SBC Weekly Pānui

News, views and upcoming events

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World's largest investor: "You must give back"
Larry Fink of BlackRock, the world's largest investor in public companies, has sent a letter to CEOs saying they must contribute to society or risk losing BlackRock's support. He said, "Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose." Read more here.

CODA to build electric freight truck
Twenty new projects have been announced in the latest round of the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund. A large proportion of the money will go to new electric vehicle charging stations, and CODA has been granted $500,000 to help design and build a 58-tonne electric freight truck for Fonterra. The fund is administered by EECA. Read more here.

Mercury Tesla energy partnership
Mercury has selected Tesla as the battery provider for its national grid connected battery trial. "Technologies like battery storage have the potential to complement our country's energy system as it supports moves towards greater sustainability across the building, transport and agriculture sectors," said chief executive Fraser Whineray. Read more here.

Te Reo at The Warehouse
Great to see lots of media coverage this week about Ata Marsh, a staff member at The Warehouse Newmarket, using te reo Māori every day with customers. She's supported by company management and many customers say they enjoy hearing it. Ata says, "It's a sense of belonging, and I just want to share it with the customers." Here's the full article.

425 Billion Reasons for Change
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has launched a video called '425 Billion Reasons for Change' to raise awareness about the need for global reform of fossil fuel subsidies. It poses interesting questions for the viewer about what else that money could be spent on. See the video here, and MFAT's commentary on the issue here.

Upcoming Events

Colmar Brunton Better Futures Report launch
Find out what has changed one year on from Colmar Brunton's first survey of Kiwis' attitudes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and which companies are perceived as New Zealand’s most sustainable businesses.

When: Wednesday 24th January, 5:00-6:30pm
** New Venue: Generator@GridAKL, 12 Madden Street, Wynyard Quarter
Livestream link: https://livestream.com/accounts/22384475/events/8016883

Taking on sustainability in 2018, with Tickled Pink
** New Wellington date
Come have a drink with the SBC team and members to talk about projects and priorities for the year ahead, plus an interactive session with Tickled Pink on transforming business performance through happiness.

AUCKLAND: Thursday 15th February, 5:00-6:30pm. Auckland central, venue TBC + Livestream
WELLINGTON: Tuesday 20th February, 5:00-6:30pm. BusinessNZ, Level 6 JacksonStone House, 3-11 Hunter Street

New Zealand Global Goals Summit
Bringing together business, government, civil society, and the tertiary sector to work on ideas for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals in NZ.
When: Monday 23rd April
Where: Victoria University of Auckland More details and register here

SAVE THE DATE! SBC Annual Council Meeting - Wednesday 15th August.

Time and venue TBC

Proxima GRI & <IR> training courses
- Certified GRI Standards Course February 14 & 15 Auckland
- <IR> Integrated Reporting Course February 28 & March 1 Auckland
More details here.

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Sustainable Business Council · 3-11 Hunter Street · Wellington, Wgn 6022 · New Zealand