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 30th March 2017
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• ‘Budget Responsibility Rules’ Labour/Greens
• Leadership in Sustainability Summit – Positioning Sustainability as the Ultimate Innovation Driver
• Western Australia is the Climate Emergency ‘Canary in the Coalmine’
• Government MPs Vote Down Sustainability Bill
• Sustainability is Not Enough; We Need Regenerative Cultures
• Levi’s Dreams Big to Lead Change in the Fashion Industry
• School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE)
• Companies Save $14 for Every $1 Invested in Reducing Food Waste
• Communicating the Natural Capital Benefits of Built Asset Design
• Environmental Pressures Rising in New Zealand
• New Cafe and Retail Space Opens at Middlemore Hospital
• OECD Takes NZ to Task for Approaching Environmental Limits in Limitless Growth Quest
• Audit & Assurance – The Icing On the Sustainability Cake
• 1st Annual Regenerative Future Summit
• Passive Progressive
• Creating Living Buildings – Professional Short Course
• Measuring the Earth: Classical Calculations About World’s Size and Shape
• Science Teach-In Toolkit
Sustainability Matters 16th March 2017
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Invisible Wounds
• Reduce Building Running Costs – ‘FreeBee’!
• The Story of Microfibers
• 90% of Rivers and Lakes Swimmable by 2040
• Flame Retardants Linked to Child Aggression
• Discover and Exchange Ideas
• World Renowned Social Entrepreneur Prof. Muhammad Yunus to Visit Christchurch
• 2016 Legatum Prosperity Index™
• IdealCup Coffee Couple Want to Make Motueka a Disposable Cup-free Zone
• Where Companies With a Long-term View Outperform their Peers
• Environmental Product Declarations – Webinar
• If We Are Reaching Neoliberal Capitalism’s End Days, What Comes Next?
• Certifying Quality Buildings – A Transformative Opportunity
• CSEAR Teaching Case Study Competition 2017
• Activists Paying with Their Lives
• Enter Finance for the Future Awards 2017
• Would-be Environmental Accountant Meets Mother Nature in a Pub: A Dialogue
• Context and Capitals – The Next Big Things in Corporate Sustainability
• LED Wireless Street Lighting System in Cambodia Wins Award
• Cruise Companies Cutting Air Pollutants
Maggie Lawton
Sustainability Matters 2nd March 2017
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Overcoming Societal Addictions: What Can We Learn From Individual Therapies?
• Investing in People and the Planet
• Think Resilience: Preparing Communities for the Rest of the 21st Century
• Towards a Framework for Defining and Measuring Changes in Natural Capital
• Life In a Post-flying Australia, and Why it Might Actually be OK
• Plastic Waste into Concrete
• Whether You Run Your Business for Short Term Gains or Sustainable Goals, Readers of Your Annual Report Should be Able to Tell
• Who’s Still Fighting Climate Change? The U.S. Military
• VisionFund International, Microfinance Network – Social Performance Report
• Declare in New Zealand
• ‘Planned Retreat’ Enters the Climate Dialogue
• Al Gore Principal Speaker at ECOCITY World Summit 2017 – Melbourne
• Otago Polytechnic, Student Village Dunedin
• 10 Reasons to Build Resilience
• The Power Use and Mis-use of Social Media and Big Money
• National Network Manager
• New Zealand One of 19 Full Democracies
• Building a Human Economy
• Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals Natural Capital Protocol Recognised as Important Tool
• Ireland to Become First Country to Fully Divest from Fossil Fuels.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 16th February 2017
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• How Corporate Dark Money is Taking Power on Both Sides of the Atlantic
• Thriving in the Uncertain Economy
• 29th CSEAR Conference – Scotland
• Eco-friendly Food Packaging to be Trialed at Major Events
• FOUND – NZ’s Best New Food Businesses
• Mini-farms Sowing the Seeds of Global Food Security
• SDG Compass Annex: Linking the SDGs and GRI Standards
• “Carbon Insetting? – What’s that?
• Global Risks Report 2017
• What is the Real Cost of That Dress? – Where You are Putting Your Money
• ActionStation’s Plan for 2017 Election
• Responsible Investment Masterclass
• Business Model Research
• About WTMF
• Silicon Will Blow Lithium Batteries Out of Water, Says Adelaide Firm
• 2017 National Sustainability Conference – Australia.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 2nd February 2017
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Young Filmmakers Have the Chance to Make Environmental Movie Magic
• Life Cycle Management and Industrial Ecology Student Symposium
• GRI Works with IIRC and Leading Companies to Eliminate Reporting Confusion
• Sustainability & Resilience Advisors Sought
• 117 Organisations to Watch in 2017
• Sustainability is Good for Business
• Government Subsidies to the Global Financial System: A Preliminary Exploration
• How Starbucks Yields the Benefits of Materiality
• 10 Things I’ve Learned From Working in the Sustainability Field for 25 years
• Award for Schools Healthy Heating Project
• How Regenerative Organic Agriculture Can Save the Planet (Part II)
• Sustainability and HM Treasury
• Dear Future Generations: Sorry
• TEDxScottBase
• Inventions Changing Lives in Timor-Leste
• Killing an Australian Reef More Economically Valuable than the Great Barrier Reef
• Creative Ability – Muscular Dystrophy Designers
• Ten Power-Packed (Kid-Friendly) Snack Tips.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 19th January 2017
In this first edition for 2017;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Celebrating the Biggest Conservation Wins of 2016
• Win for Whales, Dolphins as Obama Rejects Explosive Blasting for Oil
• 99 Reasons Why 2016 was a Good Year
• The Soul of an Octopus, Winner of the 2016 Orion Book Award
• Sustainable Schools Advisor
• 630+ Businesses to Trump: Support the Low Carbon Economy Businesses Back Low-Carbon USA
• With Rousing Call for Climate Action Obama Bids Farewell
• Saving Multiple Birds with One Stone
• ‘Inclusive Economy Unit’ Created by British Government
• Austerity Has Failed
• Study Guide and Flash Cards
• TEDx ScottBase
• Draft Water New Zealand Good Practice Guide for the Beneficial Use of Organic Waste Products on Land
• Orchestrating Change: Catalyzing the Next Generation of Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Sustainability
• A Cure for Post-Election Malaise
• San Francisco Bans Styrofoam
• This is the Most Dangerous Time for Our Planet
• Cluster Development Handbook Launched
• Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting
• New Law Says Pension Funds Must Assess Climate Risk.
EXTRA! Appended is an interesting thought piece ‘Orion Lighting the Way’ by Scott Russell Saunders.
He is a contributing author to Orion magazine.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 19th December 2016
In this edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Peace Officers Initiative
• Climate Related Financial Disclosure for Business: An Imperative for 2017
• 10 Years On From the Stern Report
• Sustainability Analyst – T&G
• Why I Have Been Unemployed for Two Years
• The Global Movement to Divest from Fossil Fuels has Doubled Since 2015
• Leadership in Sustainable Business
• Sustainability Reporting in Stock Exchanges ‘Comes of Age’
• Do we Have All the Knowledge we Need for a Sustainable Future?
• Maximising Utility – Taking Measures of Wellbeing Seriously in Policy
• In Some Ways, Nothing Changed
• Greens Secure Two Important Bills from Ballot
• Human Rights Challenges for Business in 2017
• Sustainability Practices Dashboard
• David Attenborough on Climate Change: ‘The World Will be Transformed’ – video
• Bonuses.
To see the newsletter click here.