The bright light of sustainable practice
On the home stretch through Canterbury we came across this canola field – it summed up a lot about this Sustainable Practice roadshow – many rich, golden experiences. It brought back into to focus the importance of a deep connection to the land and the importance of a sustainable land ethic as the baseline for sound, strategic decision-making for the long view – a sustainable future for our grandchildren.
Our choice to use biodiesel to fuel this roadtrip was brought into sharp focus while driving through these fields, highlighting that to transition from ‘business as usual’ is a matter of choice. Travelling with Steve Henry, nothing short of a high energy particle in the field of sustainable practice, has shown me that overcoming the barriers is A MATTER OF WILL. With the right vision, planning, preparation and collaboration around ideas that provide genuine win-win-win outcomes, we all benefit, the land included.
By shining a spotlight on all the great examples of sustainable practice in different pockets of the country we gain new ideas, fresh insights, inspiration and the knowledge that a sustainable future is a reality for all of us – we just need to choose it!
The depth of the connections along the way has been astounding, the communities we been fortunate enough to have continued real engaged dialogue have told us they are ready to embed sustainable practice.
This is, in no small way, testament to the vision, hard work and tireless efforts of Steve Henry and the team at the Centre for Sustainable Practice.
The message of this ancient Maori whakatauki speaks the language of sustainability in a way we can all understand.
Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua.
Care for the land. Care for people. Go forward.
What strikes me is that it’s message is even more relevant today.
EECA meeting in Wellington – a collaborative project around solar hot water
After a 6am start in Levin, Steve and I made our way down the beautiful Kapiti Coast for pre-work meeting with the EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) team.
From left: Steve Henry, Julia Barton, Jane O'Loughlin, 'Mike the sustainable builder' & EECA CEO, Mike Underhill involved in a whirlwind Solar Hot Water demonstration at the Wellington Interislander ferry terminal
Thanks to EECA CEO, Mike Underhill, senior advisor, Jane O’Loughlin and Julia Barton from the EECA solar hot water team for taking the time to see a quick demonstration of the brand new Otago Polytechnic Solar Hot Water demonstration trailer (it’s existence is owed to EECA’s significant financial contribution).
In a show of high commitment, local sustainable designer and builder, Mike, made the early morning trip out to see us. He registered his interest in enrolling in the new sustainable practice graduate diploma, beginning in Feb 2011. “I’ve studied a lot of theory in this space. It’s time to get stuck in with some action”.
He jumped into our roadtrip ‘rig’ to continue the conversation all way the mouth of the ferry before Steve and I drove into the ferry bowels to cross Cook Strait. We’ve had these sort of experiences the whole way – passionate, committed people ready to embed sustainable practice in what they do for a living. It’s inspiring to be involved and makes the hard work we’ve invested to spread the message worthwhile.
The North Island leg of the roadtrip has been a resounding success – a rich and diverse range events, ranging from ‘top-of-town’ strategic decision making and planning events along with grass-roots activism and community projects and everything in between. The importance and relevance of sustainable practice in all segments of the community has been on full display – a demonstration of the fact that with a shared vision of what a sustainable future looks like we can all look towards a prosperous and healthy future.
Next on the event schedule is Nelson on Thursday evening with a lunchtime event in Kaikoura – please come join us if you’re in the neighbourhood!
Hamilton TNS event with Simon Harvey
At Tuesday lunchtime event in Hamilton to the local Chamber of Commerce brought together many of the big players in the Hamilton business scene to hear Simon Harvey, CEO of The Natural Step NZ, speak persuasively about the business case for sustainability.
For those not familiar with the science-based decision making framework The Natural Step explained in two minutes is well worth watching
Simon Harvey talks about the backcasting process to Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
In many ways, the focus of Simon’s presentation was ‘business beyond compliance’ and the opportunities available to early adopter businesses who pro-actively decide to inhabit the sustainability space
In one fantastic confronting slide, Simon got to the heart of the matter by asking the following question:
Where is your business in relation to sustainable practice?
Following were a number of possible scenarios:
Leadership
Integration
Compliance +
Compliance
Denial
The resounding silence in the room spoke volumes. Then, in a highly compelling way, Simon went on to describe the opportunities for businesses in NZ to take up an active role in the sustainability space.
Tom Walter presents the Ziptrek Ecotours business case to Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
As the representative for Ziptrek Ecotours, I was provided with the opportunity to speak about the business case of opening up a new sustainability-focussed operation in the already saturated Queenstown adventure tourism market. By firmly placing ourselves in the sustainable tourism niche niche (and one of the very few left in Queenstown) Ziptrek have been able to build a significant profile in a very short time since opening in December 2009.
Kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga - a vision for NZ tourism by 2015
By strategically aligning it’s business with the 2015 Tourism Strategy vision of a sustainable NZ tourism industry which embraces the Maori concepts of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (hospitality), Ziptrek have welcomed the numerous opportunities to present it’s compelling vision to businesses and organisations looking to do business in a new way.
Thanks and kudos to Simon for his excellent presentation and for providing the opportunity to present Ziptrek Ecotours in this setting.
