Construction sector leads sustainability charge despite industry pressures

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