Peter Neilson Takes Top Sustainable Business Job

Former Cabinet Minister Takes NZ’s Top Sustainable Business Job

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) has appointed leading economist and former cabinet minister Peter Neilson as Chief Executive to spearhead the council’s policy development and advocacy work.

NZBCSD Chairman Stephen Tindall says the Council had decided to significantly increase its intensity in advocating the principles of sustainable development to the business community and Government and needed someone capable of developing policies that are robust, practical and easily understood.

“Peter’s energy and experience will add to the council’s credibility as a leader in the business community,” says Mr Tindall. “Not only that, he has a formidable background in economics, business and politics.”

Mr Neilson is a former cabinet minister of revenue, customs and works, and was associate minister for state-owned enterprises and finance under the Lange Labour government between 1984 and 1990. Since then he has managed a number of international advisory roles, first with Ernst and Young and subsequently with the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development provides business leadership as a catalyst for change toward sustainable development, and promotes eco-efficiency, innovation and responsible entrepreneurship. “A business has to make profits to employ people and provide a return to its investors,” says Mr Neilson, “but it also has a wider role for the country and the community in which it operates. That role must go beyond single bottom-line considerations and incorporate principles which are also socially and environmentally responsible.”

“The Council is about promoting sustainable business policies and practices that will enable New Zealand to grow, increase employment, promote social equity, allow for good environmental management and a commitment to maintaining the quality of life that makes New Zealand the best place in the world to live and work,” he says.

He took up the position on 13 April.

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