Businesses inspiring us all to live lighter

Over the weekend of September 21^st and 22nd, five Kiwi enterprises dedicated to transforming the nature of business joined Gen Less – a program that brings together individuals, businesses and government to live and work in more climate-positive ways.

Wishbone Design, Ethique, ecostore, Lewis Road Creamery and Miraka came together to inspire other businesses to consider how they evolve their business models to put the environment at the forefront of decision-making. They are five very different businesses, but all share a belief in the power of business to make positive change.

Founded in 1993, ecostore strives to be the world’s most trusted and sustainable home and beauty brand. Pablo Kraus, Managing Director of ecostore says, “Businesses need to step up and recognise that they can and must be a force for good. We have an incredible opportunity to pave the way for future generations. We must lead by example, empower others, act and commit to constantly make changes for the better.”

All these businesses know that individuals can only do so much to reduce their climate impact, without business providing products and services that enable them to do that. If businesses improve how they operate and what they produce, New Zealanders can live great lives, with fewer emissions. 

Wishbone Design creates children’s bikes from sustainable materials that grow with your child. Co-founder Jennifer McIver says, “Gen Less was the first initiative that we felt came as close to what Wishbone stands for. Our philosophy is to change the way we think, move and play, creating a deeper connection between humans, the environment and the stuff we own.”

With that mindset, Wishbone Design will launch a ‘Gen Less’ product this week, a children’s bicycle that is the world’s first mass-manufactured bike, made from one hundred percent recycled plastic.

While Wishbone Design is a forerunner amongst businesses in New Zealand embracing the principles of a circular economy, the Gen Less movement is about inspiring meaningful and ongoing progress. No business is perfect, but all businesses can aspire to ongoing improvement.

Miraka, an iwi-owned dairy processing company in Taupo, embraces their role as kaitaki. Murray Hemi, Kaitiaki o te Ara Miraka, says, “All Miraka farms measure their greenhouse gas emissions. At the factory, Miraka uses renewable geothermal energy, organic material is used in worm-farms and wastewater is used to irrigate. Our milk has one of the lowest carbon-footprints in the world, but we are constantly looking for opportunities to keep doing better – reduce waste, build efficiency, and conserve energy.”

New Zealand is a small country, made up of small businesses, and each one will need to play its part if we’re to reduce our emissions as a country.

Peter Cullinane, Founder of Lewis Road Creamery says, “Our environment is a national treasure. It’s home, we love it and want to be part of making it prosperous. We all have individual journeys in sustainability and Gen Less provides momentum behind the movement for change.”

Ethique – “the world’s most sustainable beauty brand” – was established to show that we can change how we live, and that business can inspire us to do that. Brianne West, Founder and CEO of Ethique says, “As a zero-waste company we take every opportunity we can to educate consumers on environmental issues and know that the bigger the success of the business, the bigger reach these messages will have across the world.”

To find out more about Gen Less go to: www.genless.govt.nz