Sustainable Business Network partners with Forum

Sustainable Business Network partners with Forum for the Future to launch new work streams

The Sustainable Business Network is partnering with world-leading non-profit Forum for the Future to progress four new work streams to help transform business in New Zealand.

CEO of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) Rachel Brown says she is thrilled to be collaborating with the Forum. “Forum for the Future, based in the UK, is one of the world’s leading sustainability organisations. There are a lot of parallels between our organisations’ aims. We’re both involved in transforming business so it makes a lot of sense to pool our collective experience.

“Like them, we believe we need a big shift in the way we do business to bring about a more sustainable future. Forum for the Future has developed a new approach called #theBIGshift, which we will be adopting, to help identify practical ways of bringing about this change.

“Today we’re announcing four major new work streams, each of which will be using #theBIGshift approach.”

SBN’s new work streams are:

• Accelerating the Circular Economy in New Zealand
Moving from waste management to material optimisation
• Embedding Social Value into Business Models
Linking social issues to organisational growth
• Accelerating Smart Transport in New Zealand
Addressing one of the toughest challenges in renewable energy
• Restoring New Zealand’s Food System
Creating a successful restorative food system

SBN focuses its work around four transformation areas it believes are critical to New Zealand: renewables, community, mega efficiency and restorative. There is one new work stream for each of these transformation areas respectively.

“We’re really excited to be launching these new projects,” says Rachel. “By applying the thinking behind #theBIGshift campaign to structure our projects we believe it will be more effective in bringing about practical outcomes for business.

“We will be sharing resources and learnings with Forum for the Future as our new work streams progress.”

The partnership between SBN and Forum for the Future formalises a long-standing relationship between the two organisations. Sir Jonathan Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future, and Sally Uren, CEO, have previously spoken at a number of SBN events.

CEO of Forum for the Future Sally Uren says that she’s delighted to be partnering with SBN.

“At Forum for the Future, we believe it is critical to transform the key systems that we rely on to ensure a sustainable future. We also understand that no single company or organisation can make a genuine shift towards a sustainable future on its own.

“We see a good alignment with the Sustainable Business Network’s new work streams, given our focus on the food and energy systems. “We’re looking forward to working with SBN, who will be sharing their learnings with us as they progress their four new work streams.”

#theBIGshift campaign is based around the concept of ‘system innovation’, which is a set of actions that shift a system – a city, a sector, an economy – onto a more sustainable path.

Both Forum for the Future and SBN believe that many of the systems we rely on – such as food and energy systems – aren’t working. We need to change these systems to make them more resilient, more equitable and able to continue into the future. We need to find practical ways to address this – which is where the #theBIGshift campaign will help.

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