Businesses want government to show sustainability leadership

Businesses want government to show leadership on sustainability

New Zealand businesses want the government to show greater leadership around carbon, waste and water issues, a University of Waikato study has found.

The report’s co-authors, Associate Professor Eva Collins and Professor Juliet Roper from the University’s Waikato Management School, say the findings are important for the government as it prepares for climate change talks in Paris later this year.

Dr Collins says there is a general consensus that New Zealand’s ‘clean and green’ brand is of critical importance to exports, and this could be jeopardised if environmental problems are not addressed.

However, many businesses are reluctant to invest more in sustainability initiatives until the government steps in to provide long-term regulatory certainty and level the playing field, she says. Lack of government leadership has seen companies stop measuring their carbon footprint or put their carbon strategies on hold.

The findings are based on a 2013 survey of 520 business owners, along with in-depth interviews with 24 managing directors, carried out last year. It is the fourth survey carried out as part of a Marsden-funded research project examining New Zealand’s sustainability practices over the past decade, from 2003 to 2014.

The full survey results are available online at www.management.ac.nz/sustainabilityreport/2014sustainabilityreport.pdf

ENDS

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