New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has released its first Sustainability Report, detailing its support for export businesses to adopt sustainable approaches as well as its pursuit of sustainability in its own operations.
NZTE’s Sustainability Report for 2020-21 focuses on three key areas of sustainability in line with NZTE’s purpose and values – place, people, and prosperity – as well as highlighting its integrated approach to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and empowering Māori businesses within the export economy.
In line with NZTE’s role as an international business development agency, the report details NZTE’s promotion of sustainability as an essential consideration for businesses seeking to grow internationally. This includes support for businesses to develop sustainability strategies, understand requirements and trends in international markets and connect to specialist advisory services.
The report stresses the importance of supporting New Zealand’s transition to a high-value, low emissions, inclusive and resilient economy, as part on delivering positive outcomes for people and place. This includes NZTE’s role in growing exporting companies and supporting a shift from volume to value in a range of market niches around the world, as well as supporting investment that is good for New Zealand.
“In global markets many of our offerings will be preferred because of their sustainability credentials, and because they come from a country where these values are upheld,” says NZTE Chief Executive Peter Chrisp in his introduction to the report. “In this context our sustainability settings will be a future form of competitive advantage.”
Within NZTE’s own operations, the report details a corporate carbon reduction strategy including a commitment to reduce emissions by 46.2 percent before 2030 (from 2019 levels). It also highlights NZTE’s internal commitment to people, through promoting gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and integration of te ao Māori across the organisation, as well as health, safety and wellbeing, talent retention, and upskilling to support NZTE’s impact for customer businesses.
The report also addresses NZTE’s relationship to te ao Māori in line with principles of partnership under Te Tiriti O Waitangi, including support for Māori export businesses and a focus on growing Māori representation in leadership roles.
The report is informed by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Core Standards, a framework used worldwide which allows organisations to report transparently on their sustainability efforts and status. It also references relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals, signalling NZTE’s contribution as a global organisation.
Wright Communications, an Auckland-based communications consultancy which specialises in sustainability reporting for clients across corporate, government and NGO sectors, assisted NZTE with the materiality study which identified the topics most important to NZTE’s stakeholders, and in compiling the inaugural report.
Nikki Wright, Managing Director of Wright Communications, said, “We are proud to partner with NZTE and applaud them for telling their sustainability story. It is encouraging that a government agency of NZTE’s stature and reputation is acknowledging the benefits of transparency and social responsibility delivered by the sustainability reporting process, and we hope this will encourage others to follow suit.”
The Sustainability Report covers NZTE’s 2020/21 performance year, and complements its Annual Report for the same period which includes full governance and financial disclosures in line with NZTE’s obligations as a Crown entity.
The Sustainability Report can be viewed online here
More information on NZTE’s sustainability support for export businesses can be found online here.
