Business aims to boost ecosystem health

The Sustainable Business Council has signed a three year partnership with the Department of Conservation that aims to get more businesses understanding, managing and improving their impact on nature. 

SBC Executive Director, Penny Nelson, said many New Zealand businesses depend on the natural environment in some way but often don’t understand how reliant they are on having healthy ecosystems. 

The partnership will identify businesses with a potential impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services. SBC and the Department of Conservation will then work with them to understand their dependencies and how they can improve the environment overall. 

“We’re looking forward to working with DOC and drawing on their expertise in these two areas so that business is improving our natural environment. We then want those businesses asking for the same action from their own suppliers.”  

Lou Sanson, DOC’s Director General, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the Sustainable Business Council to build understanding of the value of our natural environment and its contribution to New Zealand’s success story.” 

Following its work on ecosystem services, SBC will be representing the New Zealand business community at the World forum on Natural Capital in Edinburgh, Scotland in November. 

 

Ecosystem Services are the benefits people get from ecosystems. They can include: 

• Provisioning: freshwater, food, timber

• Regulating: air quality, protection from natural hazards, pest control 

• Cultural: recreation activities

• Supporting: soil quality and natural habitats

 

Aotearoa Fisheries has developed a deep understanding of how a healthy ecosystem supports its pāua business. Loss of kelp in the Marlborough Sounds is a serious threat to local pāua and other marine life which rely on the seaweed for food and habitat. Potentially as much as 50-70% of kelp has died off in some areas and one of the main causes may be land-based sedimentation. 

Aotearoa Fisheries processes and exports about 650 tonnes of wild pāua a year which accounts for about 20 per cent of its turnover. Armed with a stronger understanding of some of the risks faced by this taonga (treasure), Aotearoa Fisheries is now working closely with a range of stakeholders, including other primary industry businesses to address the loss of kelp in the area