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The philosophy of sustainability has been a deep-rooted tradition of New Zealanders for generations. Harmony with nature, aiming for good and long-term values for the future has been the foundation for New Zealand to incorporate sustainable thinking into moderneducation and other aspects of environmental protection.
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| New Zealand's famous Whanganui River |
From thinking to action
The concept of sustainable business is always integrated into subjects for students to approach this issue. Even in financial reporting exercises, students must demonstrate all four factors including people, environment, profit and social responsibility, instead of just focusing on economic efficiency. That is to focus on investing in human resources, always innovating to find new solutions, bringing economic benefits without harming the environment and society.
Not only do schools in New Zealand incorporate sustainable thinking into their curriculum, they are also rapidly expanding and adding many of these topical subjects, making New Zealand an ideal destination for thousands of young people interested in and wanting to learn about sustainable development.
According to The Guardian, the New Zealand government will require public transport agencies to buy zero-emission buses to protect the environment from 2025. The government will fund $50 million over four years for activities to support the transition to zero-emission buses. Not only that, the country's authorities also plan to issue a law this year, which will only allow the import of low-emission cars. This decision is aimed at achieving the goal of reducing emissions and fuel costs from now until 2050 - a plan approved by the country's parliament last year.
“New Zealand currently has about 2,600 buses operating, mainly in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Transport accounts for about 20% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. This needs to change,” said former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. On December 2, 2020, Jacinda Ardern declared a “climate emergency” and asked the country’s authorities to act for the benefit of future generations. Over the years, New Zealand has built the foundations to fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change. In August 2020, the government decided to add climate change to the country’s training program.
Protect to grow
New Zealand is a world leader in creating protected areas on its islands, a result of more than 100 years of research into efforts to keep invasive mammals out of the 998 islands of the South Pacific nation.
According to research conducted by the University of Auckland and the Landcare Institute of New Zealand, the removal of invasive species from islands is a serious threat that has been implemented around the world with a high success rate and has been maintained over time. This is key to protecting native flora and fauna, creating ecosystem resilience to climate change and bringing many benefits to people. According to the research, islands are a global hotspot for biodiversity. Although they cover only 5% of the Earth's land area, they have contributed to 61% of extinctions since the 1500s.
Not only is New Zealand a leader in animal conservation, it is also the first country in the world to enact a law requiring financial companies to publish reports on the impact of climate change on their operations. New Zealand Climate Change Minister James Shaw said that by 2050, New Zealand wants to become a carbon neutral country. To achieve this goal, it requires responsible contributions from all economic sectors, including the banking and financial sector. Only by clearly understanding the impact of climate change before making investments can banks, insurance providers and financial managers fulfill their duties. According to Mr. James Shaw, the new law will put climate change risks and environmental resilience at the heart of financial and business decisions. The new environmental law is expected to be passed by the country's Parliament for the first time this week.
About 200 businesses, including large companies and foreign companies with a charter capital of up to 703 million USD, will be subject to the law. New Zealand Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said that by becoming the first country in the world to impose environmental laws with the above provisions, New Zealand will have the opportunity to demonstrate its pioneering role, leading other countries to take similar actions.
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