crack Down on Corporate Carbon Neutrality Claims
• Sustainable Procurement – IT Products
• The Liveability Challenge 2023
• Wellbeing Economy Alliance
• Govt Taken to Court for Ignoring Climate Commission on ETS
• The Ancient ‘Wonder Material’ Sucking CO2 Out of the Atmosphere
• Turning Off the Tap: How the World Can End Plastic Pollution and Create a Circular Economy
• Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 11th May 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• XRB Guidance for Applying NZ Climate Reporting Standards
• Enhancing Social Capital in South Auckland
• Grassroots Training Delivers Education to the Illiterate
• Environmental Choice NZ is now Eco Choice
• In Passing – A 22nd Birthday and 16th May 2013 edition
• Pre-election Briefing Paper
• ‘Obsession’ with Economic Growth Condemned by Irish President
• Launch of the Tourism Adaptation Roadmap
• Mapping Tools for Climate Adaptation
• The Future of Business is Low Emissions
• Banking on Climate Chaos
• The Limits of Degrowth
• For Farming, is Net Zero Ambitious Enough?
• Post Incarceration Support Success
• A Common Talking Point About Climate Change Gets It All Wrong, New Study Says
• Naming NZ Butterfly Species
• Mindful Money Conference & Awards 2023
• The Climate King: King Charles’ Influence Over the Hearts & Minds of Business Leaders
• Leading UK Lawyers Refusing to Work for Fossil-fuel Clients
• Coconut Coir Helping Stop Coastal Erosion
• Product Stewardship in your Business.
To see the newsletter click here.