This Climate Business

Jack Bobo is a food futurist and keynote speaker at E Tipu New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit. He argues the food system’s hardest problem after climate is social. We all disagree about what food is, how it should be grown and how it should be distributed. It doesn’t have to be this way. In a wide-ranging conversation, Vincent asks Jack to reflect on the future of food to 2100.Jack Bobo is the author of ‘Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices’ and is Executive Director of the Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies at UCLA in the United States. He is speaking at the E Tipu New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit in Christchurch in May 2026.

Wondering how well we are doing with cutting emissions? London-based climate communicator John Lang runs the ruler over NZ's performance and offers Ross Inglis a take on the maturity of the climate debate here, why institutions matter more when governments duck their climate responsibilities, and quick answers to three top climate whataboutisms.

 What does October's energy policy announcement mean for the future of NZ's electricity market and the climate? Law professor Barry Barton steps Ross Inglis through a package big on fossil fuels and very quiet about renewables. 

Every year the fashion industry produces over 24 billion shoes made largely of synthetics, with little regard for the materials sourced, the wellbeing of the people involved or impact after disposal. Orba shoes are different. Designed in NZ, made from entirely natural materials every part of every shoe Orba makes for the next 100 years will be gone before any synthetic sneakers discarded yesterday.Orba is also included in this year’s Next List - the definitive list of the most sustainable products and businesses as judged by the Sustainable Business Network.Vincent was joined by Gillian Boucher, sustainability manager, and Scott Anderson operations manager. https://orbashoes.eco/

New Zealand's houses have come a long way since the '70s but there's plenty we can do to make them more sustainable. Auckland architect Mike Hartley is designing for less building waste and that, he tells Ross Inglis, starts by talking with the builder. 

A chubby feline is the star of an awareness campaign for the B Corp certification that says your business is getting real about sustainability. B Lab's Australia and NZ CEO Andrew Davies tells Ross Inglis about fat cats and how B Corps are making progress even in difficult times.

The annual Climate Change and Business Conference is the biggest corporate meet-up on the climate agenda, attracting delegates from industry, politics and NGOs as well as overseas high-noters. This year’s event featured Lord Adair Turner, of UK Energy Transmissions Commission, Wang Xiaolong, the China ambassador to NZ and Cynthia Houniuhi, who led an historic delegation of Pacific youth to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this year.Alec Tang of KPMG and Joanna Silver of Westpac were both at the conference and joined Vincent to discuss their reactions.

Why is it so hard to invest in nature - not for extraction but for nature itself? We invest in human health. Why don’t we invest in nature health? Well, increasingly we are trying. Nature Based Solutions are embedded in our National Emissions Reduction Plan and in the Climate Adaption Plan - but adoption and action are slow. Just ask anyone trying raise money for conservation, predator control or green infrastructure. Investing in nature is not happening fast enough or at scale. Robin Mitchell is the founder of advisory firm Nature Positive. He is an international biodiversity management expert who advises governments, corporates and finance industry on nature climate strategies.

What does it take to build a globally significant clean tech or sustainability innovation from New Zealand? To answer that, you’d be best to talk those already doing it right? That’s exactly what the Next Wave report has done. It talked to 44 leaders of breakthrough innovations to establish the barriers, the rewards and the opportunities for more innovation in cleantech, climate tech, nature and community. And we need it, with climate and nature under threat like never before. How do we accelerate the solutions? Vincent is joined by the co-authors of the Next Wave, James Griffin from the Sustainable Business Network and Dr Kate Prendergast of the University of Canterbury.

In June, the government announced nine pilots to trial a voluntary nature credits scheme - the closest so far to a biodiversity credit. Led by Act MP and Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard, the government says it wants to establish ‘a market that is durable, measurable and transparent to help farmers, landowners, iwi, and conservation groups unlock new income streams for looking after nature on their land.’ One of the nine is the Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari Biodiversity Credit project an international trade-ready biodiversity credits scheme developed by advisory firm Ekos. It launched officially launch on 24th of June and Vincent is joined by Ekos found Sean Weaver and Sancturary Mountain CEO Helen Hughes.Government announcement hereEkos & Sanctuary Mountain media release here

Biochar is a much-touted but rarely used carbon-rich material derived from organic waste, great for soil health. Kind of like charcoal it’s the result of slow, anaerobic burning.  But it has not yet been widely tested in perennial tree or vine crops. Until now. Zespri has been trailing biochar as part of new innovation programme. This project aims to assess the impact of biochar application in kiwifruit orchards when applied with and without the addition of compost, looking at its effect on soil characteristics and fruit production, as well as the economics of application. The results will give growers increased confidence when trialling this promising product and also reinforce Zespri’s leadership in sustainable farming practices.Vincent spoke to Eu Jin Cheah, Global Leader, New Values Opportunities and Bryan Parkes, Head of Innovation Acceleration, both at Zespri.See the innovation fund here: https://www.zespri.com/en-NZ/zagfund

New Zealand was an early mover in corporate climate disclosure; these days around 200 of our largest companies publicly report on what they’re doing about their emissions and the risk they’re exposed to from climate change. Now the government is considering relaxing the reporting regime because, we’re told, it’s onerous and expensive. Victoria University’s Dr Yinka Moses has studied climate reporting practices in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, and he tells Ross Inglis that cutting back on them is simply bad for business.

On May 13 the best and brightest descend on Rotorua for the Sustainable Brands conference, the first time this global franchise will host a major event down under. Now in its 17th year, Sustainable Brands is a ‘community of optimists who believe in brand-led market transformation’. It takes a brave man to feel optimistic right now and perhaps even braver to run a conference. Vincent talks to SB’s NZ leader Lewis Patterson.