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Awards

Construction sector leads sustainability charge despite industry pressures

NZBusiness Editorial Team
NZBusiness Editorial Team
October 8, 2025 4 Mins Read
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The construction sector has emerged as the biggest driver of sustainability innovation in New Zealand, leading this year’s Sustainable Business Awards with more finalists than any other industry, despite facing continued economic headwinds.

Of the 119 finalists on The Next List 2025, 22 come from the built environment sector, underlining how the country’s builders, architects, and materials innovators are reimagining what a low-carbon future can look like.

The Next List, now in its second year, showcases New Zealand’s most forward-thinking sustainable innovators, individuals, projects and organisations driving bold, potentially transformative change across industries.

“I’m really thrilled to see such an uplift in the built environment space, especially in a sector that’s been under real pressure,” says Rachel Brown ONZM, Founder and CEO of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN).

“It shows that when conditions are tough, innovation doesn’t slow down – it gets going.”

The 2025 list has grown from 95 entries in 2024 to 119 this year, reflecting a surge of sustainability-led initiatives across the country and across sectors.

Brown says the growth of the Next List represents more than just numbers.

“The leap in companies on the list this year isn’t just a signal of growth, it’s momentum for a new economy,” she says.

“These people and ventures aren’t dreaming about a better future, they’re building it in real time. They’re confronting the toughest challenges we face – from climate disruption to waste to deep inequality – and proving that transformation comes from bold ideas backed by action and finance.”

Alongside the Built Environment, food & beverage (14 finalists) and waste to value (11 finalists) were among the strongest performing sectors. The list also reflects a significant increase in regional diversity, with sustainable innovation thriving well beyond Auckland and Wellington.

Now in its 23rd year, the Sustainable Business Awards focus on two high-impact categories — Disruptive Innovation, recognising bold, scalable sustainability solutions, and Transformational Leadership, celebrating individuals and organisations driving systemic change.

This year’s Next List finalists, Brown says, are “evidence of a mission-led shift in how we design a brighter economy, one that backs ingenuity, regenerates our natural systems and creates a thriving Aotearoa New Zealand for everyone.”

The 2025 Awards ceremony will be held at MOTAT, Auckland, on Thursday 20 November, where winners and highly commended finalists will be announced.

The evening will also include a showcase of exhibits from organisations on The Next List.

SBN says last year’s Next 95 group has already shown the tangible impact of spotlighting sustainable business leaders. From solar farms and zero-waste textiles to food rescue networks and circular construction, 2024 finalists have expanded their reach and deepened their community and environmental impact.

Among them, Lodestone Energy – winner of Disruptive Innovation 2024 – now operates three solar farms and has displaced an estimated 14,600 tonnes of CO₂e, while Untouched World became the first New Zealand company to launch Brewed Protein™, a bio-based yarn made by Spiber.

Other notable examples include Lanaco, which filed a patent for a biodegradable wool-based filter; EV Maritime, which launched Auckland’s first two electric ferries; and NZ Food Network, which rescued over three million kilograms of food in the past year.

Brown says these success stories prove “the real-world momentum behind Aotearoa’s shift toward a low-emissions, regenerative economy.”

The Next List 2025 finalists

# Business Region/Location Industry
1 Naut Northland Transport & Logistics
2 Peekaboo Backyard Eatery Northland Food & Beverage
3 Mutu Auckland Built Environment
4 Marley NZ (Aliaxis Group) Auckland Built Environment
5 Levela Deconstruction Auckland Built Environment
6 KiwiKrete Auckland Built Environment
7 Autex Acoustics Auckland Built Environment
8 Charissa Snijders Architect (CSA) Auckland Built Environment
9 Clevaco New Zealand Limited Auckland Built Environment
10 Etū Rākau Charitable Trust Auckland Built Environment
11 Hilti NZ Ltd Auckland Built Environment
12 ImpacTex Auckland Built Environment
13 SOLMECH NEW ZEALAND Auckland Built Environment
14 The Lever Room Auckland Built Environment
15 Trow Group Auckland Built Environment
16 Watersmart Auckland Built Environment
17 EcoMatters Environment Trust Auckland Community
18 Kelmarna Community Farm Auckland Community
19 Eco Choice Aotearoa Auckland Certification
20 Clean for Good Auckland Cleaning
21 ImpacTex Auckland Clothing & Textiles
22 Lof Auckland Clothing & Textiles
23 Steaddi Auckland Clothing & Textiles
24 The Plant Shake Company Auckland Food & Beverage
25 With Wild Auckland Food & Beverage
26 Solarferm Auckland Food & Beverage
27 Powered By Plants NZ Ltd Auckland Food & Beverage
28 Foodprint Auckland Food & Beverage
29 Citizen Auckland Food & Beverage
30 Basis Auckland Food & Beverage
31 Quadrent Auckland Financial & Insurance Services
32 Climate Connect Aotearoa Auckland Electricity, Gas, Water
33 Clipcrate Ltd Auckland Electricity, Gas, Water
34 Whitehall Technical Services Ltd Auckland Manufacturing
35 Lanaco Auckland Manufacturing
36 Kiwileather Innovations Auckland Manufacturing
37 Essity Australasia Auckland Manufacturing
38 Critical Design Auckland Manufacturing
39 Autex Acoustics Auckland Manufacturing
40 GoodSense Auckland Marketing & Communications
41 Te Pu-a-Nga Maara Auckland Nature
42 Packaging Recyclers Auckland Packaging
43 Mushroom Material Auckland Packaging
44 Ruby Auckland Retail
45 Ellis Label Auckland Retail
46 Ecostore Auckland Retail
47 Vitalize Sports Recovery Ltd Auckland Sport & Recreation
48 Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari Auckland Tourism
49 The Hotel Britomart Auckland Tourism
50 Alexander PR Auckland Technology
51 Scentian Bio Auckland Technology
52 GoodWrap Recycling Limited Auckland Waste to Value
53 Phoenix Recycling Group Auckland Waste to Value
54 Junk2Go Ltd Auckland Waste to Value
55 Pact NZ Auckland Waste to Value
56 Echo Auckland Waste to Value
57 Reclaim Ltd Auckland Waste to Value
58 TechCollect NZ Auckland Waste to Value
59–119 (See full list online at sustainable.org.nz/awards)

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