Baby steps from Green Growth Advisory Board?

The GGAG says it took particular care to ensure its recommendations are actionable, and consistent with New Zealand’s economic realities and the Government’s current policy direction.

The recommendations centre around building consensus, business capability, an innovation system, the New Zealand brand, public sector procurement and biodiversity offsetting. They also focus on the food and beverage, tourism, high-value manufacturing, services, and the petroleum and minerals extractive sectors.

GGAG members include BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly, entrepreneur Melissa Clark-Reynolds, director Whaimutu Dewes and Zespri CEO Lain Jager.

This latest report, which is date-stamped to the end of last year, builds on the GGAG’s public discussion paper “Green Growth Issues for New Zealand” issued in July 2011.

Pure Advantage, group of independent business leaders, describes the report’s recommendations as “a positive start” but notes its terms of reference are limited.

“It’s apparent that the focus of this report is on the mild greening of the existing economic development agenda, without broader consideration of how New Zealand might instead use green as an engine for growth.”

Pure Advantage manager Duncan Stewart says that Government has taken small but meaningful step with the release of the GGAG report.

The group is set to issue its own research document later this month. “New Zealand’s Position in the Green Race” will take look at the nation’s environmental performance and suggest broad areas of green growth opportunities.

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