Few bleary-eyes searching for coffee. More of a wide-eyed buzz from people who had been out in nature on our field trips the day before.
That waft of fresh air set the atmosphere. We were honoured to kick off, as is fitting, with a rousing mihi whakatau from representatives of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. They brought with them the manaakitanga that had characterised their hosting of one of the field trips.
The conference was based on a recent report from the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). Regenerating Nature in Aotearoa New Zealand – The Transformative Role of Business. It found that more than three quarters (82%) of businesses want to ‘do the right thing’ for nature.
But there is a need for more understanding and easy ways to take action. This event was one way to provide that.
Our keynote was Te Horipo Karaitiana. He is Director of Miraka, an award-winning indigenous Māori dairy company. He described how its success has sprung from the wellspring of mātauranga Māori
“We have an acute emphasis on mauri,” he said. “If you increase the life essence, the mauri, then you are doing something different. That is our primary indicator. It simply makes the place that we operate in a better place.”
Miraka is pioneering the integration of this into business practice. It’s seeing the impressive results of that, nationally and overseas. Elements of that deeper approach are also expressed in Toitū Carbon Reduce and B-Corp certification.
“This alliance of the willing is just going to get bigger,” he added. “It’s taking over. If you don’t do something different now you’re ‘gone burger’ in the world that’s coming.”
A major theme for the day was: “shifting from ambition to meaningful action in nature action”. That remains one of the biggest challenges in this work.
We heard from major players across a range of sectors. Kate van Praagh, general manager, sustainability at Genesis Energy. Belinda van Eyndhoven, head of sustainability from Westpac. Olivia Whitaker, from L’Oréal.
The day also featured pioneers. Mike Murphy, managing director of Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters. Chris Morrison from Karma Drinks and All Good. Helen Paul-Smith, founder and CEO of ŌKU, which makes herbal tea, topical and wellness tonic products from native plants.
Mike said: “It doesn’t matter whether you are a one-person band or a huge corporate. There are heaps of ways you can get involved.”
Chris emphasised the need to take care of people as part of taking care of the natural world. That’s why his companies include Fair Trade at the core of their approach.
Indeed, an audience comment said smaller businesses are still doing more for nature than larger ones.
We continued to up the ambition by showcasing Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique opportunities to lead. Dave Maslen from the New Zealand Merino Company spoke on the ZQ wool accreditation. This has helped Kiwi brands like Icebreaker capture the world’s attention and investment.
Lyttleton Port Company told us about combining infrastructure with sensitivity to living systems. It's the country’s first and only ‘first-mover’ signatory to the stringent reporting requirements of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
And we got to work, with three workshops. “Redefining your business’s relationship with nature”. “Creating an action plan for nature". And “Partnerships and investment”. All key areas for developing these vital connections between business and nature regeneration. We have free online resources on all of them.
The final sessions covered community based and iwi-led programmes. These have always formed the heart and soul of nature regeneration in our country. It is that which more and more businesses are tapping into. And they are receiving the warmest of welcomes.
Nature is the new climate. The rigours of harm reduction, positive action and reporting are coming to businesses all over the world. But as we found out in the field visits, this is also enlivening the route to a brighter future.
Sam Rowland is SBN's programme manager, nature systems change. She said: “Partnering with community level organisations is vital for businesses to meet their nature aspirations. Collaboration is key.”
We're confident we left all participants more able and inspired to work together take this on.
We’re extremely grateful to our symposium partners. Auckland Council Environmental Services. Miraka. L’Oréal. Westpac. Nature Positive and Titoki Landcare. They join our invaluable programme partners Z Energy and the Ministry for the Environment. Our knowledge partners Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. And our promotion partners AUT and OohMedia. We thank them all for helping to shape the way forward.
Sam said: "There is a real opportunity for business to act for nature, not only for financial reasons but for the future of our business and the future of generations to come.”
We’ll keep sharing all we learn together.