The second annual Next Wave Report, released last week by the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and the University of Canterbury, surveyed 42 purpose-driven businesses from across the country. The businesses all finalists in the 2025 Sustainable Business Awards for disruptive innovation, spanning clean tech, climate and socially inclusive business models.
The picture it paints is of an ambitious sector held back by funding structures, policy instability and limited mainstream market adoption. While 67 percent of respondents are confident in their growth prospects and 79 percent are focused on launching new products and scaling operations, half say access to funding remains difficult, and just 18 percent believe the current policy environment is supportive.
SBN General Manager James Griffin says the constraint isn’t a shortage of good ideas.
“This report shows there’s a remarkable cohort of businesses already building a better future,” Griffin says.
“The challenge is that too many are still operating in systems designed for short-term returns rather than long-term impact and resilience.”
Report co-lead Dr Kate Prendergast, from UC’s School of Language, Social and Political Sciences, says the barometer gives a voice to businesses whose success could encourage others to follow.
“This barometer is important for giving a voice to the organisations whose innovations will create a better future for us all,” Prendergast says.
“Their success will encourage and inspire others to pursue enterprises that are both successful and committed to creating a positive impact on the planet.”
Among the report’s clearest findings is a widening gap in the middle of the growth curve. More sustainable businesses are reaching operational break-even, but fewer are progressing to strong profitability, with many unable to secure finance suited to the longer innovation and commercialisation timelines their work requires.
That’s reflected in appetite for alternative funding models: Half of respondents said they would likely apply for longer-term or revenue-linked finance if it were available, and of those who have secured investment, 78 percent say their investors understand and value their sustainability mission. Customer demand and awareness remain a hurdle too, with 52 percent identifying it as a critical challenge.
“The businesses in this report are solving real problems, from emissions and waste to resilience, energy, food systems and materials,” Griffin says.
“But the report shows that innovation alone isn’t enough. If we want these businesses to scale and succeed, we need the structures around them, investors, corporates, procurement, policy and consumers, to move with them. The opportunity is enormous if we can create the right conditions.”
The report sets out four opportunities to accelerate sustainable innovation in New Zealand: Unlocking fit-for-purpose, long-horizon finance; creating a stable and enabling policy environment; building mainstream customer demand and awareness; and strengthening capability, infrastructure and partnerships.
The Next Wave Report is intended as an ongoing annual barometer, tracking the progress, sentiment and barriers facing New Zealand’s sustainable innovation sector over time.
