Partnership strengthens business sustainability in NZ

Media Release
12 April 2013

Partnership strengthens business sustainability in New Zealand

The Sustainable 60 (S60) programme run by Fairfax Media is entering a strategic partnership with the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), in association with BusinessNZ.

Now in its fifth year, S60 was developed to recognise New Zealand businesses that adopt sustainable practices - providing support, a supply chain network and an aspirational platform for others.

“We are teaming up with Sustainable 60 this year because we think it is an excellent match for the range of business groupings associated with BusinessNZ, including EMA, Business Central, Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce, Otago Southland Employers Association, the Sustainable Business Council, ExportNZ and the Major Companies Group,” says SBC executive director Penny Nelson.

The annual S60 awards offer a way for organisations of all sizes to measure their progress towards business sustainability, and provide valuable feedback to entrants through the judging process.

“Celebration is an important part of mainstreaming sustainable business practice. We want to find the companies doing exciting things, recognise them and help them to share their great stories and inspire others,” says Bernice Archer, strategic programmes manager at Fairfax Media.

The partnership between S60 and SBC became official this year following the involvement of executive director Penny Nelson and BusinessNZ CEO NZ Phil O’Reilly on last year’s awards judging panel.

“We were impressed by the calibre of applicants and the robustness of discussion and healthy debate between the judges,” says Nelson.

Sustainable business practices improve economic prosperity, develop people in workplaces, protect the environment and strengthen communities without compromising future generations.

“We are getting in behind these awards because we believe sustainability is something that every business in New Zealand needs to be thinking about, and building into their core business strategy and practice,” says Nelson.

The S60 awards include five entry categories: Strategy and Governance, Workplace, Environment, Marketplace and Community.

“The awards have been structured so that any size business, no matter where they are on their sustainable journey, can enter,” says Archer.

Although it is advisable to adopt a whole-business approach to sustainability - including stakeholders, staff engagement, products, services and supply-chain practice - the S60 awards encourage organisations by allowing entry into any category regardless of the extent of their sustainability strategy.

Entrants and winners from previous years have benefited from the S60 programme:

“I found the application process was easy and well managed,” Elizabeth Meaclem, chief executive Mana Recovery.

“The experience of being part of the awards and seeing how other businesses are approaching sustainability delivers much more value than actually winning,” Rachel Lampen, environmental manager NZ Sugar Company.

“It has motivated us to keep raising the bar in our 2013-15 sustainable business strategy,” Sarah Holden, senior sustainability manager Westpac New Zealand.

“It would be hard to put a price on the marketing value of what we received,” Bevan Broughton, sustainability manager La Nuova Apparelmaster.

“Winning our Sustainable 60 award gave us more recognition than winning our international sustainability award,” Martin Fryer, sustainability manager Auckland Airport.

The partnership between S60 and SBC will enable sustainable business in New Zealand to grow, ultimately benefiting the country on a much broader scale in the future.

For more information about SBC visit www.sbc.org.nz. Entry forms for this year’s awards can be downloaded from 19 April at www.sustainable60.co.nz.

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