NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development

NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development - Newsletter

Dear All

REMINDER: NZ SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS CONFERENCE

Last chance to register for the NZ SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS CONFERENCE that starts this Thursday (Oct 24) at Waipuna Hotel.

Registrations are flowing in and it is shaping up to be a great fun event and an excellent way of finding out more about what is going on nationally in sustainable business. To register see www.sustainable.org.nz.

KEYNOTE CONFERENCE SPEAKER INTERVIEW ON TELSTRA BUSINESS

Our keynote conference speaker Simon Longstaff was on Telstra Business this morning, view his interview at http://onebusiness.nzoom.com/ select the "Balancing Profit with Conscience" story.

INVITATION - LAUNCH OF THE NZBCSD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTING GUIDE

The launch of our Sustainable Development Reporting Guide launch will be immediately after the NZBCSD AGM (7pm, Thursday 24 October, Waipuna Hotel, 58 Waipuna Rd, Mt Wellington, Auckland). For more information visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/publicevent.asp?EventID=87

FREE ADDRESS FROM TIME MAGAZINE’S "HERO OF THE PLANET"

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, Meridian Energy and Auckland University of Technology invite you to a guest lecture by Amory Lovins - Time Magazine's "Hero of the Planet" and founder and CEO of the USA's Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).

Date: 11 Nov 2002 Time: 5.15pm Venue: Lecture Room WA 220, AUT City: Auckland

For more details visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/publicevent.asp?EventID=84

Immediately after the lecture Anew NZ will be holding a seminar on the World Summit for Sustainable Development outcomes. This will include presentations from 4 summit attendees (Rodger Spiller, Klaus Bosselman, Brendon Hoare and Cindy Kiro) and Morgan Williams. For more details visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/publicevent.asp?EventID=91

LINKAGE BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY AND PERFORMANCE REAFFIRMED

The CO2 Update also reports that an AGSM (Australian Graduate School of Management) report, analysing nearly 34,000 observations over 30 years, has reaffirmed the link between corporate sustainability and financial performance. The report finds a positive correlation between those companies adopting sustainable behaviour and financial measures of performance.

To subscribe to the CO2 Update email Andrew Sharpe at asharpe@deloitte.com.au

GOVERNMENT CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT

On October 17 the Government released its proposed climate change policy. This announcement follows assessment of the results of the May, June consultation process and further policy analysis. The preferred policy approach has been substantially confirmed, with some clarification and refinement.

Key changes from the preferred policy package are:

* Raising the cap on government liability for deforestation to 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, to avoid perverse incentives to deforest in the commitment period; * A decision that the government will provide incentives for the establishment of permanent protection forest sinks; * Proposed amendments to the Resource Management Act * Some specific voluntary policies for synthetic gases, targeted at the type of gas and its use.

In addition, officials are to examine whether any further policy may be required to encourage small and medium size businesses to participate in emissions reduction.

The related media releases and policy summary documents are available at http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=189 The subsequent NZ Herald article can be viewed at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=2999755&thesection=business&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=&thetickercode=

BUSINESS SAYS AUSTRALIAN KYOTO STANCE WRONG

The latest Deloitte CO2 Update reported that a consortium of companies, lead by BP and BHPBilliton, have called on the federal government to review its stance on the Kyoto Protocol. They argue that the refusal to ratify the treaty will force companies such as theirs to invest in clean energy and emission reduction projects offshore as opposed to domestically. This would result in the loss of multi-million dollar deals and thousands of jobs in the potential greenhouse gas reduction industry.

ELECRICITY PRICES WOULD NOT SKYROCKET UNDER KYOTO - AUSTRALIAN STUDY FINDS

For the associated media release and a report summary visit http://www.bcse.org.au

RMLA (AUCKLAND BRANCH) FUNCTION SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR NEW ZEALAND

For the 8th function of the year the RMLA Auckland Branch is pleased to present the (first) 2002 "Salmon Lecture" on "Sustainable Development for New Zealand".

"Sustainable Development" has received wide coverage recently as a result of the report by the Parliamentary Commissioner "Creating Our Future" released in June 2002, and the preparatory reports released by the New Zealand Government in relation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in September 2002.

This is a rare opportunity to hear from Justice Peter Salmon on the challenging issues facing New Zealand as it begins the work to prepare a New Zealand Sustainable Development Strategy. Justice Salmon is uniquely placed to comment on these issues having participated in the Judges Conference in Johannesburg as part of the World Summit debate.

Be sure to register early for this "flagship" event of the year, as places will be limited, and take advantage of this opportunity to hear from a well-informed and engaging speaker and network over drinks and nibbles.

Date: Wednesday 30 October 2002

Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm (registration 5:15pm, seminar will commence at 5:30pm prompt)

Venue: Phillips Fox, Phillips Fox Tower, 209 Queen Street, Auckland

Cost: $25 Members, $35 Non-Members (GST inclusive)

Registration details are at http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/publicevent.asp?EventID=89

MINISTRY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT'S REVIEW OF PRIORITIES AND FUNCTIONS

The Ministry for the Environment is reviewing its functions and priorities. They want to find ways to be more effective while being spread less thinly. A key part of this process was to seek the views of key people outside of the Ministry.

Some clear messages came through from approximately 350 organisations and people who participated in the Ministry's meetings about priorities and future directions.

The major themes can be summarised under three headings:

* Leadership * Partnership * Fix problems with Resource Management Act processes

For more information visit http://www.mfe.govt.nz/new/ministry-review.html

WORKING PARENTS NEED A CHAMPION

One of the career barriers to working parents, particularly working mothers, and especially single working mothers, is their inability to travel for work. The Parent's Centre has observed that NZ's business sector is not set up to accommodate the needs of working parents and as a consequence business is missing out on developing some very talented people to their potential.

The Parent's Centre is seeking business partners to work with to redefine the boundaries of work and parenting and develop innovative solutions. International examples of such solutions include:

* Hotels that offer high quality childcare - allowing young children to travel with their working parents and have an exciting day while spending good chunks of time with the person most important to them.

* Conferences that offer childcare as part of the package - Parents Centre offers members attending their annual conference childcare on a first-come basis and it is always oversubscribed.

For more information please contact Steve Gore on steve@parentscentre.org.nz

PLASTICS NZ ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

In their September News and Information Update Plastics New Zealand issued a draft strategy with two year goals to 2005, five year goals to 2008. For their long term goals the Institute suggests its environmental success will be proven by

* 100% recycling of plastics they work with * Achievement of their waste minimisation targets

For more information about waste reduction activities in the NZ plastics industry visit http://www.plastics.org.nz/environment/index.htm or contact Carolyn Cox at Plastics NZ (carolyn.c@plastics.org.nz or 9 262 3773 ext 104)

HOW TO MINIMISE PLASTIC WASTE

Two simple "how to do it" plastic waste minimisation guides entitled:

* Finding and reducing waste in plastics processing * Benchmarking waste in plastics processing

Are available at http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=182 These have been downloaded from www.envirowise.gov.uk where there are similar guides for other sectors.

IRISH TAX PLASTIC BAGS

The Irish Environment Minister recently announced that the NZ30c tax placed on plastic shopping bags earlier this year has been highly successful. Distribution of the bags had decreased by 90% within three months and NZ$7.2 million has been raised which will feed into an environment fund. Source; Zero Waste Update September 2002.

GREEN MARKETING CONFERENCE

The Employers and Manufacturers Association are holding a one day conference on Green Marketing, December 3, Waipuna, Auckland. They are seeking speakers - if you are interested or can recommend someone please contact Lise Milne, Conference Producer. Ph 09 445 6316 or liesbeth@clear.net.nz

BRITISH COUNCILS MUST COLLECT AND SEPARATE ELECTRONIC WASTE - RESPONSE TO EU DIRECTIVE

Britain yesterday signed up for the biggest household recycling scheme Europe has seen, promising to recycle much of the million tonnes of electronic waste the UK produces every year.In a move that will mean electrical goods from TVs to toasters are recycled at the manufacturer's expense within four years, a new EU directive was finally agreed after years of negotiations.

Under the new legislation, which follows fraught haggling between EU member states and the European parliament, local authorities will be forced to ensure that all electrical and electronic waste is separated from other household rubbish from December 31 2006.

For the full story visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=187

3M SWEDEN PARTCIPATE IN SUCCESSFUL HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT RECOVERY PROGRAM

Recent Swedish legislation has set requirements for the recovery and recycling of household electrical equipment.

3M Sweden have participated in a successful program that has implemented more than 600 collection stations for households in cooperation with all 289 Local Authorities, some 250 supplementary collection stations for professional users, a complete logistics system, working agreements with recovery specialists, working web-sites for public and members use and a basic central organisation.

During the first 12 months they processed around 63 000 tons of electrcial equipment, including more than 14 million light sources, 16 000 tons of consumer electronics, 9 000 tons of IT products and 535 000 large white goods (refrigerators and freezers are not covered by the system, but are incorporated into local authority responsibilities).

If the same collection rate is maintained, Sweden will easily reach the overall targets per household proposed by parliament in the EU directive.

For more information contact Gerry Ruffell at 3M New Zealand (geruffell@mmm.com)

IS THERE ANY JUSTIFICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS? - SNZ BREAKFAST SEMINAR

Those interested in global environmental management issues and New Zealand businesses attitudes with regards to them, will take particular interest in a breakfast being hosted by Standards New Zealand and The Ministry of Economic Development in November.

New Zealand brands itself internationally as 100% pure, yet uptake of environmental management systems by New Zealand businesses is decreasing.

Hear what's happening internationally in this area from international expert Dr Mary McKiel (United States Environmental Protection Agency). This is an opportunity to listen also, to a New Zealand business leader (Rod Pearce - Director for Richmond Ltd) who will outline how Richmond's environmental management practices protect revenues, maintain customer satisfaction levels and sustain the environment. It can be done!

Details:

Breakfast - 7.30am - 9.30am Heritage Hotel, Auckland Wednesday 13th November 2002 Cost: $29.95 inc gst

More comprehensive details are available by visiting the Standards New Zealand website at: http://www.standards.co.nz/seminars/environment.html

LAUNCH OF THE ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION - CHAMPIONING THE COMMON GOOD

A very different kind of congregation will be filling the cathedral chambers of St Matthew in the City on Wednesday, October 30th.

A new generation of business leaders will be partying hard as they herald the arrival of the 'Robin Hood Foundation' - a totally new way of doing business with the non-profit sector.

But isn't Robin Hood all about stealing from the rich and giving to the poor? Jude Mannion, Robin Hood's Founder & Trustee says "it's about persuading the privileged to partner with Robin Hood to 'Champion the Common Good' - a far more meaningful and sustainable (never mind legal) philosophy". .. The Foundation will be a 'marriage broker' between New Zealand's business and non-profit sector. Performing due diligence on non-profits before partnering them with corporates and moving beyond simply financial support to encompass board directorships, coaching and accountability.

Throwing down the gauntlet will be the million dollar man of Auckland's charity circles, auctioneer Michael Willams to help those present to steal some of New Zealand's best media advertising space on offer, as the fundraising component of the night's entertainment. The Robin Hood Media Auction fills the coffers of the Foundation for its inaugural year. And there's a whisper from the night's producer, Theresa Socavitch (Founder Auckland Theatre Company), that there's going to be a surprise act.. and a big one at that.. There's only a few tickets left. e-mail robinhood@xtra.co.nz and be in quick.

For futher info please contact Jude Mannion 418 0046 / 021 434 464

For the related press release visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=191

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM CONFERENCE

The Sustainable Tourism Conference which was to be held 29-31 October in Russell has been postponed until the New Year.

RESOURCE RECOVERY ENTREPRENEUR SEEKING INDUSTRIAL SPACE FOR INCUBATOR PROJECT

Ecofil NZ LTd of Auckland is attempting to refine a process using sawdust as a component in the manufacture of plywood, and is seeking funding to continue independent research. They also have support from engineers and others in the milling business and are seeking to purchase appropriate grinding and bagging equipment should the research support the commercial viability of the proudct. They need a covered incubator space of aobut 225 sq metres. If you have any suggestions, Bob Kornfield at the RecycLoans Fund would be delighted to hear from you (ph: 09 486 4066 or email recycloans@pl.net).

The New Zealand Recovered Materials Enterprise Trust (RMET) is the charitable trust that operates the RecycLoans Fund, a loan fund established to support the development of products and markets utilising recovered materials. Its objectives are to achieve waste reduction, job creation and community economic development. Their biggest constraint is access to low cost capital. For more information on other projects that have received loans from RecycLoans visit http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=193 or email Bob on recycloans@pl.net

STATISTICS NZ MONITORING PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Statistics New Zealand recently released the report "Monitoring Progress Towards a Sustainable New Zealand". This report documents our progress towards sustainable development against a number of indicators.

More information on the report, the associated consultation process and a powerpoint presentation summarising the report is available at http://www.stats.govt.nz/sustainableNZ

RECENT ADVANCES IN BIODIESEL PRODUCTION SEMINAR

Hosted by the University of Auckland, Chemical & Materials Engineering Dept

4.00pm 5.00pm Wednesday 23 October 2002 School of Engineering Room: 3.405

Dr. Richard Gapes Institute of Chemical Engineering Vienna University of Technology

There are ecological and economic advantages encouraging the use of renewable energy in the form of biodiesel. With the mandated retirement of farmland from food production now taking place in Europe, associated with reductions in farm subsidies, alternative farm use has potential to overcome some of the anticipated disruption of rural communities.

Austria has had commercial production of biodiesel for over a decade and some of the most advanced processes in the world have resulted. This presentation shows several recent innovations in processing developed by Dr. Richard Gapes' group. The new, fully continuous production facility at Zistersdorf near Vienna processing 40,000 t/a of used cooking oil will be described. Two further process innovations will also be presented.

Richard Gapes graduated from Auckland Engineering School in Chem. & Matls. followed by Biotechnology at Massey University. He then worked in industrial plant design and production for several years in New Zealand and Australia before engaging in research work at the Vienna University of Technology.

HOW TO MAKE NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

OECD and UNDP have just released "Sustainable Development Strategies: A Resource Book"

This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies.

It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice,drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BUY THE BOOK VISIT: http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=761

Regards The Team at NZBCSD

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