New Zealand businesses need to speed up implementing environmental and sustainability management systems, says Manuel Seidel, co-founder of KBS Sustainable Innovation Partners. The Auckland-based sustainability consultant with German roots finds it particularly worrying that so few companies in New Zealand strive for the international ISO 14001 environmental management standard, despite its huge uptake overseas (in China alone, 55,000 companies are certified ISO 14001, 6,000 in Germany, as Manuel points out in his blog). With overseas markets changing and corporate customers asking suppliers to have an EMS in place, there is an urgency to get New Zealand’s businesses community educated on the benefits of having a credible, environmental management system (EMS) in place to remain competitive globally. As Manuel puts it, “In implementing such a system it is possible to keep up with the changing consumer and legislative trends – one day it’s carbon, the next it’s waste management or greening the supply chain. An EMS provides the overall framework to implement an effective environmental sustainability strategy.”
Curious about Manuel’s sustainability consulting work and expertise, I caught up with him in Auckland to learn more about his own trajectory and where he sees New Zealand businesses heading in terms of preparing for a more sustainable future.
An effective sustainability strategy for business needs to include people, planet and profit. Unfortunately, the current business paradigm has forced most companies to focus almost solely on short-term profit. By discounting the environment and the social aspects of sustainability – businesses will not be able to prosper in the long-term.
Manuel Seidel, co-founder KBS Sustainable Innovation Partners and ecoPortal
Manuel, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background?
My parents come from Germany but I was born here in New Zealand so I consider myself a real Kiwi. I did a 4-year Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree at The University of Auckland. My final year work was an industry-based project about sustainable packaging which turned out to be very successful for the company.
I became very interested in sustainability and the challenges companies face in progressing in this area, so I decided to delve deeper into this and started a PhD to investigate how companies can overcome the barriers to sustainability.
I became involved with the INNOVATIONZ research group which was a Government funded initiative to help NZ companies become more competitive on the international stage through research and hands on support. At the same time I became the Environmental Manager of a local manufacturing company. Conducting ‘action research’ helped me to get real insights on the process of implementing a successful sustainability strategy.
Based on my understanding that New Zealand companies are really struggling to embrace sustainability, I started a consultancy with my colleagues – KBS Sustainable Innovation Partners (www.kbsolutions.co.nz). Later down the track we launched ecoPortal – an online sustainability and environmental management system (www.the-ecoportal.com).
What got you interested in the whole sustainability thing (was there an ‘aha’ moment)?
During the industry-based project of my Bachelor degree I realised that there was a lot of potential for NZ companies to make progress in environmental management and sustainability. Having been exposed to the great things companies are doing in Europe in the sustainability space – I realised NZ companies in general are on the back foot in this regard.
In my experience it is not actually that challenging to implement sustainability improvement initiatives in companies – but companies seem to have a perception that it is too costly. In reality there are significant benefits to taking on a sustainability strategy and I wanted to help New Zealand companies realise this.
What does sustainability mean to you?
I am very involved in the New Zealand sustainable business space and this is of particular interest to me. An effective sustainability strategy for business needs to include people, planet and profit. Unfortunately, the current business paradigm has forced most companies to focus almost solely on short-term profit. By discounting the environment and the social aspects of sustainability – businesses will not be able to prosper in the long-term.
I have seen many examples of companies both here and overseas who have been able to implement environmental sustainability initiatives that go hand in hand with economic growth – New Zealand companies need to embrace sustainability and understand that there are competitive advantages to be gained by putting in place robust and credible processes to improve their performance in this regard.
The time has come when smaller companies are now also being driven to prove their environmental credentials.
What role do you think sustainability plays for SME in New Zealand?
The vast majority of New Zealand companies are Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME). SME have a huge impact on the environment – one study estimated that SME contribute up to 60% of global pollution. In the past, it has been the large, multi-national companies that have had the pressure on them because they are the household names that are easy to target. The likes of Nike, Apple, IKEA, Walmart and Hermann Miller have all been forced to put in place sustainability strategies.
However, the time has come when smaller companies are now also being driven to prove their environmental credentials. Procurement policies of governments and large retailers are making SME aware of this situation.
Most SME are focusing on survival from one day to the next – they see sustainability as a threat to their business. They therefore often have a defensive approach which means they struggle to meet legal and customer requirements when they come into play. However, if they saw the glass as half full rather than half empty, they would realise that sustainability can be an opportunity for their company rather than a threat. By taking a proactive approach, New Zealand companies can integrate basic sustainability principles into their every day activities – thereby creating opportunities to grow their business.
There is an opportunity for New Zealand companies to align themselves with the country’s clean and green image. At the moment we are in a situation where we have been branded as ‘100% pure’. This unfortunately does not align with reality.
What opportunities and risks do you see regarding SME and sustainability in NZ?
There is an opportunity for New Zealand companies to align themselves with the country’s clean and green image. At the moment we are in a situation where we have been branded as ‘100% pure’. This unfortunately does not align with reality. The Ethical Investment Research Group found that New Zealand companies were amongst the worst performing in the developed world. People are starting to ask questions. The food miles debate and the interview with John Key on ‘Hardtalk’ in the UK are prime examples of this. We have the opportunity to be at the forefront of sustainability – on the other hand if we do nothing we risk losing this reputation and that will hurt the whole economy.
There are many companies in New Zealand that are in fact doing great things from a sustainability perspective. We need to ensure that the sustainability benefits of our products can be credibly communicated on the international stage.
What have you learned so far consulting SME on sustainability practices in New Zealand?
I have been consulting New Zealand businesses in sustainability and environmental management for the last 5 years. At the same time I have been researching the specific challenges that our companies are facing in integrating sustainability into their business. There are generally four maturity levels: defensive, proactive, managed and integrated.
Most New Zealand companies are in the ‘defensive’ phase, whereby they see sustainability as a threat and don’t do anything about it unless they are forced to. The main problem is the belief of the management of the company that sustainability is a cost to their business. In order to overcome this barrier companies need to ‘pick the low-hanging fruit’ – in other words, start with improvement initiatives that have tangible financial benefits.
Many companies think of sustainability as being synonymous with becoming ‘carbon neutral’. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is obviously important – this is only one element of a sustainability strategy.
Once companies have realised the economic benefits of sustainability they become ‘proactive’. But their initiatives are generally still ad hoc and they need a coherent strategy to effectively manage their sustainability performance. Many companies think of sustainability as being synonymous with becoming ‘carbon neutral’. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is obviously important – this is only one element of a sustainability strategy. Depending on what industry the company is operating in, they may need to consider for example: waste, energy, eco-design, packaging, green procurement, stakeholder management, product stewardship, eco-labels, training and culture etc. A step-by-step road map towards best practice can be built for each element of their strategy. The company can then prioritize areas they want to focus on based on the current requirements of the business.
Finally, to reach a level of ‘integrated’ sustainability performance, companies need to embed the principles into their culture and day-to-day activities. This means that environmental management is not just the job of one individual in the company. Rather all employees in the company understand their role in the sustainability strategy and help the company achieve its objectives.
What would have to change in New Zealand to ensure a sustainable future?
I believe one of the important challenges we are facing at the moment is that we as a country have been brainwashed into believing that we really are ‘clean and green’. We are isolated from the rest of the world and therefore have a false impression of reality. The people of New Zealand, be they from business, Government or the general public, need to realise the situation and take responsibility to move forward. Until we overcome this lack of awareness we will continue to have the same short-sited ways of doing things.
You recently launched the ecoPortal to help SME monitor their environmental management practices. What is the software all about and how does it work?
ecoPortal was developed as a tool to help organisations to implement an effective sustainability strategy. It is based on the ecoWheel framework (www.smesustainability.com/ecowheel/) which I created during my PhD to help companies develop a shared vision. ecoPortal gives a single view of all that is going on in an organisation in terms of managing sustainability, health & safety, quality and overall business risks. It provides companies with the tools to measure and mitigate those risks. The principle behind ecoPortal is to effectively communicate and engage internal (staff) and external (e.g. auditors, customers, regulatory bodies, consultants etc.) stakeholders in the organisation’s sustainability initiatives.
The system was originally built with SME in mind. However we have found that larger organisations like Autex and Unitec experience the same benefits. We have built up a network of ecoPortal advisors in New Zealand and around the world who are using the system to help their clients develop effective sustainability strategies.
More about the ecoPortal and Manuel’s work at www.the-ecoportal.com (check out this great video introduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YinqftjAjNU) and www.kbsolutions.co.nz (want to see Manuel in action? Here we go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Bw2VefnxM)
Picture credit: opticalreflex and Manuel Seidel
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