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Te Uru Karaka Newton Central School is an inner city school where the kaupapa is delivered in Māori and English medium.

The graduate profile has four pillars and Kaitiakitanga is one of them. This is defined as 'A learner who is respectful of self, others and the environment and who actively contributes to a better world for now and for future generations.'

The term kaitiakitanga is used authentically in this context. It acknowledges relationships between self and the environment, and also self and others. And the relationship of current self with the future.

There is a lot of value in teaching children in Aotearoa New Zealand the concept of kaitiakitanga and their role as kaitiaki in their formative years.

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In their latest statement of intent, it says one of the key actions is "Finalise a mana whenua-led cultural materials policy that enables Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne to

effectively support Māori to express kaitiakitanga at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne." It's great to see that they'd like to support Māori to exercise kaitiakitanga in the area. However I kind of wonder whether there should be a broader goal like Tiaki Promise to invite everyone to learn about and express kaitiakitanga.

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Impact statement - AI Sustainability hub

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Impact statement - AI Sustainability hub

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Build a community and resource hub to empower people responsible for or working with AI projects in New Zealand organizations to understand, measure, and report on the sustainability impacts of AI, supporting New Zealand's goal of becoming a global leader in leveraging AI for a prosperous, inclusive, and equitable future.

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I was looking for a business using Kaitiakitanga on their website to see how they have translated this in a business sense. Peak View Retreat are a Nelson based luxury mountain retreat. Their website is directed at tourists & visitors, with a section on Kaitiakitanga explaining the concept of guardianship in detail, with an invitation to tourists to respect and play a role in guardianship too and then taking time to explain how that relates to their own activities as a business (planting and reforestation, pest eradication, waste reduction, energy use).

Kaitiakitanga appears to be an important part of the retreat’s approach, and has been authentically incorporated into the marketing in such a way that it enhances and clarifies, as an invitation (rather than being a tick-box sustainability section, as other organisations may do.). I note that this organisation shares the “Tiaki Promise” and “Committed to Sustainable Tourism” alongside Qualmark etc on the page footer. I would love to go there - sounds like a beautiful place with genuine Kaitiakitanga at their heart.

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Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and protection and we take our roles as Kaitiaki for this special place very seriously. Learn more about how we are embracing sustainability at Peak View Retreat.

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Environment Canterbury (Ecan) is part of the Regional Council. Their purpose is to protect the health of our environment to ensure a sustainable and resilient future for the Canterbury region. Kaitiakitanga | Stewardship – good decisions today for tomorrow , is a core value for their organisation shared on their website (Our values | Environment Canterbury).

Environment Canterbury

As, traditionally, Kaitiakitanga was seen as a way of expressing the kinship between humans and the natural world, it is positive to see it reflected in the values of an organisation where restoring and protecting the environment is the central mission. The value of Kaitiakitanga sits alongside the value of Whanaungatanga Collaboration – together works best. From the website, ECAN places a strong emphasis on working with whole communities who’s wellbeing are impacted by healthy environements, including involving non-māori in decision making and leadership such as rūnanga representatives and the local iwi Ngāi tahu. An example is the Canterbury Water Management strategy where the waterways are recognised as intrinsic to the spiritual, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing and strengthening the relationship (developing trust and understanding Ngāi Tahu values) between ECAN and Ngāi Tahu was prioritised to ensure good outcomes for the strategy. Together, a goal was set for 2020 to have at least one Ngāi Tahu tangata tiakiwai. (water guardian) appointed for different zones as part of the Canterbury water management strategy. https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/water/measuring-cwms-progress/kaitiakitanga/#goal_3 . Unfortunately this goals has not yet been achieved. I think I can see ECAN using Kaitiakitanga to support the notion that communities are connected to the nature they exist in and should be able to play an active role in ensuring their local environments can thrive. I think their focus on collaboration, espeacially with Ngāi Tahu show an attempt to ensure the māori world view of kaitiakitanga is represented for tribal areas and the spiritual, cultural, social connections with nature are respected.

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Two university students building a start up business, KiwiFibre, using naturally sourced harakeke fibres, initially to replace glass and carbon fibres in formed products. Growing and harvesting in accordance with kaitiakitanga embraces indigenous knowledge and practices. While these processes require refining, this business is potentially fully sustainable. Very promising.

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Fonterra is a dairy product processor, on their landing page is a link to"sustainability - kaitiakitanga", when you click through to that page they don't mention the word kaitiakitanga again, but they do talk about "Protecting natural resources is intrinsically linked to safeguarding the future of the environment and communities we depend upon." So, I think it is good start but definitely room to better outline the concept and what it means for their business and NZ as a whole.

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We're committed to supporting animal wellbeing and regenerating the health of our waterways, soils and climate. Together we can support resilient intergenerational farming, realise the full potential of sustainable dairy nutrition and create goodness for generations to come.

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The 4 month lock down of Auckland in 2022 was a singular focus on health at the expense of social cohesion, mental health and economic consequences. I think too often politicians are guilty of single issue thinking rather than being holistic in their approach.

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Reduce textile waste going to landfill in the Hawkes Bay

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Reduce textile waste going to landfill in the Hawkes Bay

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ReWeave is a non-profit organization dedicated to diverting textile waste from landfills and promoting a more sustainable clothing ecosystem.

Foster collaboration between charity shops, councils, and recyclers to create a comprehensive textile waste solution.

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Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau is a platform dedicated to connecting conservation resources, community groups, and mana whenua aspirations in the Auckland region. By bringing together local iwi, community groups, and conservation organizations, it ensures that traditional knowledge and diverse perspectives are integrated into conservation practices.

The platform empowers mana whenua in decision-making, respects their traditional ecological knowledge, and supports their leadership in conservation initiatives. Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau educates the public on kaitiakitanga, emphasizing the importance of protecting the environment through workshops and educational materials. It acts as a hub for sharing resources, supporting community efforts with funding opportunities and volunteer networks, and integrates cultural elements into conservation activities, aligning with Māori values and practices.

Monitoring and evaluating conservation efforts help refine strategies, ensuring they align with kaitiakitanga principles. Initiatives like habitat restoration, wildlife protection, water quality improvement, and cultural heritage preservation are examples of how Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau promotes sustainable and culturally inclusive conservation in Auckland.

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Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau - Conservation Auckland

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While a Te a Maori view is not mentioned expressly in their - Vision/Missions/Role/Values, the Board comprises several members who are very active in this space.

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Kaitiaki Adventures is pretty explicit in their use of Kaitiakitanga, using the concept in their branding and company name. From looking at their website kaitiakitangi appears integral to their approach, including the way in which they have designed their tourism offer, the activities they support to enhance the environment in which they operate and the people they engage in the business and as stakeholders. Their use of the concept in their branding material reads well and I consider it is well used. They have integrated numerous kaupapa Maori concepts into their business operations, and it appears very authentic and connected.

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Kaitiaki Adventures - Kaitiakitanga | Kaitiaki Adventures

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Kaitiakitanga is described as guardianship or protection. The basic meaning of 'tiaki' is to guard, depending on which context is used, it also means to preserve, keep, conserve, nurture, protect and watch over. The prefix 'kai' which the verb 'tiaki' denotes the agent of action of 'taki'.

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Predator Free NZ believes urban restoration that includes kaitiakitanga can improve the outcomes for urban ecology, as well as providing ways to foster our sense of connection to the environment, and provide opportunities to learn historic and modern stories and mechanisms to connect with these stories and its people.

The website states that one of the key features of kaitiakitanga is the opportunity to engage with the environment through cultural practices.  Young people living in urban spaces face particular challenges as they are often limited in their attainment of traditional ecological knowledge.  Very sound reasoning to get involved in pest eradication.

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How might traditional concepts and values of kaitiakitanga be included more holistically in urban restoration projects?

Authors Erana Walker, Priscilla Wehi, Nicola Nelson, Jacqueline Beggs and Hēmi Whaanga discuss what kaitiakitanga means, its significance to Māori and the contribution kaitiakitanga can make to improve urban environmental outcomes. Their article was recently published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology.

"In New Zealand, Māori have maintained their relationship to the environment through a practical philosophy of environmental guardianship known as kaitiakitanga. Place and practice are inextricably linked in traditional Māori narratives; a connection constructed through Māori creation stories and the concept of whakapapa. In this article we present kaitiakitanga narratives and tease out the philosophical underpinnings of this concept."

Kaitiakitanga is a way in which Māori manage the natural environment based on Māori worldviews.

"These traditional relationships to the environment, whakapapa and the practice of kaitiakitanga are challenged in urban settings, given the migration of people into urban areas and the characteristics of the urban environment."

More than 50% of the world's population now live in urban areas and that trend towards city living has happened in Aotearoa/New Zealand too.

"In 1936, 81% of Māori lived in predominantly rural tribal areas, which allowed Māori to connect with our own ancestral landscapes and stories. This connection to place also ensured the longevity of traditional cultural knowledge and practices amongst whānau (family) and hapū. However, in recent decades a large proportion of Māori migrated to cities with the result that more than 80% of Māori now reside in urban spaces in New Zealand. This urban group includes both mana whenua (local Māori tribal groups) and mātāwaka (Māori from other regions)."

The speed and scale of urbanisation of Māori communities has changed societal structures and connections with nature, presenting new challenges in maintaining connections with the natural world in a kaitiakitanga framework.

"Whilst urban spaces challenge our connection with nature, they encourage us to consider how we might develop new ways of connection to the urban space and the mana whenua groups who care for their traditional resources and places of importance. Human relationships with nature are critical to well-being, and urbanisation uniquely separates the connection between humans and nature. Lack of engagement with nature in urban spaces poses a risk to not only our sense of connection, but also to our physical and mental well-being."

Urban restoration that includes kaitiakitanga can potentially improve the outcomes for urban ecology, as well as provide ways in which we might foster our sense of connection to, and the rich stories that exist in the environment, the authors believe. Disregarding indigenous knowledge is a missed opportunity for everyone.

"Misinterpreting and disregarding indigenous knowledge in how we might approach ecological research, management and policy in New Zealand has the potential to cause disruption to years old mātauranga (knowledge) and subsequently, impact the mana (authority) and wellbeing of Māori peoples. Understanding how indigenous values and practices, such as kaitiakitanga, can be included and incorporated into the urban matrix and in urban ecological restoration projects could enhance the longevity of indigenous knowledge, as well as offering a solid base for Māori to maintain identity. Recognition of the important contribution of mātauranga could transform opportunities to improve restoration outcomes of urban environments. Therefore, we consider the relationship of indigenous communities to the urban space as an important contribution to restoration of the urban environment."

In their article, the authors explore key components of kaitiakitanga such as place, whakapapa, intergenerational knowledge, resource engagement and spirituality.

"We discuss why kaitiakitanga should be included as a key value within urban spaces and how kaitiakitanga principles encourage the well-being of people and taiao. The contribution of kaitiakitanga to the urban matrix must also explore the relationships of both mana whenua and mātāwaka. Including indigenous perspectives from both groups when considering urban ecology is a key gap in understanding the impacts of urbanisation on Māori."

Nature plays a pivotal role in creating our sense of identity and reaffirming our standing place within this world. Ideally, urban spaces are managed to enhance the natural environment for both human well-being and native biodiversity.

"For Māori, the creation narratives of Ranginui and Papatūānuku cement this relationship to the natural world and provide a way to create meaningful connections for well-being. It is through this relationship that we may further establish relationships to other Māori gods such as Tāne (god of the forest) and Tangaroa (god of the sea) to draw our well-being and sense of connection to nature. Urbanisation has the potential to sever these connections, leading to dissonance between traditional indigenous worldviews and the current contemporary realities of indigenous peoples."

Urban Māori may have fewer opportunities to connect with nature than many other New Zealanders because of socioeconomic barriers.

"Today, Māori disproportionately live in lower socioeconomic urban areas, which tend to have fewer opportunities to connect with nature. For example, in Auckland, there are fewer kererū in low socioeconomic areas, and fewer protected trees. Therefore, it is likely that urban Māori are disproportionately disadvantaged by a lack of opportunity to connect with nature."

"Inclusion of indigenous values and narratives could provide urban Māori an opportunity to re-establish and maintain their connections with traditional narratives and practices with nature, contributing to an increased sense of well-being, particularly for those who live in lower social-economic areas. For example, Te Whangai Trust provides opportunities for its members to restore and care for the natural environment while gaining employment skills. Initiatives such as these show the potential that kaitiakitanga projects could have for both physical and cultural well-being and sustenance."

Young people living in urban spaces face particular challenges as they are often limited in their attainment of traditional ecological knowledge.

"For Māori, loss of cultural context, connection to nature, and educational opportunity combine to make engagement in urban restoration challenging. Where these impediments are overcome, we argue that kaitiakitanga can make a significant, ground-breaking contribution to urban ecological restoration."

What about provisions for kaitiakitanga in environmental legislation?

"Legislation such as the Resource Management Act (RMA; 1991) supports the philosophy of kaitiakitanga by enabling environmental management, mitigation and protection of our natural environment. However, the RMA uses a definition of guardianship, or environmental stewardship pertaining to kaitiakitanga that only weakly aligns with the philosophy and current practices in Māori communities. The inclusion of kaitiakitanga as a concept in the RMA has exacerbated shortfalls in its understanding, as current legal definitions of kaitiakitanga de-emphasise the spirituality, place-based narratives, kinship and intergenerational knowledge that contribute to cultural understandings of kaitiakitanga."

"While this has given Māori the legal basis to lobby for political, social and cultural recognition in relation to the environment, and encouraged the need for better partnership in decision making, the restrictive nature of current definitions of kaitiakitanga does not capture the full breadth of meaning within a Māori cultural framework. Therefore, more narratives of kaitiakitanga are needed to show how various Māori communities are practicing kaitiakitanga today."

The key threads of kaitiakitanga are the importance of place, whakapapa relationships, stories, histories and intergenerational knowledge that help to enhance all aspects of a person's well-being and that of the environment.

"Whakapapa is the first thread that initiates our role as kaitiaki to our environment. Kaitiakitanga actions are rooted within the creation narrative of Papatūānuku and Ranginui that establish kin relationships between Māori and the physical environment.'

"Drawing from the whakapapa narratives, 'place' becomes the second thread of kaitiakitanga that embodies the narratives of old and new for future generation use. Place-based narratives and engagement help to centre whānau and hapū in their tribal regions."

It is through narratives that Māori see place as being a connecting point with their ancestors and kin of the natural world, the authors explain.

"Understanding the relevance of place enables better considerations for environmental protection of an area."

Mātauranga is intergenerational knowledge.

"Mātauranga is embedded and preserved in many forms of cultural practice, oral traditions and art, including waiata, whakataukī (proverbs) and naming. This knowledge encompasses the lived experiences of the past and aids in the creation of solutions for future issues. Intergenerational knowledge can be transformative when generations have an opportunity to add to the knowledge base through their lived experiences. The transmission of mātauranga can be done in myriad ways, even by creating digital reference tools about a place, its resources and its peoples."

The concept of spirituality and the values that underpin it are key components of kaitiakitanga often disregarded in environmental forums, say the authors.

"This attitude towards spirituality has had an impact on the validity of Māori knowledge systems and the application of Māori cultural practices. Spirituality provides the opportunity to connect with intrinsic aspects of kaitiakitanga such as mauri. The health of the resource is often used as an indicator for the health of the people; whereas, in Māori philosophical frameworks, both Māori and the environment share a connection through mauri and other forms of energy."

One of the key features of kaitiakitanga is the opportunity to engage with the environment through cultural practices.

"Cultural practice allows a reciprocal relationship to establish between the person and the environment. Kaitiakitanga acts as a cultural bridge between Māori and our kin in the environment. In addition, harvesting and other practices that maintain reciprocity between people and the land are critical to maintain Māori knowledge systems, as learning is based on these relationships and practices."

"The inclusion of kaitiakitanga into the urban agenda would provide opportunities to learn historic and modern stories and provide mechanisms to connect with these stories and its people. Restoration initiatives can serve kaitiakitanga projects through physical and educational initiatives. This would require collaboration with mana whenua to develop an inventory of important resources and narratives to a specific area."

As well as mana whenua (local Māori tribal groups), encouraging participation of mātāwaka (Māori from other regions) is also important.

"Adding the participation of mātāwaka will support their connections to space and the shared kaitiakitanga aspirations of both mana whenua and mātāwaka groups. Pan-tribal groups that work alongside mana whenua could be established in order to facilitate an entry point for those who want to give their time and knowledge to the various environmental kaupapa (topic, matter for discussion, purpose) in the place that they now call home."

The full article is published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology and is freely available online.

Kaitiakitanga, place and the urban restoration agenda (2019)

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How might traditional concepts and values of kaitiakitanga be included more holistically in urban restoration projects?

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Whilst this organisation doesn't explicitly say they are kaitiaki in their sales pitch, they do actively care for their environment by removing 35 million single use period products from the environment with their reusable product and do acknowledge the role in revitalising traditional Maori period care and stories and in doing so connect maori women back to their heritage in a modern day tapu subject, which raises mana.

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Revolutionising how we period

The founders, Michele and Kylie
For many of us, how we talk about our own period and what we learned when that day came, is so very different to how it was spoken about by our Tipuna (ancestors). As mothers to daughters, we wanted to advocate for, break down the barriers, and unpack the stigma around periods that we have all faced. To create a more empowering, more sustainable, and a more beautiful future.

AWWA is derived from the Māori word 'awa' meaning river or flow. Māori referred to their period as te awa atua - the divine river, and this is the foundation of our brand. AWWA offers a world where every person can feel divine and empowered during their period.

Read more about the traditions of māori and periods.

A modern alternative to traditional period products
We provide people of all shapes, sizes, and identifiers with innovative, sustainable products to effectively manage their periods.

Our better for you range of comfy reusable period absorbent undies, thongs, boxer briefs and swimwear removes the hassle, waste and disruption from your period day. AWWA's innovative sustainable fabric technology uses four super absorbent, moisture-wicking, anti-microbial and leak resistant protective layers to keep you dry all day long. Simply wear, rinse, wash, and reuse AWWA for an easier way to period.

Made with care. Care for you, care for the earth

From the natural, organic and recycled fabrics we use, ensuring the underwear are free from harmful chemicals, to the ethical makers in our supply chain and our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. We aim to live by our sustainable mission.

Together we have saved over 35 million single-use pads and tampons going to landfill (figure from inception to end of FY23 financial year). This increases with every new customer.

Read more about our sustainability goals and ambitions.

Everybody should have the opportunity to manage their periods with dignity which is why we donate 2% of our annual revenue by way of product donations to help end period poverty in New Zealand.

Our absorbent technology supports you through pregnancy and incontinence. Making us period proof, postpartum proof and pee proof with a range of absorbency levels and styles to suit you.

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Meet Kylie + Michele, founders of AWWA Period Proof Underwear in NZ. They're creating more choice with sustainable period-proof underwear that really works!

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Top 3 constraints identified so far...

money to fund the required research and development

support from council/consent requirements and regulations

access to innovations that reduce impact, eg drones for spraying, autonomous vehicles, new pest control methods reducing spray reliance.

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I'm working in viticulture and have the possibility of developing a new vineyard that incorporates new ways of working that have less negative environmental impact and enhances and celebrates the whenua in which we are operating. This would incorporate SDG 15 - life on land, SDG 12- responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 - Climate action as focus areas.

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The problem I am planning to solve is in the housing area for Aotearoa. There is severhousing deprivation in NZ. Short term lets and empty houses (baches) are increasing the issue.

My project will posiively benefit people who live away from family/friends as well as Kiwis 65+ known to have hte highest housing deprivation in NZ

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The Jane Goodall Institute NZ is about restoring critical habitats for chimps using a holistic approach via
INTERCONNECTION

SUSTAINABILITY

GRASSROOTS

DEVELOP

PROTECT

EDUCATE

EMPOWER & INSPIRE
While not specifically benefiting the NZ environment, the organistation seeks to make an impact on a global scale

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The traditional concept of kaitiakitanga is part of a complex, social, cultural, economic and spiritual system that has been established through long association of iwi and hapū with land and waters. To understand kaitiakitanga is to have an understanding of a Māori world view of relating to the world around us.

Kaitiakitanga has been described as guardianship or protection. The basic meaning of 'tiaki' is to guard, but depending on the context in which it is used, it also means to preserve, keep, conserve, nurture, protect and watch over. The prefix 'kai' with the verb 'tiaki' denotes the agent of the action of 'tiaki'. Therefore, a kaitiaki is a guardian, keeper, preserver, conservator or protector. The addition of 'tanga' denotes preservation, conservation and protection.

Kaitiakitanga is based on traditional Māori world views and includes the conservation, replenishment and sustainability of the environment. It is about safeguarding the future.

A Māori world view

Traditional concepts of kaitiakitanga include a deep relationship between the spiritual realm, humans and the natural world. The spiritual powers (the children of Ranginui and Papatūānuku) are the kaitiaki of their respective realms. For example, Tangaroa is the kaitiaki of the water, seas and lakes, birds, trees and plants. A kaitiaki is also described as a tribal guardian who could have been of a spiritual nature, such as those left behind by deceased ancestors to watch over descendants and to protect sacred places (wahi tapu). There are many representations of kaitiaki, but the most common ones are animals, birds, insects and fish - including freshwater fish. In many cases, taniwha are the guardians of waterways or specific areas, and their role is one of protection.

To understand the world, humans must understand relationships between themselves and the environment in which they live. People are part of the environment - not superior to it. The condition or health of the people and the environment are intricately related. The saying 'Ko ahau te awa, ko te awako ahau' (I am the river, the river is me) depicts the relationship between people and the environment. Therefore, if a river is polluted, there is something not right with the people (and vice versa).

The role of the assistants or kaitiaki is called kaitiakitanga. Kaitiakitanga involves the protection or guardianship of Papatūānuku and the organisms on her. Māori believe that whoever holds the mana whenua is responsible for it. These are the tangata whenua (people of the land). Tangata whenua have authority in a particular place because of their ancestors' relationship to it.

Preserving the mauri of the land

A kaitiaki would ensure that the mauri (life force) of a taonga is healthy and strong. Since arriving in New Zealand, Māori acquired a wealth of detailed knowledge as they sought to maintain the mauri of the land. This knowledge of the land, its resources and its inhabitants - mātauranga Māori - was passed on from generation to generation. It includes a complex analysis of the mauri of the land over time. It enables future generations to draw on traditional knowledge when confronted with actual or proposed changes in the environment.

Kaitiakitanga today

Interest in kaitiakitanga is growing today. It is seen as a vehicle for applying ideas about preservation, conservation, repair and utilisation of environments for the present and future generations. Kaitiakitanga invites people to form and maintain relationships with the environment in which they live. Iwi and hapū are restoring their environment and culture and using traditional ideas about kaitiakitanga in the modern world.

The responsibilities of kaitiaki include:

protecting and upholding the mana of the local Māori people - the act of kaitiakitanga is a direct expression of their tino rangatiratanga or absolute authority

assuring the sustainability of taonga (treasures), which includes all natural resources

protecting the delicate balance of ecosystems

assuring that kaimoana (seafood) and other kai (food) sources will be available for future generations

planning commercial developments with iwi (local tribes) and Māori leaders who favour harmony within the community and who want to work and move as one

developing educational programmes to explain the interrelatedness between taonga (such as seabeds, lands, foreshores, water, air, animals and human beings) and how the degradation of one aspect of taonga can seriously affect others.

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The traditional concept of kaitiakitanga is part of a complex, social, cultural, economic and spiritual system that has been established through long association of iwi and hapū with land and waters. To understand kaitiakitanga is to have an understanding of a Māori world view of relating to the world around us.

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Tasman Glacier Explorers - Aoraki Mt Cook. 

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Tasman Glacier Explorers - Aoraki Mt Cook. 

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This tourism company uses Kaitiaki in many aspects.

Not only is it climate positive but also has many initiatives in the community for pest free, eradication of Pune, planting and gifting of native plants/trees as well as water catchment. Covering the earth and water aspects of Kaitiaki.

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For the cabins it would be:
1) NIMBYS, changing mindsets
2) council restrictions/legislation
3) use of virgin materials for a lot of the build to ensure as sustainable as possible

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Below are two of my thoughts I have fleshed out.

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Below are two of my thoughts I have fleshed out.

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1) Urban Gardens/Community Eats - working towards SDG 2, 4, 11 & 12

Challenge: Food prices in NZ have increased 12.5% annually the highest since 1987, Over half a million people are being supported by foodbanks each month and this number is growing, demand has increased 165% since before covid. With all of the other cost of living increases, disasters resulting in damage of food crops food insecurity is on the rise in NZ.

Opportunity: What if there was a business that delivered food garden packs that would fit even the smallest of balconies where people can grow their own fruit and veges. There would be a detailed app to remind you to water your garden and the ability to scan in case the plants don’t look too well, you will get real time advice on how to save the plants. As well as this what if each community came together twice a week at the local community house, here each person bought a contribution from their garden (or if they don’t have  contribution that is fine as well - everyone welcome). There would be cooking lessons using low cost ingredients (garden, rice, flour, canned ingredients) at the end of the meal everyone can either sit and eat their kai or take home to whanau or both. This would allow education on nutritious meals for an economical cost as well as showcase the benefits of growing your won vegetables for nutrition.

Why Now: The cost of living is so high, there have already been multiple disasters this year threatening our food crops, it is likely this will become more common and food especially fresh will continue to rise. No one can be their best for themselves, their whanau and community of they are not properly fed. Each individual needs to learn how to grow food to sustain themselves with true nutrition because we may not be so lucky to rely on the existing foodchain.

I was pleased to see a similar idea in a comment from two years ago of a past student - imagine the change and positive effect to the community if each area had this initiative - especially those who are extra vulnerable.

Sources: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/food-banks-are-feeding-165-more-people-than-before-the-pandemic-began-new-survey-reveals/P7YDPAS3MZBPJBGIAQQOYD3HME/

https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/food-prices-increase-12-5-percent-annually/

2) Low Energy affordable homes for all SDG 3, 5, 9 & 10

Challenge:The last census showed severe housing deprivation among Kiwis aged 65+, this group rose more than in any other age group - at 24%. “The Government’s Homelessness Action Plan 2020-2023 says older people are “increasingly vulnerable to homelessness”, with single older women renting in the private market identified as a particularly at-risk group.

The issue is partly due to income - the Ministry for Women estimates New Zealand women earn nearly $900,000 less over a lifetime than men.

Covid-19 has also had an effect - women held 10,000 of the 11,000 jobs that were lost during last year's Covid-19 lockdown according to Statistics New Zealand.”

Opportunity: What if there were small affordable homes created for single living. They would be built to the healthiest standard requiring barely any energy usage so cheap to run and affordable therefore for somebody on the pension. They would be individually rented out at a price well below market and can have a tenure of decades (removing the anxiety of housing). For some people who have family or friends they can put their home n there would be a rebate from the government as an incentive - finding a place for a small home with council can be hard so this would go some way to mitigating that and also encourage those with extra space to share.

Why Now: NZ like most of the world is an ageing population, due to gender inequality many of the people at risk are elderly women. With disasters this year already making many existing homes uninhabitable and rents increasing significantly the risk for older women is only getting harder.

Sources: https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/09/25/pensioner-in-emergency-housing-says-more-support-is-needed/#:~:text=The%20Government's%20Homelessness%20Action%20Plan,a%20particularly%20at%2Drisk%20group.

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In India where incentives paid to get rid cobra snakes in Delhi actually resulted in more cobras rather than less as people started breeding them to get the incentive.

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Toggle the table of contents

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A perverse incentive is an incentive that has an unintended and undesirable result that is contrary to the intentions of its designers. The cobra effect is the most direct kind of perverse incentive, typically because the incentive unintentionally rewards people for making the issue worse.[1][2] The term is used to illustrate how incorrect stimulation in economics and politics can cause unintended consequences.

The Indian cobra

The term cobra effect was coined by economist Horst Siebert on the basis of an anecdote of an occurrence in India during British rule.[2][3] The British government, concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially, this was a successful strategy; large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, enterprising people began to breed cobras for the income. When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped. When cobra breeders set their now-worthless snakes free, the wild cobra population further increased.[4] This story is often cited as an example of Goodhart's Law or Campbell's Law.[5]

The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre occurred in 1902, in Hanoi, Vietnam (then known as French Indochina), when, under French colonial rule, the colonial government created a bounty program that paid a reward for each rat killed.[3] To collect the bounty, people would need to provide the severed tail of a rat. Colonial officials, however, began noticing rats in Hanoi with no tails. The Vietnamese rat catchers would capture rats, sever their tails, then release them back into the sewers so that they could produce more rats.[6]

Experiencing an issue with feral pigs, the U.S. Army post of Fort Benning (now named Fort Moore) in Georgia offered hunters a $40-bounty for every pig tail turned in.[7] Over the course of the 2007-2008 program, the feral pig population in the area increased. While there were some reports that individuals purchased pigs' tails from meat processors[8] then resold the tails to the Army at the higher bounty price, a detailed study of the bounty scheme found different effects from perverse incentives were mainly responsible. Both the pigs' fertility rate and offspring survival rates increased under the scheme. This was due to improved nutrition made available by the feed bait used to attract the animals to hunting sites. Secondly, hunters were found to be more likely to preferentially target large males as "trophy"-quality game, while ignoring females and juveniles as targets. Removal of mature males from the population has a negligible impact on population growth, as remaining mature males can each stud many breeding sows.[9]

In 2002 British officials in Afghanistan offered Afghan poppy farmers $700 an acre in return for destroying their poppy crops. This ignited a poppy-growing frenzy among Afghan farmers who sought to plant as many poppies as they could in order to collect payouts from the cash-for-poppies program. Some farmers harvested the sap before destroying the plants, getting paid twice for the same crop.[10]

Gun buyback programs are carried out by governments to reduce the number of guns in circulation, by purchasing firearms from citizens at a flat rate (and then destroying them). Some residents of areas with gun buyback programs have 3D printed large numbers of crude parts that met the minimum legal definition of a firearm, for the purpose of immediately turning them in for the cash payout.[11][12]

The FASTER Act of 2021 in the U.S. was intended to aid those with an allergy to sesame in avoiding the substance by ensuring foods which contain it are labelled, however the stringent requirements for preventing cross-contamination if the ingredients don't include sesame made it simpler and less expensive for many companies to instead add sesame to their products and label it as an ingredient, decreasing the number of sesame-free products available and creating the risk of an allergic reaction occurring from previously safe foods.[13]

The United States Endangered Species Act of 1973 imposes development restrictions on landowners who find endangered species on their property.[14] While this policy has some positive effects for wildlife, it also encourages preemptive habitat destruction (draining swamps or cutting down trees that might host valuable species) by landowners who fear losing the lucrative development-friendliness of their land because of the presence of an endangered species.[15] In some cases, endangered species may even be deliberately killed to avoid discovery.[14] This same perverse incentive has also been observed in other countries, including Canada and various European countries.

In 2005 the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change began an incentive scheme to cut down on greenhouse gases. Companies disposing of polluting gases were rewarded with carbon credits, which could eventually get converted into cash. The program set prices according to how serious the damage the pollutant could do to the environment was and attributed one of the highest bounties for destroying HFC-23, a byproduct of a common coolant, HCFC-22. As a result, companies began to produce more of this coolant in order to destroy more of the byproduct waste gas, and collect millions of dollars in credits.[16] This increased production also caused the price of the refrigerant to decrease significantly, motivating refrigeration companies to continue using it, despite the adverse environmental effects.[17][18] In 2013, credits for the destruction of HFC-23 were suspended in the European Union.[19]

Renewable Heat Incentive scandal - (commonly referred to as the Cash for Ash scandal) Introduced by the devolved government in Northern Ireland, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was a 20-year scheme intended to encourage businesses to reduce energy usage and promote switching to green sources. However, the subsidy for the renewable energy was greater than its cost, which allowed businesses to make a profit by switching to green sources and then increasing their energy use rather than reducing it. In some cases, an income was obtained simply by heating empty buildings. The political fall-out caused the Northern Ireland Executive to collapse in 2017. It was not re-convened until 2020.[20][21]

As an incentive to preserve historical buildings, governments may designate older structures as historical properties; such classification may prevent or impede further sale or alteration of the property. Any compensation offered may be significantly less than normal commercial returns on properties or land.[citation needed ] Examples related to this type of perverse incentive include:

The United Kingdom's listed building regulations are intended to protect historically important buildings by requiring owners to seek permission before making changes to buildings that have been listed. In 2017, the owners of an unlisted historic building in Bristol destroyed a 400-year-old ceiling the day before a scheduled visit by listings officers, allegedly to prevent the building from being listed, which could have limited future development.[22][23]

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation an increase in arson in the United States in the 1970s may have been the result of perverse incentives arising from government regulation: In particular, the Tax Reform Act of 1976 provided for loss of tax benefits if owners demolished buildings, possibly promoting arson as a way of clearing land without financial penalty. The law was later altered to remove this aspect.[24]

Paying medical professionals and reimbursing insured patients for treatment but not prevention encourages medical conditions to be ignored until treatment is required.[25] Moreover, paying only for treatment effectively discourages prevention (which would improve quality of life for the patient but would also reduce the demand for future treatments). Payment for treatment also generates a perverse incentive for unnecessary treatments that could be harmful - for example, in the form of side effects of drugs and surgery. These side effects themselves can then trigger a demand for further treatments.

Under the American Medicare program, doctors are reimbursed at a higher rate if they administer more expensive medications to treat a condition. This creates an incentive for the physician to prescribe a more expensive drug when a less expensive one might do.[26]

In the 2000s, Canada negotiated a "Safe Third Country Agreement" with the U.S. under which applicants for political asylum could only apply in the first of the two countries they reached, in order to discourage asylum shopping. Among the provisions was one that denied anyone entering Canada at an official port of entry from requesting asylum there, in theory limiting asylum applications to either those filed by refugees in camps abroad or those who could legally travel to Canada and do so at an immigration office. In the late 2010s, some migrants began entering Canada irregularly, between official border crossings, at places like Roxham Road between New York and Quebec, since once they were in Canada, they were allowed to file applications with the full range of appeals available to them, a process that could take years. Canada wound up processing thousands more applications for asylum than it had planned to.[27]

The "welfare trap" theory describes perverse incentives that occur when money earned through part-time or minimum-wage employment results in a reduction in state benefits that would have been greater than the amount earned, thereby creating a barrier to low-income workers re-entering the workforce.[28] According to this theory, underlying factors include a full tax exemption for public assistance while employment income is taxed; a pattern of welfare paying more per dependent child (while employers are prohibited from discriminating in this manner, and their workers often must purchase daycare); or loss of welfare eligibility for the working poor ending other means-tested benefits (public medical, dental, or prescription drug plans; subsidised housing; legal aid), which are expensive to replace at full market rates. If the withdrawal of means-tested benefits that comes with entering low-paid work causes there to be no significant increase in total income or even a net loss, then this gives a powerful disincentive to take on such work.[29] The welfare trap theory's accuracy is disputed, and some studies have shown the poor individuals who are given money tend to spend it on necessities, and continue working.[30][31][32][33]

Hacktoberfest is an October-long celebration to promote contributions to the free and open-source software communities. In 2020, participants were encouraged to submit four or more pull requests to any public free or open-source (FOS) repository, with a free "Hacktoberfest 2020" T-shirt for the first 75,000 participants to do so.[34] The free T-shirts caused thousands of frivolous pull requests on FOS projects.[35] A large volume of pull requests made by users amounted to counterproductive changes to code, including: changing project names from "My Project" to "My Awesome Project"; changing bullet points to dashes; and in some cases, even breaking working code.[citation needed ]

Around 2010, online retailer Vitaly Borker found that customer posts elsewhere on the Internet about negative experiences with his eyeglass-sale website, DecorMyEyes, actually drove more traffic to it since the sheer volume of links pushed the site to the top of Google searches. He thus made a point of responding to customer complaints about the poor quality of the merchandise they received and/or misfilled orders rudely, with insults, threats of violence and other harassment.[36] Borker continued these practices under different names throughout the next decade despite serving two separate sentences in U.S. federal prison over charges arising from them.[37]

In his autobiography, Mark Twain says that his wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, had a similar experience:[41]

Once in Hartford the flies were so numerous for a time, and so troublesome, that Mrs. Clemens conceived the idea of paying George a bounty on all the flies he might kill. The children saw an opportunity here for the acquisition of sudden wealth. ... Any Government could have told her that the best way to increase wolves in America, rabbits in Australia, and snakes in India, is to pay a bounty on their scalps. Then every patriot goes to raising them.

1. ^ Siebert, Horst (2001). Der Kobra-Effekt. Wie man Irrwege der Wirtschaftspolitik vermeidet (in German). Munich: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. ISBN 3421055629.

2. ^ Dubner, Stephen J. (11 October 2012). "The Cobra Effect: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast". Freakonomics, LLC.

3. ^ Schwarz, Christian A. (1996). NCD Implementation Guide. Carol Stream Church Smart Resources. p. 126. Cited in Brickman, p. 326.

4. ^ Vann, Michael G. (2003). "Of Rats, Rice, and Race: The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre, an Episode in French Colonial History". French Colonial History. 4: 191-203. doi:10.1353/fch.2003.0027. S2CID 143028274.

5. ^ Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (27 May 2015). "Chapter 2: Alternatives; Section 2. Methods Dismissed" (PDF). Feral Swine Damage Management: A National Approach. U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture, APHIS. p. 78. Final Environmental Impact Statement. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2023.

6. ^ Ditchkoff, Stephen S.; Holtfreter, Robert W.; Williams, Brian L. (September 2017). "Effectiveness of a bounty program for reducing wild pig densities". Wildlife Society Bulletin. 41 (3): 548-555. doi:10.1002/wsb.787.

7. ^ Langpap, Christian, and JunJie Wu. 2017. "Thresholds, Perverse Incentives, and Preemptive Conservation of Endangered Species" Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 4(S1):S227-S259. doi:10.1086/692070.

8. Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, ^ Unintended Consequences, New York Times Magazine, 20 January 2008

9. ^ Rosenthal, Elisabeth; Lehren, Andrew W. (8 August 2012). "Incentive to Slow Climate Change Drives Output of Harmful Gases". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

10. ^ "Bristol Jacobean ceiling 'destroyed before listings visit'". BBC News. 1 September 2017.

11. ^ Newcomb, Amelia A. (21 May 1982). "Historic buildings prove special target for arson". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729.

12. James C. Robinson, Reinvention of Health Insurance in the Consumer Era (2004). In ^ JAMA, April 21, 2004; 291: 1880-1886. Retrieved 2008-01-12

13. ^ Sanger-katz, Margot (10 March 2016). "Medicare Tries an Experiment to Fight Perverse Incentives". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

14. Mark Zwonitzer, writer, PBS American Experience documentary "Transcontinental Railroad" (2006) ^ "Program Transcript . Transcontinental Railroad . WGBH American Experience" Archived 30 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine

15. Department for Communities and Local Government (2002). ^ "Fire" Archived 2004-08-01 at the Wayback Machine. In Consultation on the Local Government Finance Formula Grant Distribution. Retrieved November 10, 2006.

Chiacchia, Ken (2017 July 12). "Perverse Incentives? How Economics (Mis-)shaped Academic Science." HPC Wire.

Hartley, Dale (8 October 2016). "The Cobra Effect: Good Intentions, Perverse Outcomes". Psychology Today.

Myers, Norman, and Jennifer Kent (1998). Perverse Subsidies - Tax $ Undercutting our Economies and Environments Alike. Winnipeg, Manitoba: International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Rothschild, Daniel M., and Emily Hamilton [2010] (2020). "Perverse Incentives of Economic 'Stimulus'," Mercatus on Policy Series 66. SSRN 3561693; doi:10.2139/ssrn.3561693.

Schuyt, Kirsten (2005). "Perverse Policy Incentives." pp. 78-83 in Forest Restoration in Landscapes, edited by S. Mansourian, Daniel Vallauri, and N. Dudley. New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/0-387-29112-1_11.

Sizer, N. (2000). Perverse Habits, the G8 and Subsidies the Harm Forests and Economies. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Kovandzic, Tomislav V.; Sloan, John J.; Vieraitis, Lynne M. (July 2002). "Unintended Consequences of Politically Popular Sentencing Policy: The Homicide-Promoting Effects of 'Three Strikes' in U.S. Cities (1980-1999)". Criminology & Public Policy. 1 (3): 399-424. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2002.tb00100.x.

Stephan, Paula (2012). "Perverse incentives." Nature 484: 29-31. doi:10.1038/484029a.

"Perverse Incentives for South African AIDS Patients." Center for Global Development (April 8, 2006 ).

Phillips, Michael M. (7 April 2006). "In South Africa, Poor AIDS Patients Adopt Risky Ploy". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.

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Toggle the table of contents From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A perverse incentive is an incentive that has an unintended and undesirable result that is contrary to the intentions of its designers.

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https://ethicalinvesting.nz/kaitiakitanga-is-not-in-what-you-say-its-in-what-you-do-and-how-people-around-you-respond/

This investment company uses the term: 'kaitiaki' translated as 'steward' to refer broadly to stewardship of the clients' money, dreams and values. This border on cultural appropriation because the term is linked to guardianship of the ecosystem based on an understanding of being inherently connected with Earth. They applied kaitiaki too liberally. Nonetheless, as a core business value, this ethical investment firm can rightly claim be living the essence of kaitiaki through their approach to investment. Additionally, they are bringing the concept to an audience who have wealth and therefore have a larger impact on our shared environment, so this could help shift mindsets and behaviour towards nature conservation and ethical investment out of respect and gratitude for our ancestors and responsibility to our descendants, which is well-aligned with 'kaitiakitanga' in the Maori worldview.

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Kaitiakitanga is not in what you say, it’s in what you do and how people around you respond - Ethical Investing NZ

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As advisers, we are in a position of real privilege. Virtually alone amongst all professionals, we get to learn about our clients’ innermost thoughts and feelings. We are truly kaitiaki – guardians – of so much about them. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, we are kaitiaki of our clients’ money. T…

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Donating items post-disaster to the Pacific Islands

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Donating items post-disaster to the Pacific Islands

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When disaster strikes, the heart-centered approach of humanity wants to 'do good' and let others know we are wanting to help.
For some time in Aotearoa, the Pacific Island group has been the recepient of many donations, much of which are well-utilised and appreciated.
There is, however, a fine line that can easily be crossed when the inappropriate type or volume of gifting is too much, or shipped items are damaged. The way you choose to help can be doing more harm than good.
When there are limited 'hands on deck', with an influx of deliveries to a small port, it can be both overwhelming and impact a disaster relief approach.
Storage fees at Ports can cost millions - money that could have been spent on relief efforts directly.
There have also been efforts outside of disasters, where it is seen to do good by gifting 2nd hand goods to the islands. Medical equipment (in good working order) may be useful in the short-term, but who deals with the end-of-life product waste?
Goods that are not properly packaged may damage in transit... and damaged goods will end up in landfill.
Looking at a humanitarian relief from one small lens without taking a helicopter view of the moving parts, can end in (another) disaster.

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Impact statement - Neighbourhood Resource and Sustainability Hub

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Impact statement - Neighbourhood Resource and Sustainability Hub

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1. The problem to solve through my project:  Create a thriving neighbourhood network to improve food stability and affordability; promote waste reduction methods; reduce water waste; source locally wherever possible; upcycle items destined for waste management into gifts through facilitated workshops.

2. And for whom? To begin, the local Neighbourhood Support Group (NSG), extended out to East Christchurch NSGs.

3. And if relevant, how does this relate to the overall mission and purpose of the organisation? A Neighbourhood Support group brings local people together to share information, ideas and connectedness. Together, we can assist one another to solve local problems.

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second hand clothing not able to be sold in NZ gets exported and becomes another countries waste problem
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/style/131932252/this-is-no-dumping-ground-nz-exporting-thousands-of-tonnes-of-secondhand-clothes-to-png

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‘This is no dumping ground’: NZ exporting thousands of tonnes of second-hand clothes to PNG

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Donating unwanted clothes may feel charitable, but after they go into the clothing bin, where do they end up?

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My problem is how to move the people in our organisation to more active forms of transport to reduce our carbon emissions and improve the health and wellbeing of our staff and planet

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Maritime NZ is the national regulatory, compliance and response agency for the safety, security and environmental protection of coastal and inland waterways.

Maritime NZ uses Kaitiakitanga in the 'About us' section of their website, and in multiple documents linked to this, including Te Korowai o Kaitiakitanga broadly translates to the Cloak of Stewardship.
The first of their three values is Kia Tika - Care. The website states (under 'Our Culture), 'Through teamwork and collaboration, we unite in a common purpose. Our unique and defining culture is one of welcoming and respecting one another, and the people we serve.
We role model what we expect of others in relation to the environment and health and safety, as it is the right thing to do.'

The strategic direction (Te Korowai) specifies  'ongoing advancement in our leadership journey as an organisation and investment in the emergence of rangatira (our leaders of the future).'

In reviewing the 2021/22 Annual Report, key takeaways and evidence of integrating kaitiakitanga include:

The logo - a manaia – the guardian – reflects their role as the caretaker of New Zealand’s flowing waters.

This period marked the start of Te Korowai o Kaitiakitanga, scoped as their 'transformational organisational strategy'.

delivered on many government priorities, most notably in relation to the Transport Emissions Reduction Plan, with new rules in place to greatly reduce emissions from shipping.

proactively started reporting on progress as part of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme, one year earlier than is mandatory. for this period, there was a measure of 39% reduction in emissions since baseline from business activities.

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How partnership in responsible consumption and production can lead to reduced waste, reduced climate impact and improved financial sustainability

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Embracing sustainability across health partner organizations

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Embracing sustainability across health partner organizations

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How to embed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a climate impact approach across Waitaha/Canterbury health systems.

Taking an environmental scan of current practices and policies - discover opportunities for collaboration to reduce cost and improve sustainability.

Sustainable choice in healthcare consumption - from administration to patient-facing resources.

How to balance financial restraints and immediate/short-term needs with longer-term outcomes.

What are the identified barriers to progressing an across-system approach? Time? Lack of people and/or financial resource? Demand?

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I volunteered for a disaster relief charity which aimed to have prepacked ready to go kits for disaster relief . This was a very popular idea amongst high end donors, feeling like their “pack” went to a specific place on a certain date, but ultimately the things in the pack weren’t needed and ended up on the black market. Trying to re-educate the donors to just give cash donations, proved very difficult indeed, and threatened the viability of the charity in certain sectors

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my problem I’m trying to solve is sustainability of workload, for the primary care medical team I work within. Workload has got to the point hat staffing is affected, with people leaving, difficulty recruiting and the knock on effect of this is being unable to provide healthcare for the community we serve

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Auckland Council's Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum

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Auckland Council's Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum

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Auckland Council's Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum is a governance forum of the 19 hapū and iwi authorities of Tāmaki Makaurau. The forum's vision is "for mana whenua and mataawaka to be thriving and leading in Tāmaki Makaurau." Its mission is "to partner on all collective decisions that shape Tāmaki Makaurau."
The forum aims to achieve its mission by focusing on five core areas:

Governance: Te Tiriti partner.

Culture and identity: Seen, heard, felt and celebrated.

Natural environment: Te taiao, te wai, te hau are thriving and cared for.

Wellbeing: Whānau are happy, healthy, thriving, and achieving.

Economic: Economic force at the whānau, hapū and iwi levels.

From the various course readings and others I've come across on kaitiakitanga, it's clear that there is no one accepted definition of the word, so it may seem difficult to fault any organisation using the word as long as it fits the general meaning of guardian(ship). In my (short) time in Aotearoa, I've often come across kaitiaki in an environmental stewardship or guardianship context and one that directly involves those working on the ground to improve te taiao. In this context, it might seem odd to infer that a governance group steering decisions on economic issues could be "kaitiaki" but I think this is actually a more holistic use of the word. Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum members may very well be kaitiaki (or guardians) of Tāmaki Makaurau's cultural, social, and economic well-being, as well as being kaitiaki of the natural environment. However, I do think the question remains as to whether a governance group inputting into decision-making at a relatively high level can be considered kaitiaki. How well do these decisions actually translate into change or protection at a scale that matters?

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​The Mana Whenua Kaitiaki Forum is a governance forum of the 19 hapū and iwi authorities of Tāmaki Makaurau.

The vision of the forum is for mana whenua and mataawaka to be thriving and leading in Tāmaki Makaurau. Their mission is to partner on all collective decisions that shape Tāmaki Makaurau.

Their partnership approach is guided by five pou:

Governance: Te Tiriti partner.

Culture and identity: Seen, heard, felt and celebrated.

Natural environment: Te taiao, te wai, te hau are thriving and cared for.

Wellbeing: Whānau are happy, healthy, thriving, and achieving.

Economic: Economic force at the whānau, hapū and iwi levels.

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My context is Health and Wellbeing SDG3. I'm interested in the overlap between sustainability and wellbeing, from a global health perspective. Global health recognises human health and wellbeing from a systems design perspective,

On the one side, various aspects of human society impact on the health of humans, animals and plant life. For example international trade pollutes oceans, which kills ocean life and ecosystems, adding toxins to human diets and threatening food security globally. Another example could be the simple statistic that human longevity (a key health metric) is directly positively correlated with wealth (I’ll need to find that reference!). On average, rich people live longer than poor people. So, the fundamental structures and processes of society threaten the sustainability of those same structures and processes.

On the other side, human society depends on the integrity of the natural world for both health and wellbeing. In this way global health is very broad context that touches on multiple SDGs (1. No Poverty, 4. Quality education, 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, 7. Affordable and clean energy, 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure, 11. Sustainable cities and communities, 14. Life below water, 15. Life on Land)

Key to my strategy will be ‘nature-connectedness’, which has been identified as beneficial to wellbeing and as a reliable predictor of pro-environmental behaviour. This could include consumer choices, voting decisions, and daily lifestyle choices that positively impact personal health, collective health, and environmental conservation, for example: riding a bicycle instead of driving, or hiking instead of drinking in a pub.

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https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/about-us/about-maritime-nz/
Maritime NZ uses kaitiakitanga in its purpose, talking about how it is there to protect the oceans and seas. Maritime NZ is a regulatory body, so is protective through the rules and regulations in place - these may be generalised regulations across the entire domain, and in fact may not necessarily provide the protection for unique and individual areas. I also wonder if the term kaitiakitanga is not only about protection, but also enhancement to get te taiao back to where it was prior to the impacts of people living on the land.

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Through our organisational strategy Te Korowai o Kaitiakitanga, we're bringing together our aroha, work and skills to ensure we can operate more strongly as regulatory stewards of the maritime domain.
What we do touches the lives of many New Zealanders, as well as international visitors and sea-borne traffic - on a daily basis.

This is true whether you are a recreational boatie, a commercial operator, port authority, certified seafarer, or a regional council responding to an oil spill.

Our maritime environment is vital to New Zealand's prosperity, security and social wellbeing - providing valuable employment, trade, tourism and recreational opportunities.

Te Korowai o Kaitiakitanga

Te Korowai o Kaitiakitanga broadly translates to the Cloak of Stewardship, reflecting our role in ensuring the oceans and waterways of Aotearoa are safe, secure, clean and sustainable.

Through this work, we're taking key steps forward to build the diverse capabilities we need, make the organisation stronger, and be better able to deliver outcomes for our people, the maritime sector and New Zealand.

View the full size [PDF: 2.4Mb, 1 page]

Our Vision

This is a big aspiration for Maritime NZ - and the difference we want to make in the world. The vision has three distinct, but connected pieces.

Preventing harm: is at the heart of what Maritime NZ does. Through engagement, education and enforcement, we seek to avoid maritime incidents, reduce risks, and create a safety culture for all New Zealanders working and playing on our waters. We can't do this on our own - we need to build trust and confidence in the sectors we regulate, to will work alongside us to implement enduring change.

Saving lives: People are at the core of why we exist. From safe ships and port operations, to coordinated rescue efforts, saving lives remains one of the most valuable contributions we can make to NZ society. We remain committed to our readiness, rescue and response functions.

Securing our future: is a new piece that we want to bring forward in our vision. It recognises that the work we do in the maritime domain is a strong contributor to New Zealanders' well-being. We help to ensure resilient, effective and efficient supply chains. We also work to ensure our maritime sector supports passenger travel, tourism, and our fishing sector.

Our Outcomes

Our outcomes signal our priorities, what we want to achieve as an organisation, and how we will measure success.

Safe, Secure and Clean were all recognised as important to represent our continued commitment to work towards a safe, secure and clean maritime domain. Sustainable has been added as an overarching goal supporting our other outcomes, and also reflects the economic performance aspects of the maritime domain that are critical for New Zealand's wellbeing.

Our Principles

Our Principles describe how we want to be recognised as an organisation and how we will execute our responsibilities as a regulator.

Intentional | Takune: We are a capable, responsible and accountable regulator who takes deliberate actions towards achieving our outcomes. We take a systems view of the maritime domain with an eye to the future. We do what we say we will do.

Trusted | Whakapono: We actively steward the Crown Māori relationship in New Zealand's maritime context and deliver on our obligations on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We make balanced, transparent and consistent decisions. Our approach is impartial and proportionate to the harm we are managing. We have the confidence of the community and therefore have their ongoing respect and support to regulate.

Influential | Whakamana: We are respected leaders who build open, honest and effective partnerships with the maritime sector, other government agencies, iwi and NGOs. We actively look for opportunities to collaborate with others to achieve shared outcomes. Information flows effectively between us and the maritime sectors.

Adaptive | Urutau: We are aware of our changing operating context, and adjust our approach to it. We are flexible and dynamic. We value new and innovative approaches to regulating and we find opportunities to learn and improve the way we work.

We have used English and te reo for both the values and principles. In many cases the words are not an exact translation, and are not intended to be, they need to be read together to convey what we are meaning.

For information on our values, see 'Our Culture' on our Careers page.

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Maritime NZ exercises Kaitiakitanga, or guardianship that supports Aotearoa oceans and waterways to be safe, secure and clean. We're on a multi-year journey working towards becoming an increasingly successful regulator.

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Predator Free Rakiura works collaboratively towards a predator free Rakiura (Stewart Island) that allows eco-systems, in particular native bird life, and community to thrive and benefit from each other.  Predator (rats, possums, feral cats and hedgehogs) removal on an island of this scale has never been attempted. Their website explains the challenge, the benefits to nature and ecosystems, and community. Also provides detailed information around the project, explains the concept of Kaitaiki and invites people to be a part of it. Ngi Tahu have a leadership role within this initiative, and have partnered with local Council and DOC, the local school and local volunteers as well as groups representing hunting, fishing and business interests. NZ has led some very successful eradication projects before, so learnings are being incorporated and built upon for other projects in the future. This is a text book example of an organisation (Te Puka Rakiura Trust) using Kaitaiki, indigenous values to lead a nature based project for the future generations of all New Zealanders (and birds!). https://www.predatorfreerakiura.org.nz

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Welcome to Predator Free Rakiura

Imagine waking up to a day filled with birdsong. After the sun sets and our glowing skies turn to nightfall, you experience the rustle of kiwi and bats flitting under our star-sprinkled sky. You can feel the distant boom of the kākāpō before your ears register the sound. Our taonga are protected, our community is thriving and our forests are recovering.
This is a Predator Free Rakiura.
Predator Free Rakiura is an ambitious and courageous project to help our community and nature to thrive together by removing predators.

News Stories

An incredible amount of work towards a predator-free Rakiura has already been achieved by iwi, the community and various organisations. Many people on and around Rakiura are doing their bit to control predators and keep their homes, vehicles and vessels rat-free. We want to share some of their stories.

Drawing on the combined efforts of so many within our community, who are not only integral to the success of the Project but for many, also the very reason for it, we will work together to develop a single project which aims to remove the predators and create a natural haven for our taonga and our community, forever.

The video - Step into our haven...

"Imagine what it would be like walking around Stewart Island/Rakiura and seeing so many birds - with birdsong so loud that you can't even hear yourself!" Watch Predator Free Rakiura's vision for restoring Rakiura's natural haven - Rakiura, mauri ora!

Prepare

Prepare for the work ahead

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Removing predators from Stewart Island/Rakiura

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Predator Free Rakiura is an ambitious and courageous project to help our community and nature to thrive together by removing predators.

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https://www.mountainjade.co.nz/
Mountain Jade is a website selling jade products.
They spend a lot of time explaining the significance of Kaitiaki, indeed expanding it somewhat, around guardianship of the rivers that pounamu is found in, and that Nga Tahu is responsible for all of the South Island jade and the care of the artists and communities involved in making the jewellery. However the commercial part of the site is very slick. There is no connection between the explanation and how that translates practically to those artists and communities, how do you sustainably find and look after pounamu?
I am left feeling it’s a commercial site.

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https://www.miraka.co.nz/

The company was founded on a Te Ao Māori worldview which placed kaitiakitanga - the care of the land, people and the environment at the heart of the business.

One of their sustainability actions is a  low carbon footprint which comes down to kaitiakitanga (guardianship) being central to its operations – there carbon footprint is 94% lower than its global competitors.

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A quick google search reveals many, many businesses using this word. It is enlightening and important to read those that would caution us against using Te Reo Māori kupu that can lose nuance and meaning when taken up by pakeha. But then again, maybe attempting to understand the concept of kaitiaki is better than ignoring the learning opportunity...

The reserve bank of NZ has included kaitiaki, to mean Policymaking (Kaitiakitanga), as follows: "The second part of building our Te Ao Māori capability is through our policymaking. At the very simplest level, this is about explaining and describing how our mandate aligns with Māori values – in particular, acting as a guardian by taking a sustainable, long-term view of wealth and wellbeing."

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NZTE helps support New Zealand businesses, boost New Zealand's economy and reputation, and help share what's special about New Zealand with the rest of the world. They have a webpage dedicated to sustainability and how they work with business models centered on kaitiaki or guardianship, focusing on ensuring the long-term vitality and health of the resources and ecosystems a business depends on, distributing the benefits of business as widely as possible, and delivering long-term profitability.

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I have worked in a male dominated profession all my life and have seen the bias that comes through. I am committed to leading change in my profession. Why? It will take another 256 years to close the gender pay gap at the rate we are currently going. This is because we have more men in senior levels and being paid more than women. Why is this a problem? We are missing out on the richness that comes from different views and experiences, from gender and all diversity. Our businesses, education systems, politics, projects are therefore not reflective of our communities, meaning diverse views are not being put forward to address issues broader than those being experienced in the past from the people (eg 26% females in national parliaments) at our top tables.

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1. Lack of resources – Resources are heavily limited; people are stretch and stressed. There is a perception that more people are needed (not just clinicians, all teams are over capacity), but they are not coming. There is no space/bandwidth to even think about doing things differently. This is true from leadership to the frontline.

2. Lack of agility in the system and no one in charge – It is difficult to trial anything; impossible to scale anything that has a chance of being successful.

3. One “good thing” at a time/competing priorities – Contributing to people’s health through healthcare delivery is a “good thing.” So is sustainable development. It seems to me that there is no capacity in our collective psyche to have two good things combine to delivery healthcare sustainably. Too hard basket. This problem is made bigger due to public funding where accountability is lacking.

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I am chair of a social agenda to drive diversity in the workforce.  Top 3 constraints are:
1. Funding to develop and roll out initiatives and build our cause
2. Ability to scale - we are achieving baby steps, but the ability to scale up the ‘system’ is challenged, largely by lack of leadership
3. Authentic leadership - a lot of people are signed up to this, but when it comes to actually delivering on the promise, leaders often revert to the status quo

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The website states Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and conversation.  The organisation appears to be committed to this as their website states they are committed to best practice in cave management, biodiversity (trapping & bait stations), stream and catchment restoration, waste and energy minimisation (20% absolute ghg emission reduction by 2025, diversion of waste from landfill).

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Discover Waitomo is committed to best practice in cave management. We have a long and proud history of environmental monitoring, support for scientific research and cave conservation.

Our management is informed by the best science. Leading the cave and karst aspects of our environmental programme is our Environmental Manager and our advisory group known as the Environmental Advisory Group (EAG).

Cave microclimate is integral to the health of glowworms and cave formations (stalagmites and stalactites). Every minute of every day we measure climate variables; carbon dioxide (CO2), wind velocity, wind direction, temperature, humidity and stream height and stream temperature. In total, this massive environmental dataset, is 40,356 measurements per year.
Stream and Catchment Restoration
Cave ecosystem health is inextricably linked to catchment and stream ecosystem health. To improve the catchment ecosystem we assist with fencing to exclude stock from waterways and plant the riparian margins of streams and wetlands.

Working closely with the Waitomo Catchment Trust Board, the Waikato Regional Council and the Queen Elizabeth Trust we seek out catchment restoration projects. Collaborating and co-funding with these groups scales the scope of works and has made possible multiple restoration projects across the Waitomo region.

Since 2015 this collaboration has resulted in planting 21,200 trees and 17,178 meters of fencing.
Biodiversity
Since 2017, working across the Waitomo Glowworm Cave Reserve, Waitomo Scenic Reserve and the famous Ruakuri Reserve, we have installed and maintain 127 conventional sentinel possum traps and 120 self-setting Good Nature A24 traps. We also manage an extensive 260 bait station rodenticide baiting operation. In total this is 507 stations, 19km worth of trails covering 160ha of Waitomo's most rugged and spectacular natural landscapes.

Monitoring using tunnel tracking index (how many rats are in the area), results indicate that rats are now at undetectable levels, down from an 87% pre-operation level, in all reserves.
Waste and Energy
We are committed to a 20% absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction by 2025.

In terms of diversion of waste from landfill, we have a network of public multi-language recycling bins, simple waste streams and a dedicated recycling sorting table that ensure recyclables captured and sorted.

We are committed to adopting renewable energy as and when opportunities arise. In a New Zealand first, the Ruakuri Cave and Visitor Centre is entirely off grid and solar powered.

Experimenting with alternative emission-free forms of transport we currently use an e-bike for frequent short trips between our office and caves.

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Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and conservation. This includes cave conservation, supporting biodiversity and managing waste and energy effectively.

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Lack of finance – health is under great financial strain. Patient facing service are being cut. Sustainability is not seen as an essential part of the organisation. The sustainability group I attend includes passionate individuals who donate their time to the group, apart from a 0.3FTE funded co-ordinator who organises the meeting/minutes and co-ordinates the activities.

Behaviour change is difficult e.g. using more sustainable forms of transport. Life is complex and one really needs to be committed to sustainability to make the behaviour changes required – change is not easy.

Lack of leadership – within the organisation and from above (Te Whatu Ora).  With massive restructuring of the health system, the minister of health has said the focus over the next 2 years will be on secondary care -leaving primary care to its own devices. At the end of June 2024, PHOs cease to exist. We are operating at a time of great uncertainty and resourcing/energy is focused on core activities.

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lack of finance, -up to now there has been no funding to move towards a more sustainable future. Without funding there is no help to instigate change. General practice is a diverse group of tiny businesses all working fairly independently from a financial point of view. There are significant constraints on budget and funding is capped by the government. So unless the business owners themselves are motivated or enticed to make changes, then sustainability will not be top of the list for expenditure
structure of the business, as mentioned above the business of general practice is either individual business holders or corporate entities. Neither are incentivised to look at sustainability. Many doctors are personally keen to see change and some recent forming of focus groups of like minded individuals is happening, but until it is driven and supported financially by Te Whatu Ora it’s hard to see industry level change occurring.
lack of clear guidance, I am not aware of any clear guidance coming for general practice from the PHOs. Change is happening but we need help in all areas, and whilst staff are as burnt out and overwhelmed as they currently are, relying on individual focus groups will not get us to where we want to be.

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SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth 

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SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth 

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Thinking about my context - the top three constraints would be:

1. Quality Education in NZ leading to unskilled workforce pool (SDG 4)
2. Climate change impact leading to significant business risk
3. Affordable Land and Clean Energy which can be barriers to viability and sustainability

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GDS 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

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GDS 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

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When I first move to New Zealand, I realised that we as humans do not need a lot of things, and a lot of things are just wants.

It would be interesting to see how we can change the culture of asking for unsustainable consumption which results in excessive production.

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I am working as a primary teacher with one year experience of teaching Vietnamese for primary international students in Vietnam. As the education system has not greatly focused on providing Vietnamese for international students , teaching is very challenging, which I believe may cause huge difficulties for international students, especially primary ones, to quickly adapt to a new living environment when their parents work in Vietnam

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My context is business and I'm early in my sustainability journey - not unlike many others I come across in a work environment (corp and govt.). Therefore I'm super open to learning from everyone on this course to ensure I have an active and diverse info base from which to influence and help improve sustainability going forward - in an holistic way.

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In my role as a health leader, I connect with clinicians to innovate, think critically and creatively about current practice
and adapt to ensure accessible healthcare for all. We are striving for equitable health outcomes across Aotearoa, however, there are pressures that counter innovation. Most services are experiencing growing demand without increase in resources, staff recruitment and retention is difficult, and the system is going through a remarkable change that can people uneasy and pauses innovation. Times of change are also opportunities to do things differently, so the challenge is to incorporate sustainable changes in healthcare delivery while we ride this wave. One of the tools for this is providing distance healthcare using technology (i.e., telehealth), which has added benefits of conserving resources and providing options for patients, whānau and health providers when in-person care is not required.

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Problem: sustainable food production system for the planet and people. there are significant negative health impacts associated with the dominance of animal protein in particular, in prevalence of non-communicable disease. access to nutritious food is a problem for many communities in Aotearoa, a radical change in food production can address that by providing affordable culturally relevant kai locally.

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I work for local government, and I have a role to play in supporting grass root community so that they can see their role in shifting habits, behaviours and patterns which contribute immensely to the uptake and understanding of more systemic large-scale approaches.

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https://www.janegoodall.org.nz/our-work/our-approach/kaitiakitanga/
I think it is used appropriately on this website as the whole organisation is about protecting and educating and taking actions to preserve the planet, animals and natural systems that create our environment. It recognises that kaitiakitanga is at the core of what they believe and do. "Hope In Action. Prosperity For All. Animals, People, Our Planet"

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Our programmes are delivered free of charge.
They are not free to deliver, so we are reliant on local government contracts. There are restraints that come with this. We need to follow the guidelines of council.

My role is to present to children. Sometimes other things are needed, before this will achieve the desired results. Often staff need to be caught up, or showed how to support the children’s learning, but this is not my job description.  There is a ‘one size fits all’ constraint to my job, which may seem logical to a council worker, but often misses learning opportunities.

Every centre or school gets allocated the same amount of time irrespective of needs. There is no equity in this approach.
Time is always a constraint. One session, once a year would arguably soon be forgotten if teacher’s aren’t willing to support the learning. There is no training for the teachers so we are reliant on them having prior knowledge, which I have found is not always the case.

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I work for a community based, not-for-profit organisation called EERST. This stands for Environmental Education for Resource Sustainabilty Trust.
Our mission statement is to educate all sectors of the community on the importance of eliminating waste for the benefit of local communities and the global environment.

My role is to bring the messages of recycling, reusing and composting to children in preschools and year one and two.

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this possible good idea of having water were ever you may be and readily accessible has led to global overproduction of plastic bottles and waste!

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Provision of small solar system for free at schools for the purpose of educating kids on how solar energy works. Works well for a few years but once the system starts to age and requires regular maintenance or repair, many schools are reluctant to spend their budget on maintaining the system and so it becomes unused.  Supporting the system with a maintenance programme managed outside the school could have been included as part of the installation, though this would be difficult and costly to manage on a nationwide basis. Instead, resources and hand-held solar devices to show how solar works could be developed and distributed to schools.

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Problem we’re trying to solve – Create a more equal society by reducing educational inequalities amongst young Maori, Pasifika and females. This aligns with our business purpose of ‘Empowering New Zealand’s sustainable future.’

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I had to do some research to find this!
In trying to move China forward, this campaign included eradicating
sparrows as they eat seeds (i.e., grain). It was successful in that the goal of
elimination was largely achieved; however, sparrows mainly eat insects. The result
was a locust plague that contributed to the 20 million people who starved to
death during the Great Leap Forward.
A collision of arrogance and not doing basic research into
the cause of the problem they were trying to solve

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There are an increasing number of companies offering this service to communities and businesses. The intention is good it seeks to encourage the customer to donate unwanted garments to them and they will be sold on or recycled on their behalf for no charge.

The unexpected consequence of this has been from the huge volumes of clothes that are donated many of them are not resold in the UK or overseas and the result has been large clothes ‘mountains’ growing causing damage to the environment and local communities. A negative impact that was not forseen at the start of the project

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I want to be a more responsible consumer – conscious consumer.

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I want to be a more responsible consumer – conscious consumer.

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This allows me to do right by the planet and the people, but it also gives me a contextual framework to put theory into practice, i.e. it becomes a learning journey in of itself. Hard to measure but over time and with targeted research, it should be come second nature.

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Stoats were intially introduced to control rabbit populations in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, it soon became pretty evident that stoats also prey on birds and they have gone one to decimate native bird populations and are now our native birds most lethal predator. We still have rabbits, we still have stoats and the threat of both pests to our native flora and fauna is ongoing!

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1. What is the problem you are trying to solve with your project?  Prevent waste from club operations and consumption of products from the vending machine going to landfill.
2 How does it relate to the overall mission and purpose of the organisation? The mission of the company is “To make NZ the healthiest nation in the world” this is mean in the physical health sense but I think it is relevant and should be extended to include the environment as part of the overall health of people

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My context - SDG 4 and 12 - Quality Education and Responsible Consumption and Production

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My context - SDG 4 and 12 - Quality Education and Responsible Consumption and Production

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I am not yet sure what my context is, however, I have always been passionate about humans taking responsibility and knowing what their actions (and their consumption) does the the environment, the planet. We live in a consumer world, where too often we do not care where a product comes from and what it is made off. Arguably, information is not always easy to find and legislation is loose on what needs to be disclosed (or what is allowed to be produced in the first place). I want people to take a step back, ask themselves first "do I need this, do I want this, is this going to add value to my life and how is it going to do so?". I believe that providing people with proper education will help them taking on more responsibility and asking the right questions, while also having better skills - such as prolonging the life of their clothes because they know how to mend them. How easy is it to throw clothes away, if they have a small hole or stain, when fast fashion producers like H&M offer clothes too cheap.

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https://www.nzte.govt.nz/page/our-culture-and-values
This government department is incorporating kaitiakitanga in the advice and support it provides NZ businesses and their export strategies. They also have an internal commitment to reducing their own impact on the environment with targets to reduce by 46% per employee by 2030.

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What are NZTE's culture and values? Guided by manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, we strive to show respect, generosity and kindness in everything we do and to care for our people and places on behalf of future generations.

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I'm in a constant state of anger and disbelief. At how we can still carry on with outdated, exploitative and reckless models. I also feel overwhelmed and impotent. Cynical and emotional. How can any change be achieved? The UN has warned this week that  "there is "no credible pathway" to keep the rise in global temperatures below the key threshold of 1.5C." We desperately need to change the continuous growth mindset. Consumerism is the death of us, capitalism with its growth measures and the rich interests at heart is the death of the planet.
I will keep on doing the little I can on my everyday life but change won't come easy.
I'd like to see more education and more accountability - governments and businesses alike.

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sustainability assessment tool from B Corporation 

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sustainability assessment tool from B Corporation 

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The B Impact Assessment is a free digital tool helping companies measure and improve impact across five areas; community, customers, environment, governance and workers.

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Steve Bird Wines references Kaitiakitanga on their website as “Kaitiakitanga:  Traditional Māori believed that the earth was the giver of all life. It was accepted that the people who were born on that land inherited the right to produce from it and to protect it for the benefit of all. Looking after the earth and ensuring environmental sustainability for the generations to come is of the utmost importance to Bird Wines.” The company explains how they are driven by a deep connectedness with the earth and its sustainability, and an inherent belief that of greatest importance, is the relationships formed with each other. I believe the company is authentic with its use of Kaitiakitanga as its integrated in a number of ways, including being a member of the NZ Sustainable Winegrowers and Sustainable Business Network. All members of the former must complete annual submissions and undergo regular on-site audits conducted by an independent verification company. The Annual submissions are made through an online questionnaire covering off impacts across the industry's six focus areas, which are Soil, Water, Plant Protection, Waste, People and more recently Climate Change. SBN offers business advice and training on how to make their business more sustainable. Lastly, Steve Bird is also a member and chair of the TUKU Wine Collective – the world’s first Maori Winemakers Collective – who have shared values of kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga and whakapapa; common values of the land, family and hospitality with a focus on sustainability. When referencing TUKU, Steve’s site says “When you buy TUKU wines, you are buying from local people and their families, and enabling the growth and success for future generations.”

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On their web site Fonterra claims:

“We acknowledge the interconnectedness of all living and non-living things and our commitment to Manaakitanga (care for people), Kaitiakitanga (care for our land and environment) and Whanaungatanga (care for the connectivity between people) drives all that we do.”

Under their Nature section they go on to say “Kaitiakitanga is critical to safeguard opportunities for future generations. We believe this regenerative mindset must become embedded through our global value chain. As part of this we are committed to working proactively with local stakeholders on catchment wide solutions.”

They list their goals, aspirations and commitments in these area, and progress they have made e.g water use down, emissions down, increase in farmers having and environmental plan and animal welfare plan.

It seems on reading this that they are applying the principles of Kaitiakitanga.  However in wanting to find an independent source to see if they are really living up to their claims, I found that EPA figures show Fonterra to be NZ’s biggest climate polluter. Given this fact it demstrates they are not truly applying the principles Kaitiakitanga.

To contrast this I came across an article about Biofarm, a farm producing organic yoghurt.  In the article it talks about Cathy one of the farm owners;

“For Cathy, kaitiakitanga is more than leaving the environment in a condition better than that which you found it in. As Cathy states, “kaitiakitanga is also about what we can do for others. It is about the relationships that come from the connections and feelings to place and the products that are produced from that place”. She describes this process as being “consciously tuned in”.”

Their farm uses the philosophy of biodynamic agriculture which understands soils, plants and livestock as a part of a single system linked to the stars seasons and cosmic forces (Rudolph Steiner), complementing Cathy’s understanding of Māori philosophy and the importance of stars and moon in Māori growing practices.

Examples of Kaitiakitanga can be seen in the farms practices of:

*biodiversity, bringing in diverse species to deal with weed problems, pests and disease

*operate with natural rhythms of nature

*stock co-mingle, goats, sheep, cows

*don’t have motorbikes, move stock by foot, they have a relationship with their stock who will come when called

*only milk 100 cows once per day, taking only what they need, enough to pay the mortgage

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Looking at organisational efforts with a holistic viewpoint - if more people work from home we save costs on commuting personally and office space as an organisation. There are unintended consequences such as the negative impact on businesses in the CBD and the impact on wellbeing without social connection.
There is also a cultural constraint around the belief that colleagues need to be face to face  for meaningful work which can result in additional air travel - the constraint is about challenging old mindsets on how we can work effectively in a sustainable way with a wellbeing lens.
A last constraint is the belief around the role of organisations and caring for the whole person - there is a cultural norm in my organisation around 'busyness' and delivery meaning time spent on wellbeing and relationships is often overlooked. A leader's role needs to redefined as looking after the whole person in a sustainable way.

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I am interested in how I can combine initiatives around sustainability, inclusuion and wellbeing at my organisation. An initial thought is using volunteers to plant trees at a local marae with which I have a relationship - I need to undertsand how to break through 'busyness' perception that this is an investment in the community and self. Mesurement of impact will also be important.

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https://www.upperhuttcity.com/files/assets/public/yourcouncil/strategies/sustainability-strategy_20200805_web.pdf
I looked at the sustainability strategy and annual report for Upper Hutt City Council. The opening of the strategy states '...our responsibility as kaitiaki to take care of the Earth and its biodiversity and resources. Our actions now become our legacy for future generations'.
Further on there is a couple of pages on the Te Ao Maori view of sustainability, which includes a text book type explanation of whakapapa, kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. It closes stating 'Council will give effect to the Te Ao Māori view of Sustainability in its decision making processes.' There is no other reference to kaitiakitanga in the 46 page document, nor can I find any reference to it in the most recent annual report.
There is no explanation of how it will be used, or evidence that it is being used in either report.
Is it just tokenism?

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Constraints in reducing becoming a ‘greener’ retailer

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Constraints in reducing becoming a ‘greener’ retailer

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While the concept of planning out better ways of working will result in a business that reduces its negative impact on the environment are great, the reality is that unless you are a new start up who has addressed all these components in the initial framework that the business was created you have a huge up hill climb with a legacy of established old practices that can dramatically slow the speed at which progress can happen.

Cost- sadly the reality is that times are tough for retailers and their consumers. For this strategy to be created and delivered there will be a variety of costs all attributed to the below constraints which will likely require additional budgeting such as people and training. For customers, they increasingly look to retailers to take responsibility to act in a manner that is kinder to the environment, but they are not always willing to bare this cost when it comes to spending from their own pocket.

Stakeholders buy-in- To make the changes that may be needed cannot be the decision of one person alone, support is needed from all parties right from the very top at board and senior management level to drive this strategy through to those who are sourcing materials and creating the products working with integrity to support the strategy, to those on the shop floors who will be educating the customer. Without engagement to the strategy from all parties the key goals are less likely to be realised fully.

Education and resources- For many businesses this is a new area of focus that needs to be learned, it is crucial that teams leading this project are experts on this rapidly evolving subject and one of the ways to lead from a position of strength is through knowledge. Those who are not well trained and consistently learning risk holding back the creation and delivery of this strategy and in turn if they are not able to educate those around them there will be less buy- in. To achieve this they need a good supply of resources whether that is training, memberships or head count and budget to support the delivery.

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SDG 12.5 reducing waster generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and re-use

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SDG 12.5 reducing waster generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and re-use

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Constraints on my potential project of reducing waste/recycling in my workplace
1.  Cost - the organisation runs a "lean model" so that it can offer affordable membership options.  If the cost is too high it might be deemed unviable
2.  Buy in from management, most likely influenced by 1 above and 4 below
3.  Lack of knowledge.  At this point I don't know the how of setting this up, or even if the paper towels used to wipe equipment are actually compostable. This may not be a limit though as solutions may be able to be found with research/resources.
4.  Staff resources/time - if implemented staff will be required to carry of some of the tasks involved in and already full workload.
5. Buy in from members who will need to care enough to put the waste into the correct receptacles

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Community Initiatives that create belonging and the impact that has on the environment. 

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Community Initiatives that create belonging and the impact that has on the environment. 

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I am curious about community initiatives that foster belonging and inclusion in the community and end up having positive impacts of the environment. I would like to explore how creating sustainable and resilient community initiatives that are co-designed by the community, grounded in community values and run by the community can have positive impacts on the sustainability of the physical environment in that community. One example is looking at community gardens and how they can be a place of connection and inclusion as well as create sustainable food options for communities.

For the context I will be asking:
- What already exists in my community?
- What is the sense of belonging and inclusion in the community?
- What is important to my community?
- How are physical spaces being used/underused?
- What external factors influence belonging in my community?
- What does our community need? Both socially and naturally?
- What resources are available to us?
- Who is currently being excluded?
- What are our environments primary needs.

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1. Financial Constraints. With limited funding for a charity, cost is the leading constraint. We do what we can afford to do, in a way we can afford to do it, which often is not the most sustainable choice, or what we would choose to do.
2. Time. There can be a lot of travel involved to create authentic and relevant experiences for students. Travel time is a constraint. e.g. to fly to the West Coast from Wellington takes 4-5 hours. Taking a more sustainable public transport option would be 16 hours+. For an organisation resourced so thinly, you would lose two days with students travelling this way. SDG link to climate action, health & wellbeing, quality education. Planetary boundaries to Climate Change.
3.   Customer experience - we don't want to compromise or constrain the student experience, or make it inequitable. Online delivery instead of in person is not the same with a real, authentic, hands on experience. If you cut out air travel to try to run a carbon neutral event, can not make it equitable and accessible to all students from around the country, considering point 2. above.

For these, SDG links to climate action, health & wellbeing, quality education, reduced inequality. Planetary boundaries link to Climate Change.

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What does leading in sustainability look like in this organisation?

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What does leading in sustainability look like in this organisation?

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Considering people, planet, financial and culture (the latter in respect of Te Tiriti o Waitangi)

Where are we now? What do we do well?, What do we not do well?,

What might it look like in 5-10 years?

What values or principles might we adopt which could become ‘the way we do things round here’?

What can we do to get from where we are now to where we want to be as a sustainable organisation?

Be able to tell what we do as ‘a story’ to engage our stakeholders

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As we move to take education globally how does that look, but also what impact will it have - both positively but negatively. Bringing people to NZ to do their Masters - carbon footprint??

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SDG 12.5 reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and re-use

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SDG 12.5 reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and re-use

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I haven't 100% decided on my context, but I had two ideas related to the above SDG.

One is reducing waste/recycling in my workplace.  I work for a multi-branched health and fitness club.  I work across three of the clubs, and there are three areas I see that need improving:
1.  Each club has a vending machine stocked with drinks that are in plastic or aluminum cans.  Currently members who consume these products in club throw the bottles/cans into the bin, and they end up in landfill.  I would like to investigate implementing a recycling system into clubs that would stop these items going to landfill.
2.  A huge amount of paper towel waste is generated, as we ask members to wipe down equipment using the paper towels and (non-toxic) disinfectant after use.  The paper towels all go in the bin and end up in landfill.  In one of the clubs there are anti-bacterial wipe dispensers, which claim the wipes are biodegradable, have been installed for the purpose of wiping down equipment after use.  These wipes are also going to landfill where they will not actually biodegrade.  I would like to investigate if there is a way that the paper towels (and wipes if after investigating the biodegradability claims) could be diverted from landfill and composted.
3.  Any cardboard boxes from office supplies/equipment etc are currently thrown into the skip and go to landfill.  I would like to investigate if these could be recycled.

My other idea is around re-use of items from Op shops. Op-shops are overloaded with stock and a lot of the 'donations' end up in landfill as they simply don't have the space to store it. My idea is to re-purpose fabrics such as old tablecloths from op shops into items that would actually be used, such as into bags or clothing items, and finding an outlet for them to be sold.

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Constraints in sustainable urban development: 

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Constraints in sustainable urban development: 

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1. Financial constraints. If a land developer can make more money by placing houses on a piece of land, rather than leaving it or enhancing the natural environment, why would they chose the latter?

2. Time constraints. Councils are so inundated with work and the rate of development is happening so fast, that there is little time to pause and consider more sustainable long-term local planning. As urban development goes ahead so quickly, there is no time to assess cumulative effects on the environment as resources are often enitirely focused on planning for the next development.

3. Demand constraints. With a growing population comes demand for more housing. New Zealand is in a 'housing crisis', which puts the pressure on the industry to keep up with demands of the growing population.

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A sustainable approach to urban development

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A sustainable approach to urban development

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With population growth on the rise, so to is the need to house everyone. The urban environment is being developed at an alarming rate in New Zealand's biggest cities, and with it comes many challenges such as urban sprawl, construction waste, traffic issues, unsafe communities and most notably the impact on the natural environment. I would like to look into ways that urban development can be achieved in a way that is sustainable and does not compromise the natural environment or future generations. For my case study I hope to find a town or development that has achieved this, and for my own project I'd like to develop this idea further and come up with some creative solutions!

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Creating a meaningful strategy for a garment manufacturer

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Creating a meaningful strategy for a garment manufacturer

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The fashion industry has a lot to answer for when it comes to environmental impact, COVID has shone a light on supply chains and highlighted to the world more than ever how important it is to understand where our clothes come from and that we are caring for the people and environment who create them. Where in previous years this area of a business may not have received the focus, it needed, this is now not the case. To be a credible brand and earn the trust of the customer sustainability needs to be at the forefront of business goals, and increasingly built into their DNA.

A clear a clear sustainable strategy/ message is now becoming expected of customers, this in turn stimulates investment and progress in this area, with targets that are increasingly measured and shared.

My assessment will look at building this strategy for my company, focusing on people, environment, and Product with a specific focus around over consumption.

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I always go back to the example of World Vision using donations to buy bags of rice to help feed those in poverty. Something that makes the donor feel good, but doesn't really help those in poverty long-term. Compared to Oxfam who work to improve the systems and help those in poverty to get out of poverty (such as providing lifestock and teaching them to sell the fleece, milk, and breed the animals to create their own income

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There has been a lot of media around the lunches in schools programme and how this programme is resulting in food wastage as they have not tailored the food to the tastses of the kids they are intending to feed. So this has not only not solved the problem of children going hungry but has resulted in food wastage and other wasted resources. Well meaning yes, effective not entirely.

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Our overall vision for the success of our company is to "grow our safe space" by minimizing harm to people & equipment, and have a positive impact on the environment.

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Create a Neuro-diverse friendly workplace

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Create a Neuro-diverse friendly workplace

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Social Impact Statement:
Create a more inclusive workplace for all employees and by supporting employees with dyslexia and neurodiversity this can be achieved, through a cost-effective approach of removing barriers and processes which discriminate against the neurodiverse.

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Introducing technology/infrastructure solutions to developing countries to i.e. increase electricity generation and energy access can be ineffective if there is no ongoing technical support available to ensure maintenance. In general, maintenance is a highly overlooked requirement, because it's an easier solution to think that once you install something it will work and you don't have to think about it. But the consequence is, this can lead to equipment breaking down before the expected lifetime and no long-term benefit achieved after significant investment.

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The problem is solar energy generation relies on the supply and production of materials built from mostly non-renewable materials and from some questionable supply chains. By not addressing this, the long-term viability of the business is at risk in a context of future social and environmental and regulatory changes.

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Kaitiakitanga | EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency has a legal obligation under the legislation to consider a Maori viewpoint. They provide an understanding of how this is approached in their industry, how people can further engage with this and why this is relevant. As this is about obligation they are communicating the requirements for compliance. They have approached it in a factual way therefore which makes sense as any other way may come across as unauthentic.

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Te Mana Rauhī Taiao/The Environmental Protection Authority values the knowledge of tangata whenua alongside that of contemporary science. We actively seek input from Māori into our activities and decision making.

We recognise that:

Māori cultural practices have a strong environmental basis, which enhances environmental management processes

iwi feel an obligation, as kaitiaki, to protect the natural world

spirituality is integral to the connection between Māori culture and tradition, and the environment.

When making decisions about environmental management, we proactively take into account Māori interests and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. We're required to do this under relevant legislation, including the Environmental Protection Authority Act 2011.

Consultation during the application process

Individuals or businesses that are planning to submit an application or proposal to us must engage with Māori groups whose interests could be affected by the application.

This flowchart shows you the different stages of the application process and when consultation and opportunities for input may occur.

How we can help

Engaging with an applicant

Kaupapa Kura Taiao, the EPA's Māori Policy and Operations Group, can provide advice and support to iwi that are involved in engaging with an applicant. Occasionally, for large applications, we put together reference groups to provide reports on the impact of the application to Māori.
Find out more about Kaupapa Kura Taiao
Networking and training

We organise hui for Te Herenga - our network of iwi resource and environmental managers, and wānanga for iwi representatives. These provide opportunities for discussion, networking, and learning about environmental management processes, relevant issues and perspectives.
Find out more about Te Herenga
Keeping up to date

Newsletters

Subscribe to our newsletters Te Pūtara Bulletin, and the Hazardous Substances Update, to help you stay up to date with what's happening.
Sign up to our newsletters
Whakapā mai

Get in touch with us if you'd like to hear about applications that are significant to Māori.
Contact information for Kaupapa Kura Taiao
Social media

We're on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Connect with us on one of these social media channels for news and updates.
Get connected to EPA social media

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Te Mana Rauhī Taiao/The Environmental Protection Authority values the knowledge of tangata whenua alongside that of contemporary science. We actively seek input from Māori into our activities and decision making.

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Constraints in equality and diversity in tech sector

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Constraints in equality and diversity in tech sector

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Whilst the Microsoft 10K Wahine initiative is about increasing the number of women in the tech sector, some may still believe their are constraints to entering the sector and so do not apply to the programme.
They are trying to address women being underrepresented but also increase the diversity by focusing the programme on cultural diversity within the sector as well. This may spread their initiative quite thin and focusing on improvements in too many areas and so not able to attain all goals.
For such a global organisation this initiative may seem quite small and unrepresentative of their social obligations. The put the onus back onto women to do the upskilling so may be inefficient support to achieve their goals.

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https://velocityvalley.co.nz/about-us/kaitiakitanga-guardianship/

From having a scroll through velocities website they have made the taiki promise to car for people and place and have also listed ways in which they are already currently protecting the environmnet and being a kaitiaki such as there shweeb racer which won a google award for being an innovative eco-friendly form of transport along with river maintance and attempting to minimise waste as much as possible. I think because they arent just making a pledge but actively engaging in kaitiaki it makes them more authentic as contributing towards it. However, i approach this with skepticism as with anything its something you have to see to believe

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We rely on the earth and these resources to survive, making us responsible for ensuring we minimise the impact we create. We all have a responsibility to be Kaitiaki of our surrounding environment, and this extends to both our staff and guests.

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We rely on the earth and these resources to survive, making us responsible for ensuring we minimise the impact we create. We all have a responsibility to be Kaitiaki of our surrounding environment, and this extends to both our staff and guests.

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Not so much an example of a business or organisation's use of kaitiaki, but an opinion piece around the topic in general, that speaks of how the mainstream use of Te Reo vocabulary (as the use of Te Reo becomes more popular) can lead to the loss of depth and nuance to the meanings.

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For Conservation Week this year, I wanted to bring to light a topic that has long played on my mind. For someone who grew up speaking Te Reo Māori and working my entire career in conservation, the use of the word Kaitiaki has not quite sat right with me.

Kaitiaki is often the word given to someone who is considered a protector - either of a person, something of value and/or the environment and its resources.

In the conservation and sustainability sector in particular, the word has almost become the default title of those whose main work is to protect the natural environment.

However, despite dialect variations, the actual meaning of the word has become somewhat diluted due to its misuse in the mainstream arena. As is the case with many Maori words, its overuse has created generalisations, and as a result cast aside the wider meanings and usage of the word. Furthermore, there are many out there that argue its use as incorrect or reflective of only some dialects.

Growing up, I do not remember hearing the word Kaitiaki - especially in relation to protection of our whenua. It wasn't until I heard Kevin Prime - a well-respected Kaumātua from Ngāti Hine - speak about how they didn't have a word for Kaitiaki when they were younger, I realised I wasn't alone. For Matua Kevin and his whānau, conservation of natural resources was just something you did; it was part of everyday life.

Indeed, when I asked my dad about this, he said they never used words like Kaitiaki, conservation or sustainability. However, from sunup to sundown, his whole life on the farm in the 50's and 60's was all about conservation and sustainability. His daily routine back then would astound most of this generation who strive to have less impact on our whenua.

So, if our older generations weren't using the word Kaitiaki in the way it is used today, what happened?

First, let's look at the word. According to the online Maori dictionary, the word tiaki is a verb and means to guard, keep, protect, look after while the prefix "kai" denotes the verb as a noun with a human agent.

In Ngāti Porou, they use the word Kaitieki. I would imagine that there are probably many more dialect versions across the country. For my people in Te Arawa, we use the word hunga tiaki. Kaitiaki to us is more linked to atua and guardians who protect something 24/7. The hunga word for us denotes the human element.

This notion of a Kaitiaki being a guardian is shared by other Iwi. For some, a Kaitiaki can mean the guardian of a realm, as in Tane Mahuta - the kaitiaki of the forests which in this discussion, makes sense. Moreover, Kaitiaki can also be a taniwha like the ones of the Waikato river that are on every bend of the river.

I have heard some Iwi say that someone can be a Kaitiaki only when they are in the act of protecting something, thus it becomes a mantle. This mantle can be shared by a whānau who take turns carrying out the responsibility e.g. Ahi kā as kaitiaki of the marae.

Other Iwi and hapū have different words altogether for conservationists. I have heard some people from Tuhoe describe land protectors as matemate-ā-one, meaning a deep affection for one's land. Whereas some hapū have flipped the whole notion of humans being above the environment and considered a protector when in fact the environment protects us and therefore call themselves taurima of the environment.

As you can see, the word kaitiaki can mean a many number of things to many different people. I would labour a guess that most people involved in conservation in Aotearoa will have a very specific view on what the word kaitiaki means; and therein lies the problem.

While Te Reo is in the midst of a resurrection, its mainstream use comes at the risk of devaluing its richness. Most Reo speakers would love to hear more Reo being spoken and seeing more kupu (words) being used, but not at the cost of limiting the depth and meanings of the words.

Quinton Hita put it far more elegantly in a recent Facebook post when he surmised that once our kupu are out in the world, "nuance goes out the window, and people grab on to the most sensational meaning."

The use of kaitiaki in mainstream has a long and interesting history. In the late 1800's, land surveyors were shocked when informed by tangata whenua that lands of interest were owned by whole sub-tribes and deemed it communism. Even more bizarre to these land surveyors was when tangata whenua would identify a certain species of plant, lizard, bird, or insect as the Kaitiaki of that whenua.

In following years, "Kaitiaki o ngā Māori" was also the informal term given to the first Ministers of Native affairs. Followed soon after was the newly formed police officers being called Kaitiaki. Perhaps a constant use of the word Kaitiaki in mainstream - throughout our history - is for nurses.

Finally, we end where we started, the use of Kaitiaki in conservation. During my career and perhaps my journey with Te Reo, there has been a debate simmering away; can non-Māori be kaitiaki? Based on its simplified meaning there is an obvious case for its use in this context. However, some opponents (or proponents, depending on how you see it) argue that kaitiaki can only be those that whakapapa to the whenua.

For me personally, I don't mind what people call themselves; so long as they are protecting our whenua and have a greater understanding of the title they are wanting to use. I can say that I am happy to avoid its use for now as, even after all these years, I am still learning that it means something different to all Iwi within Aotearoa.

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Are We Using The Word Kaitiaki Appropriately?

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For Conservation Week this year, I wanted to bring to light a topic that has long played on my mind. For someone who grew up speaking Te Reo Māori and working my entire career in conservation, the use of the word Kaitiaki has not quite sat right ...

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I chose Tiraki Wines sustainibility report from 2021, were they have mention of both Kaitiaki and kaitiakitanga. The brands vision is “to be the world’s most loved adventure wine brand that is more than just a wine brand but also a force for good”. The sustainibility report explains how their purpose resonates with their heritage in that they see themselves as “Kaitiaki” of the land they grow their grapes on. They mention wanting to provide a product that continues to do good and look after the land.

They mention Kaitiakitanga as a value – but never delve deeper than the word in defining their overall value strategy.

I feel as though their sustainibility report is lacking body, and that they have used key terms that resonate well with people when they think of sustainibility. To improve I think they could describe the kaitiakitanga practices they follow, backed up by some evidence and/or baselining measurements.

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Improving diversity within the workforce

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Improving diversity within the workforce

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How do we improve diversity across sectors and improve outcomes for communities currently not engaged in various sectors. There are a number of sectors such as the tech sector that still lack diversity in terms of gender. My context is increasing the number of women working in the electronic security sector, which is still largely dominated by men. This includes identifying pathways for more women to enter the industry, undergo relevant training and ensure successful careers in this growing industry.

SDG 8.5 says

By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value

Indicators

8.5.1

Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities

8.5.2

Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

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Sustainability Trust (Wellington) I believe very strongly demonstrates the principles of kaitiakitanga. The provide knowledge/services/products often low cost/free to help people people be equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to reduce their waste and reduce their ecological footprint. Their approach to sustainability is very accessible yet comprehensive and in particular are connected to and support other local businesses and organisations with shared values, working as a community. 

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Sustainability Trust (Wellington) I believe very strongly demonstrates the principles of kaitiakitanga. The provide knowledge/services/products often low cost/free to help people people be equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to reduce their waste and reduce their ecological footprint. Their approach to sustainability is very accessible yet comprehensive and in particular are connected to and support other local businesses and organisations with shared values, working as a community. 

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In my first assignment, I would like to research Ecostore business model and understand more about their presence in the market, especially as they sell eco-friendly products in the market. I would like to know whether they are a legit company or they are green-washing consumers with false advertisements. A key area that I would like to focus on is the constraints to making a refill model and why after so many years in the market they have not yet consolidated a model where consumers can refill their products in any given supermarket where Ecostore products are displayed.

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I'll be focusing on sourcing more sustainable supplies that we use everyday including stationery, coffee, tea and milk and on diverting the waste that these items create from landfill.
Where possible, I'll be looking for recyclable alternatives, items with FSC, Fairtrade or organic certifications etc where applicable.
While making this change in my workplace, I'll look at strategies to involve and educate staff, so they are able to apply these changes in their own lives.

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My focus is on the the built environment/construction/electricity generation sector. In NZ this can be linked to at least 10% of our emissions profile, and in addition to climate change, this sector impacts what amenities we have access to enable equitable access to a healthy and quality life. It also relates to the consumption/needs aspect of addressing societal sustainability issues.

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Constraints in building renewable energy assets

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Constraints in building renewable energy assets

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The main constraint is capital, there is some discrepancy between what some are willing to pay/invest to build in infrastructure vs what it actually costs to do it well.
Another constraint is skills and labour shortage - NZ has always had a bit of a brain drain issue particularly for highly skilled/technical workers, and this constrains the scale and speed at which we can build new infrastructure.