The primary purposes of Sustainability Matters are to improve the performance of New Zealand organisations from a sustainability, or "triple bottom" line perspective, and to advocate sustainability thinking and action.
Frequently this requires a change from "business as usual" to a different approach which not only reduces costs and improves financial performance but also results in much needed improved outcomes for people and our planet. We owe this to our children and to at least the next six generations i.e. seven generations.
The traditional measure of organisation success - financial outcomes - is an incomplete method of measurement and excludes key elements. These exclusions result in an "unbalanced scorecard".
Is this thinking new? No, far from it. Rachel Carson via her 1962 book "Silent Spring" was perhaps the person who more than any other alerted us to the need for changed thinking.
The thinking can be applied to entities of any size, in any sector, located anywhere.
Newsletters
As part of what we do a newsletter is published (usually) once very two weeks. It is four pages and is intended especially for chartered accountants** and those who use their services. It is distributed to subscribers by opt-in eMail. There is no ($) charge; donations are always welcome! By coincidence the newsletter is called Sustainability Matters.
** Because they have immense potential to influence others and to make huge positive differences to our world.
Sustainability Matters 22nd February 2024
Welcome to this edition of Sustainability Matters which is a week early. In it you can read about;
• Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures Toolkit
• Bank Launches Sustainability Training for All Employees
• Business Sustainability and Impact Guide
• Where Democracy is Most at Risk
• Australian Plan to Limit Car Pollution
• Green Star for Contractors
• The Behavioural Crisis Driving Ecological Overshoot
• Top Tips: Charging Your EV on the Road
• Greece Introduces Climate Crisis Resilience Tax for Tourists
• Challenge Hub
• UK Advertising Watchdog BANS Car Maker Ads Referring to EVs as ‘Zero Emissions’
• Revised Exposure Drafts of GRI’s Revised Standards for Climate and Energy
• Decarbonising Transport & Logistics: A Roadmap to Scope 3 and Supplier Emissions Data
• Dynamic Planet
• Measuring Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment
• Circular Economy ISO Standard to Bring Certainty: ISO 59000 Series
• Redesign for a Waste-free Future
• Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long
• What we Recycle has Changed; Need to Knows
• Converting Agricultural and Mine Methane to CO2
• How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet
• Superblocks for the Supercity?
• Guide to Social Impact Assessment.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 15th February 2024
A ‘heads up’. The next edition of Sustainability Matters will be next week rather than in two weeks. Some of my overseas family will be visiting NZ from late February and I will be fully engaged with them for a couple of weeks 😊
Don’t worry, there is heaps of potential content juggling for “it’s day in the sunlight”.
Meanwhile you can read about;
• Are Environmental Taxes the Perfect Solution Which Nobody Wants?
• With Urgency – NZ Govt’s Reforms
• Investments: Messaging Makes a Difference
• Carbon Crush
• Tech Guide: Carbon Footprint Management
• Two Countries Ratify Global Ocean Treaty
• The 3D-Printed Affordable Housing of the Future Will Be Recyclable
• A Shared Future: Working with Communities to Adapt to a Changing Climate
• Climate-related Financial Impact Guide
• As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires
• Shaping Tomorrow Together: Exploring the Deliberative Democracy Journey
• Paris Votes to Triple SUV Parking Fees
• 2024 New Zealand for Purpose Reporting Awards
• Two CA ANZ Webinars
• This Cheap Street Fix Saves Lives. Why Don’t More Cities Do It?
• Canadian Beef Farmers on Track to Meet 2030 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Goal
• IFRS Sustainability Symposium 2024
• Closing the Gap: Investor Insights into Decision-Useful Climate Data Assurance
• Judge Acquits Greta Thunberg
• Natural Hydrogen: A Potential Clean Energy Source Beneath Our Feet.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 1st February 2024
Welcome to the second edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• 66 Good News Stories You Didn’t Hear About in 2023
• James Shaw Steps Down as Greens Co-Leader
• Australian Climate-related Financial Disclosure: Exposure Draft Legislation
• In Juneau, Alaska, A Carbon Offset Project Which is Actually Working
• Transformative Program Evaluation for Sustainability Degrees
• It’s Concerning Just How Many Have Been Sucked in by the Anthropogenic Climate Change Fraud
• Heart of Country
• Starting out on Sustainability Workshops
• 2024 Annual Trends Report: The Next Steps for Sustainable Business
• An Ancient Chinese Text Surprisingly Relevant Today
• 2023 was World’s Hottest Year on Record, EU Scientists Confirm
• The Neglected Clean Heat We Flush Down the Drains
• BrandWatch: In Davos, Brands and Faith Groups Join Hands in an Unlikely Alliance
• The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) Explained
• Introducing Sustainability: The What, Why and How
• Nature Positive Initiative Launches to Promote the Integrity and Implementation of the Global Goal for Nature
• Skills Bottleneck Threatens NZ Transition to Renewables
• Sustainability Communications and Disclosure Handbook 2024
• 12 Climate Fiction Stories or Future Ancestors Celebrated.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 18th January 2024
Welcome to this first 2024 edition of Sustainability Matters.
For the first time ever, this edition contains content taking up most of page 4 on a subject which world-wide is regarded as horrid and controversial. Although unique in many ways in others it is not. It is though tightly aligned to ‘sustainability’. On that note, in this edition you can read about;
• The Year in Cheer: 177 Ways the World Got Better in 2023
• Accounting for a Better World
• A Practical Guide to Reducing Upfront Carbon Emissions
• The Actual Final Agreement from COP28
• Planet Earth III
• EcoFest 2024 – Auckland-wide
• EU Taxonomy Report: Unsung Cornerstone of ESG Disclosure
• Checklist for Smarter Appliance Shopping
• IFRS Sustainability Knowledge Hub
• PetroStates of Decline: Oil and Gas Producers Face Growing Fiscal risks as the Energy Transition Unfolds
• Mentoring for Sustainability Professionals
• How to Assess and Act on Your Sustainability Priorities,/em>
• Bottled Water Has up to 100 Times More Plastic Particles Than Previously Thought
• Corporate Climate Commitments Undermined by Lobbying Practices
• As Plastic Production Grows, Treaty Negotiations to Reduce Plastic Waste are Stuck in Low Gear
• Groups in NZ which Could Align with Your Sustainability Ethos
• Cheap Climate Grace
• Fighting Big Ag Pollution with Maps and Math
• Hearings in The Hague in Case Claiming Israel’s Gaza War is Genocide
• Emissions from Israel’s War in Gaza Have ’Immense’ Effect on Climate Catastrophe
• 77 Groups Worldwide Back Genocide Lawsuit Against Biden in U.S. Court
• Sanders to Force Senate Vote on Probing Israeli War Crimes.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 14th December 2023
Welcome to this last 2023 edition of Sustainability Matters while COP28 is still in progress. The good news is negotiations continue.
Meanwhile you can read about;
• COP28 Success or Failure?
• Collaboration and Sustainability Guidelines
• EU Criminalises Environmental Damage ‘Comparable to Ecocide’
• Government Releases Climate Change Commission’s 2nd Emissions Reduction Plan
• PetroStates of Decline: Oil and Gas Producers Face Growing Fiscal Risks
• Is the Torrent of Climate Disinformation Still More Powerful Than Available Remedies?
• Nature Given a Voice in Boardrooms
• Hot Water, Low Emissions: Case Study Switch to Renewables
• Energy Efficiency Could Offer Major Climate Wins. But What Is It?
• Cohousing for Life: A Practical and Personal Story of Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood
• Study Suggests Microplastics Could Trigger Cloud Formation and Affect the Weather
• Prepare for El Niño
• Heart of Country: A Documentary and Truth Telling Journey Filmed Across Australia
• Finite: The Climate of Change Review – Powerful Case Against Climate Crisis Fatigue
• We Can Produce Our Own Power
• Board Game Gift Ideas for Nature-Loving Kids
• The Activist Training Lab
• 12 graphs Showing New Zealand is Doing Better than You Think
• Using Locally Sourced Timber
• I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming into the Void Anymore.
• Winners of the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2023
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 7th December 2023
Welcome to this edition of Sustainability Matters
An alert! The next edition will be the final for 2023. It will be published in a week’s time.
The context includes NZ school holidays commencing on Thursday 21st December.
Meanwhile you can read about;
• 5 Key Points from the King’s COP28 Speech
• Recloaking Papatūānuku (Recloaking Mother Earth)
• How to Talk to a Climate Change Sceptic
• CA ANZ Launches New Guide: Measuring Social Impact for Better Reporting
• Nitrate Contamination Map
• Couple Plants 2 Million Trees in 20 Years to Turn Destroyed Forest Back Into a Wildlife Haven
• A New Type of Geothermal Power Plant
• The Other Greenhouse Gas
• 18 Book Recommendations for the Young Bookworm
• Collecting Scope 3 Data Webinar Series 2024
• NZ Corporates Committed to Sustainability
• As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise
• Climate Commons
• Can we Save the World Without Free Will?
• Clearing Skies: Opening a New Path on Climate and the Future
• Nature Strategy Handbook: A Practical Guide for Business
• Coca-Cola Bottler Cuts Carbon with Returnable, Resealable Glass
• How I Combat Climate Despair
• When to Give Up on Climate.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 23rd November 2023
In this edition of Sustainability Matters in which you can read about;
• Mary Robinson, Former Irish President: Responsible Business Honouree Award
• CA ANZ Updates its Climate Change Policy Statement
• Deep Trouble: How Climate Change has Reached the World’s End
• The Solutionists: How Businesses Can Fix the Future
• The EU and UK Exported 1,000 Tonnes of a Banned Pesticide to Poorer Countries
• ‘Frugal Innovation’ and ‘Boring Solutions’ can Best Accelerate Climate Action, say Experts
• Assembly of Investment Chairs 2023
• Aucklanders: Have Say on Changing Freshwater Rules
• Tools to Decarbonise the Construction Industry
• Public Buy-in with Response to Climate Change Essential’
• GCSE Previews Sustainability Program Standards with Key Audiences
• Small Business Sustainability Checklist
• Climate Leaders Coalition Launch 5th Anniversary Snapshot
• Uncounted Emissions: The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuel Exports
• Financial System Stability: Solvency II Joint Letter
• Live from COP28 Dubai: Rod Oram and Laura Gemmell
• Why Grazing Bison Could be Good for the Planet.
To see the newsletter click here.