“There is gap between what some may perceive as green growth rhetoric (the talk),” he says, “and actually producing meaningful economic framework that both enhances environmental performance and creates wealth for the country, (the walk).”
Since July this year, the Pure Advantage group of independent business leaders has been pushing for New Zealand to shift to green growth strategy.
They aim to address what they see as the growing gap between our nation’s clean green marketing and what they call its “very different reality”.
Pure Advantage will release its report “New Zealand’s Position in the Green Race” later this month or early November.
This will outline New Zealand’s status relative to other countries in the pursuit of green economic growth.
It will also compare New Zealand to world best practice in areas such as emissions control, environmental sustainability in production processes, fossil fuel usage, energy intensity relative to economic growth, and environmental protection policies and regulations.
Meanwhile, the London School of Economics (Vivid Economics) and Auckland University are co-authoring an economic impact report that will quantify the economic upside for New Zealand of adopting green growth policies and developing green growth industries. (Stewart calls it “a New Zealand Stern Review”.)
A pre-brief will be released in November and the full review in March next year.
Stewart tells Exec Update New Zealand needs to action four-part plan:
• Acknowledge we’re suffering from chronic downward economic and environmental trend which needs to be addressed.
• Understand the connectivity between our long-term economic performance and our environmental integrity.
• Develop an economy-wide green growth strategy which recognises the mutually supportive roles of business and government.
• Implement the strategy via the will of business, government and the people of New Zealand.
Pure Advantage campaign trustees include Sir Stephen Tindall, Kiwibank chair Rob Morrison, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe, Villa Maria Estate founder Sir George Fistonich, and professional director Joan Withers.
• For more comments by Duncan Stewart and others on New Zealand and Asian green growth strategies see “Green Dominance” in NZ Management’s November 2011 issue, due out November 1.
