Trevor
Mallard28 August, 2008 - Environment Minister
Trevor Mallard's speech to Business Breakfast
on sustainable design and sustainable business,
hosted by Ministry for the Environment.
Good morning and welcome
to this Ministry for the Environment and
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise breakfast
on sustainable design.
It is my great pleasure
to also welcome Professor Michael Braungart
to our breakfast this morning.
Welcome Michael, and
thank you for taking the time to come down
to Wellington to meet with us. Michael is
in New Zealand, and able to speak to us
today, because he is presenting at the Better
by Design conference on Sustainable Design
in Auckland next Tuesday.
The Better by Design
Conference is a much talked about event
for New Zealand export companies, and New
Zealand is honoured to have speakers like
Michael share their expertise with us.
We are grateful to be
getting a sneak preview today of what Michael
will be talking about next week – specifically
the idea of a "cradle-to-cradle"
approach in which an industrial society,
instead of trying to minimise its environmental
impact, considers how it can benefit the
environment.
In New Zealand, Michael
and William’s work has influenced the thinking
that underpins the strategic direction of
the Govt3 programme - a programme which
aims to promote sustainability in government
agencies by sharing knowledge and practical
experience.
The programme has moved
on, for example, from aiming to reduce waste
to striving for zero waste using the cradle-to-cradle
approach. In the sustainable buildings stream
of the programme, work is now being done
on the possibilities of moving beyond the
concept of green buildings to considering
the holistic impacts of buildings on whole
urban systems.
New Zealand as a nation
has made a commitment to sustainability.
The government wants New Zealand to become
a world leader of smart, innovative responses
to environmental issues and we are working
with business on how to achieve this.
The Better by Design
programme and conference is a good example
of how we are working to integrate sustainable
thinking into existing successful programmes
for the benefit of business and New Zealand.
We understand that making
New Zealand sustainable is central to supporting
and protecting our unique national identity.
We have a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to improve our way of life,
our standard of living and the state of
the environment by putting sustainability
at the heart of our thinking and decision-making.
Being able to bring
international experts like Michael to New
Zealand to help us develop a way forward
is vital to our success.
Consumers worldwide
are driving change in the area of sustainable
products and sustainable buildings. Here
in New Zealand, our government is contributing
to this by using its own purchasing power
to drive change through the sustainable
procurement programme.
This sets standards
for government procurement which include
environmental and social considerations,
driving change down through the supply chains.
Outside government agencies,
we also have a programme to help businesses
verify their environmental claims, protecting
consumers from being ‘green washed’ by companies
making suspect claims about their commitment
to the environment.
Through the government’s
Business Partnerships for Sustainability
programme, the Ministry for the Environment,
along with the Ministry of Economic Development
and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, are
also developing programmes which enable
business to develop smart and innovative
responses to sustainability.
Incorporating sustainable
thinking into businesses decision-making
around how they design and manufacture products
and services are key to New Zealand’s sustainable
future and our economic future.
That's because innovative
sustainable design provides companies with
an opportunity to differentiate their products
in increasingly competitive markets and
can give them the edge over more complacent
competitors who ignore the demands for eco
friendly products and services.
New Zealand companies
do need to maximise this opportunity to
stay afloat in the global marketplace.
Being clean and green
and 100 per cent pure is priceless positioning
for New Zealand.
Our international image
and our environment have become integral
parts of our economy. International customers
are starting to expect our green image to
be demonstrated in how we do business.
We must work to maintain
our reputation and ensure that trading on
our clean and green image is backed up with
real action to reduce impacts on the environment.
New Zealand has a unique
opportunity. We are the right size for testing
new and innovative approaches and being
at the leading edge of sustainable solutions.
I hope you enjoy what
Michael has to say to us this morning and
that it inspires you to think differently
about how we move forward in this fast-changing
world.
+ More
Call-in Board of Inquiry
members announced
Trevor Mallard28 August,
2008 - Environment Minister Trevor Mallard
today announced the members of the Board
of Inquiry who will consider the proposed
Contact Energy wind farm near Raglan.
The minister's intention
to call-in the proposed180-turbine Hauauru
ma Raki wind farm near Raglan was announced
yesterday.
The Board will be chaired
by Environment Court Judge Jeffrey Allan
Smith, and the other members are Dr Diane
Menzies, Ms Gina Rangi and Mr John Lumsden.
Judge Smith was appointed
to the Environment Court in July 2000. Judge
Smith has presided over a large number of
cases including appeals relating to hydro
and wind (Mahinerangi) power generation,
coastal issues and sensitive landscapes
including the Banks Peninsula landscape
case.
Dr Menzies is a registered
landscape architect, and has over 30 years
experience with local and national government
in landscape planning, design, environmental
policy analysis and resource management.
She was appointed to the Environment Court
of New Zealand as a Commissioner in 2001.
John Lumsden is a principal
consultant in a Christchurch-based consultancy
and has over forty year's professional engineering
experience, with specialist skills in coastal
engineering and resource management. He
also has twelve years experience working
as a hearings commissioner on a variety
of proposals including the Mahinerangi wind
farm in Otago.
Gina Rangi has affiliations
with Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Raukawa.
Gina Rangi is a development manager at Indigenous
Corporate Solutions in Hamilton and has
a background in environmental law and Maori
governance. Gina Rangi has been a member
of several boards, panels or taskforces
including: the Tuaropaki Trust and Tuaropaki
Power Company Ltd Board, the Kawerau Geothermal
Peer Review Panel and the Tuwharetoa Maori
Trust Board – Mighty River Power Economic
Development Group.
For further background
on the call-in, please see the press statement
released by the minister yesterday – at
www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/trevor+mallard.
