NZBCSD: Seize Opportunities from Resource Shortage

October 15 2009

Media Release

Sustainable business group's new leader: Seize opportunities from worsening resource shortages.

Businesses need to focus on how to make the most of new opportunities driven by the growing shortage of local and world natural resources.

The newly elected chair of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, Bob Field, also chair of Toyota NZ Limited, says the planet's resources are being stretched as never before by a growing population and higher standards of living.

"The global pressures from an expected 50% increase in human population and a tripling of energy demand and vehicle fleet in the first half of the 21st century will provide New Zealand with a unique opportunity to build an international competitive edge as a sustainable economy with eco friendly products and tourism opportunities," Mr Field says.

"The importance of sustainability in the 21st century is growing - and businesses are only sustainable if the environment and society in which they operate is also sustainable. It's encouraging that sustainability is becoming more mainstream - but there is much more to do.

"As a council we encourage New Zealand business to regard an investment in sustainability not simply as a cost - but a key opportunity. Preserving the unique Kiwi quality of life can also be achieved in parallel to this business objective. That's reflected in the Business Council's recent major research and policy development work on how the country can solve its fresh water allocation problems, improve the performance of a million poorly insulated homes, and put a price on other activities affecting the environment, like greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste going to landfills," Mr Field says.

Mr Field replaces former chair Nick Main, of Deloitte, who has moved to London to head his firm's global climate change work, as leader of the 10 year-old Business Council. Its member companies jointly employ more than 88,000 people. Their annual sales of $59 billion equate to about 43% of gross domestic product in dollar terms.

The Business Council was launched in 1999 with 20 member companies by then Fletcher Challenge chief executive Mike Andrews and The Warehouse founder Sir Stephen Tindall. Mr Andrews said at the time: "I think the quality of New Zealand's economy, environment and society, the size and scope of export opportunities and the domestic and international policy frameworks supporting them, could all be enhanced by a strong, credible and rigorously well-informed business group committed to sustainable development."

Members believe sustainable businesses are profitable, contribute to social progress and ecological balance and protect New Zealand's quality of life.

New Business Council appointments are:

Bob Field, Toyota NZ Limited, Chairman

Mark Drury, URS, Deputy Chair (large enterprises)

Steve Bonnici, Urgent Couriers, Deputy Chair (SMEs)

Nick Collins, Beacon Pathway, Executive Committee Member

Brett Tomkins, Deloitte, Executive Committee Member

Existing Committee Members are:

Doug Heffernan, Mighty River Power

Graeme Norton, 3R

Malcolm Rands, Ecostore

Mark Gilbert, BMW NZ

Rob Fenwick, Living Earth

Sean Bignell, Hobsonville Land Company

Tim Lusk, Meridian

Warren Parker, Landcare Research

Sir Stephen Tindall, The Warehouse

Dick Hubbard, Hubbard Foods

Biographical notes:

Bob Field, Chair, Business Council: Currently Chairman of Toyota New Zealand, a director of KiwiRail, and Chairman of a private funds management company. Mr Field has 40 years’ international experience in the motor industry, including 25 years as the CEO of Toyota New Zealand. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Canterbury University and post graduate qualifications in accounting and corporate governance. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and has been a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature for the past 25 years, including past service on the WWF International Board in Switzerland and Chair of the local branch. He is also an alumnus member of NZ Business Roundtable.

Mark Drury, Deputy Chair: Chief Executive of URS New Zealand Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of URS Corporation, a publicly held company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A civil engineer, he has been with URS, in its various forms, for 30 years. He was appointed to his current role as Chief Executive of URS New Zealand in 2000. He is also a member of the URS Asia Pacific Advisory Board.

Steve Bonnici, Deputy Chair: Managing Director, Urgent Couriers Limited, started in the transport industry in 1983 and formed Urgent Couriers in 1989, specialising in on-demand courier services, growing it to become the country's largest privately owned courier company. Mr Bonnici has an MBA from the University of Auckland. Urgent Couriers joined the Auckland Environment Business Network in 1997 and the Business Council in 2000.

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