About the Sustainable Business Council – Our history

1999: New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development formed

Formed in May 1999, the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) was a coalition of leading businesses with a shared commitment to sustainable development. It provided business leadership advocating for sustainable development, demonstrating business progress and sharing leading-edge
best practices, participation in government policy development and global outreach including through a partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The NZBCSD represented New Zealand business at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Projects included guides on Sustainable Development Reporting, Business and School Partnerships, and Youth Employment. Other areas of activity were zero waste, climate change and sustainable
labelling. Supply chain and emissions management projects were also developed.

Adapted from: https://www.moneymatters.co.nz/page/88/nz-business-council-for-sustainable-development

The NZBCSD’s first project, and a condition of membership, was triple-bottom-line reporting, sometimes known as sustainable development reporting. A reporting guideline was officially launched in 2002. A number of NZBCSD members issued sustainable development reports, including Hubbard Foods,
Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Sanford Seafoods, Landcare Research, the Warehouse and Urgent Couriers.

By 2008 the council had 66 members, from the resource, manufacturing, retailing and service sectors, generating 34% of New Zealand’s GDP.

Source: https://teara.govt.nz/en/employer-and-business-organisations/page-6

Early members

At at October 2002, the following companies were members:

  • 3M New Zealand Ltd
  • BOC Gases New Zealand Ltd
  • BP Oil New Zealand Ltd
  • City Care Ltd
  • Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
  • Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd
  • Hubbard Foods Ltd
  • Interface Agencies Ltd
  • Landcare Research
  • Living Earth Ltd
  • Meridian Energy Ltd
  • Mighty River Power Ltd
  • Milburn New Zealand Ltd
  • Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
  • Money Matters (NZ) Ltd
  • Morel & Co
  • Natural Gas Corporation Holdings Ltd
  • NIWA
  • Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough Ltd
  • Port of Tauranga Ltd
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Richmond Ltd
  • Sanford Ltd
  • Shell New Zealand Ltd
  • Simpson Grierson
  • Telecom New Zealand Ltd
  • The Boston Consulting Group
  • The Warehouse Group Ltd
  • Toyota New Zealand Ltd
  • Transfield Services (New Zealand) Ltd
  • Transpower New Zealand Ltd
  • TrustPower Ltd
  • Urgent Couriers Ltd
  • URS New Zealand Ltd (now Aecom)
  • Vodafone New Zealand Ltd
  • Waimangu Volcanic Valley Ltd
  • Waste Management NZ Ltd
  • Watercare Services Ltd

Source: https://www.wasteminz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/NZBCSD-Zero-Waste-Project.pdf

2009: BusinessNZ Sustainability Forum formed

BusinessNZ, the peak body for New Zealand business, established a Sustainability Forum to provide a business-centric platform for companies wanting to define and lead sustainable business matters, rather than simply respond to government-led initiatives.

The activities included quarterly forums, events and media activity, elective projects and partner programmes, as well as ongoing member and stakeholder communications. The ability to work together on Special Projects – complex issues arising under tight timeframes – allowed the Forum to
be swift and agile in providing practical solutions to newly defined sustainability challenges.

Founding members: Rio Tinto, Toyota, Genesis, Solid Energy, Westpac, NZ Post.

Members since 2010: Fonterra, Meridian, Contact, Landscape Research.

2012: Merger of NZBCSD and BusinessNZ Sustainability Forum

In 2012, The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development became the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), operating out of BusinessNZ. Jacincta Syme was acting Executive Director January – June 2012, and then took on the role of Manager to December 2013.

Other milestones

2012: Penny Nelson becomes Executive Director, SBC

2015: BusinessNZ becomes carboNZero November 2015 (pre Paris agreement)

2016: Membership grows from 35 to 85

January 2016: Kirk Hope becomes CEO of BusinessNZ

March 2016: Abbie Reynolds becomes Executive Director, SBC

July 2018: Climate Leaders Coalition formed

December 2018: SBC reaches 100 members

June 2019: World Environment Day – SBC celebrates 20 years of helping businesses be the best for New Zealand

What else happened in sustainability in New Zealand 1999 – 2019?

1999

January

By this time, legislation had been passed for 2 Treaty of Waitangi claims.

1999

May

New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) formed

2000

March

New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy launched

2000

July

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority established as a Crown Entity

2002

July

Government introduced 12 weeks’ paid parental leave

2002

August

Global Reporting Initiative releases guidelines

2002

October

Sustainable Business Network established

2002

December

New Zealand Government ratifies the Kyoto Protocol

2008

January

Emissions Trading Scheme established

2008

September

Mandatory product stewardship introduced under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008

2009

January

By this time, legislation had been passed for a further 13 Treaty of Waitangi claims.

2009

March

BusinessNZ Sustainability Forum formed

2009

January

By this time, legislation had been passed for a further 13 Treaty of Waitangi claims.

2011

July

Pure Advantage formed to promote green growth

2012

January

Merger of NZBCSD and BusinessNZ Sustainability Forum to form SBC

2013

August

Same-sex marriage legalised in New Zealand

2015

September

New Zealand signs up to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

2016

April

New Zealand signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030

2016

May

Government announced Electric Vehicles Programme – goal of reaching approximately 64,000 electric vehicles on our roads by the end of 2021

2017

December

Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting included in NZX Corporate Governance Code

2018

April

Paid parental leave increased to 26 weeks

2018

July

Climate Leaders Coalition formed

2018

Oct

Aotearoa Circle formed

2019

January

To date, legislation has been passed for a further 56 Treaty of Waitangi claims, or 71 in total. 43 claims remain outstanding.

2019

April

Paid leave now available for victims of domestic violence

2019

May

Zero Carbon Bill introduced to Parliament

2019

June

Sustainable Business Council celebrates 20 years of helping businesses be the best for New Zealand