Last call for Auckland businesses to join improvement course

Press Release from Adding Sustainable Value

May 29, 2013

Last call for Auckland businesses to join improvement programme

Future proofing business while increasing profit and improving performance is the promise of the Adding Sustainable Value (ASV) programme starting in Auckland on June 18.

There are still places on the programme for businesses that would like to enrol now. ASV is offered through a partnership of organisations committed to education, sustainability and business improvement. The Natural Step, Otago Polytechnic’s Centre for Sustainable Practice and the Sustainable Business Network have worked together to develop a transformational course that enables businesses that are serious about sustainability to really leverage the opportunities for innovation and growth.

Eligible businesses can qualify for financial assistance of up to 50% from the NZTE capability development voucher scheme.

Launched in 2011, 44 businesses across New Zealand have so far completed ASV and research* shows it has delivered value to those businesses that far exceeds the cost of taking part.

Top New Zealand companies including Annabel Langbein Media, Fulton Hogan, Livestock Improvement Corp and NZ Pharmaceuticals all recommend the programme and see sustainability across all operations as critical for business success over the coming years.

Campbell Sturrock of Fulton Hogan’s Auckland branch and 2012 graduate of the programme credits ASV with offering tools that allowed the framing of a sustainability conversation in the upper levels of the nationwide company.

“ASV has forced us to undertake an honest review of where our core business activities are currently unsustainable and helped us to work on some challenging goals based on what ‘doing good’ would look like. Ultimately, we hope to show others what’s possible in our industry,” he said.

Programme Manager Simon Harvey says that businesses that understand sustainability are better placed to tap into new customers that value integrity and innovation with purpose.

“A growing number of businesses and individuals value sustainability, and look to people who offer great service while doing the right thing,” he says. “It’s probably one of the easiest ways to grow right now, but it does require authenticity – and that means understanding the issues properly, strategy alignment and how to tell your story.”

ASV includes a sustainable enterprise benchmarking process – SBN’s Get Sustainable Challenge - a NZQA approved qualification – Certificate in Sustainable Practice - and the country’s most prestigious sustainable business awards programme – the SBN National awards. It runs over 6 months and includes 4 workshops and one-on-one coaching. The first workshop in Auckland takes place on June 18.

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