He was passionate about creating a greener and more prosperous future for New Zealand. We would like to acknowledge his contribution to Pure Advantage and his commitment to environmental causes. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.

“Self-determination for New Zealand is not a choice, it’s a reality. No one is going to look after us”

- Lloyd Morrison

The election results have seen support for the Greens surge past the 10 per cent barrier for the first time. The remarkable number of seats they now hold reflects a shift in public sentiment: environment is now a mainstream concern.

Their success is due in part to a smart campaign from the Greens themselves. It can also be attributed to two big events during the past term of Parliament – the proposal to mine national parks and the Rena disaster. Both revealed the depth of the strong public attachment to our wonderful environment and the need to take better care of it.

This surge in environmental awareness goes beyond the Greens. Environmental issues resonated with many candidates from other parties throughout the election campaign. This has left many environmental groups feeling encouraged.

What is needed now is for National and the Greens to develop a comprehensive memorandum of understanding for action on the environment, one that goes beyond tokenism and greenwash into substantive issues.

It’s time to recalibrate environmental policy. We need to shift from ripping into our natural resources as if we were still 19th century pioneers, to a clear recognition that there are environmental limits.

An important policy area for co-operation between National and the Greens is freshwater management. It is a defining issue for our nation’s brand integrity. Both parties endorsed the Land and Water Forum’s formula for improved water quality but there is much still to be done. We need to make our polluted lakes, streams and rivers swimmable and fishable again.

On oceans management, National and the Greens both supported a wide-ranging inquiry into the response to the Rena disaster. We can therefore expect a revamp of our preparedness for future oil spills whether from coastal shipping, tankers, offshore oil wells or sunken wrecks as well as a thorough assessment of avoidance strategies.

The bill setting up an environmental management regime for oil, gas and offshore mining in our exclusive economic zone will come under increased political and community scrutiny post-Rena. It will at least need strengthening while some will argue that we should not be doing those activities at all.

More importantly, both National and the Greens are open to some really big and far-sighted reforms on overall oceans management to ensure we have state-of-the-art legislation covering fishing, marine mammal and seabird conservation, protected areas and marine spatial planning. Our oceans are vital to our economic welfare. Reform in this area is long overdue.

On climate change, we saw the Act Party that denied climate change and eschewed the emissions trading scheme firmly rebuffed by the wider electorate. We know that the Greens would prefer a carbon tax to an ETS but the differences between them and National on the overall framework aren’t that significant. There’s room for negotiation around the phase-in of the agricultural sector and the rate of uptake of full obligations for others.

As the ETS enters its third term of Parliament still intact, it seems likely it will survive as the pricing mechanism for carbon into the future.

There is also scope for additional complementary policies, reinforcing the ETS, to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The Greens will champion the green economy – the development of low-carbon businesses based on investment in science and innovation. National is already moving in this direction and it would be good to see the transition to a low-carbon economy pick up speed.

Overall, the election results can be seen as potentially positive for the environment. The National Party will have an expanded Blue-Greens caucus while the number of Green MPs has increased to 13. So National and the Green Party should work together and make real progress on New Zealand’s environmental agenda.

Gary Taylor is chairman of the Environmental Defence Society www.eds.org.nz.

Green Growth seen as delivering a better future, more new jobs and a better reputation for NZ.

Pure Advantage, the organization championing a move to a green growth economy, says the latest polling by independent research company Horizon shows there is widespread public support for New Zealand to secure its share of the $6 trillion global opportunity that green growth promises by 2050.

The poll of more than a 1,000 respondents, weighted to accurately represent the New Zealand voting population*, received a very strong response in favor of pursuing trade and new job opportunities as part of green growth. It highlights the need for New Zealand’s leaders to find sustainable economic alternatives that can provide the country with the competitive advantage it needs.

Phillip Mills, a trustee of Pure Advantage, says that the Horizon poll findings are a call to action for all political parties and also affirms that New Zealanders, including those in the business sector, are fully supportive of the need for green growth.
“This poll is a resounding call from almost three quarters of people polled saying they want urgent action taken by New Zealand’s leaders to secure the enhanced trade opportunities and new jobs that green growth will deliver to those countries that recognize the significance of these opportunities early on,” says Mills.

Mills adds that the Pure Advantage Horizon poll also showed that the largest percentage of respondents saw many benefits associated with trade opportunities including ‘economic growth which improves the environment’. This includes widespread business support with 59% of business managers voting for a move away from the present fossil fuel economy.

“This tells us that all Kiwis, especially the business sector, acknowledge that a move to new trade opportunities is vital. Green growth makes this possible. People also now realize that this will deliver New Zealand a better future, a higher standard of living, new jobs and very importantly a better reputation. Ergo the question that really needs to be asked of all our leaders is why we are holding back when New Zealand should be leading the charge!”

Mills calls on all the parties in Parliament to join and create a policy agreement post-election that will provide the economic growth path that New Zealand needs, especially at a business level where recent polls have shown waning confidence in the lack of Government direction.

“The Trustees of Pure Advantage would like to get together with the Government and all parties post-election to work out a strategic business plan so New Zealand can take advantage of green growth opportunities and create a prosperous future for this country. A future that protects the clean, green 100% Pure brand that is so critical to our export success.”

Pure Advantage Trustees include some of New Zealand’s most successful and respected business leaders including New Zealander of the Year, Professor Sir Paul Callaghan, Sir George Fistonich, Rob Fyfe, Chris Liddell, Phillip Mills, Jeremy Moon, Lloyd Morrison, Rob Morrison, Geoff Ross, Justine Smyth, Sir Stephen Tindall, and Joan Withers.

ENDS

*This survey of 1,013 New Zealanders aged 18+ was conducted nationwide by Horizon Research between 8am November 7 and 8 am November 11, 2011.

*Respondents are weighted by age, gender, ethnicity, personal income, educational qualifications and party vote 2008 to provide a representative sample of the New Zealand adult population.

At a 95% confidence level, the maximum margin of error is +/- 3.1%.

Pure Advantage, the organisation championing a move to a green growth economy says New Zealand needs much more decisive leadership in order to position the country for opportunities in sustainable and innovative niche industries where we can have a natural competitive advantage.

To highlight this leading UK based global strategic economics consultancy Vivid Economics is preparing a significant macroeconomic report on New Zealand’s green growth opportunities in conjunction with the University of Auckland Business School, with an outline of the work released this week.

Rob Morrison, Chairman of Pure Advantage, says the macroeconomic report will critically assess and measure New Zealand’s green growth opportunities and benchmark the country’s performance.

“The report summary sends a clear message that New Zealand should embrace the green growth opportunity and capitalise on our nimbleness and small size as leaders, not only in areas like low energy intensity farming and sustainable fisheries but also in new key green growth industries some of which are already making a global impact such as Lanzatech, ” says Morrison.

Morrison adds that the global value of potential additional commercial opportunities, from the shift to a green world economy, is estimated to be up to $6.0 trillion a year by 2050.

The green economy will be driven by innovation and as one of Pure Advantage trustees, Sir Paul Callaghan noted recently:

“With only 0.2% of the world’s economy we can succeed in the niche markets of the world, growing businesses that are substantial in the New Zealand context. We have to think like Singapore, not as we have done for 150 years, as a country that can live off its natural resources.”

Furthermore Morrison points to the UN Development Programme Report (Sustainability and Equity: A better future for all) which says,

“Growth driven by fossil fuel consumption is not a prerequisite for a better life in broader human development terms…investments that improve equity – for example, renewable energy, water and sanitation…could advance both sustainability and human development.”

Morrison adds that the savings from green growth, in particular with a greater emphasis on energy efficiency will also be significant and New Zealand will benefit if we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

“The International Energy Association estimates that the net savings to 2050 from reduced fuel use have a present value of US$8 trillion. In New Zealand the savings would be hundreds of millions of dollars and would be re-invested into education, health and infrastructural development to build the wealth of our country in a way that would lift living standards overall.”

Pure Advantage’s macroeconomic report is due to be published and launched in March 2012.

ENDS

* An outline of the work that will be carried out by Vivid Economics is available here.

About Vivid Economics

Vivid Economics is a leading strategic economics consultancy with global reach. They strive to create lasting value for their clients, both in government and the private sector, and for society at large.

Vivid economics is a premier consultantcy in the policy-commerce interface and for resource-and environment-intensive sectors, advising clients worldwide on their most critical and complex policy and commercial questions.

The company’s focus on the success of their clients reflects a strong partnership culture, solid foundation of skills and analytical assets, and close cooperation with a large network of contacts across key organisations reflect.

The Vivid Economics business is built on the values of a vivid approach to advice, world-class skills and commitment to developing and maintaining the latest cutting edge techniques in the field of economics. These are housed in an independent, highly-motivated, employee-owned business, based in London.

We’ve seen during the past two months what this country is capable of when we all pull together. In this election, we should demand of our politicians that the same level of strategy, planning and commitment be given to our economic future.

New Zealand’s environmental reputation continues to be tested with our response to the Rena saga, followed by a second fossil fuel-related blow with the Vector natural gas pipe rupture. There is growing public unease about how prepared we are to manage New Zealand’s green brand.

A 2008 study showed that a 5 per cent reputational loss in primary products and international tourism will cost the New Zealand economy more than 22,000 jobs, annual direct losses of $455 million in primary product sales and $155 million in international tourism sales.

However, the long-term damage to New Zealand’s brand will not come from Rena, or even the risks of a tanker accident or deep-water drilling disaster should we decide to go down that track, but from a failure to take up the opportunities we have to shift more of our resources and talent pool into the low-carbon industries that will drive the future global economy.

Rather than risking our environment and reputation by opening marginally accessible petroleum reserves to foreign oil corporations, the emphasis should be on investing in those industries that can provide us with an advantage in rapidly emerging markets such as renewable energy and the businesses that spin off that, from electric vehicles to cloud computing.

This is an important time to protect our global reputation as responsible stewards for one of the world’s best-kept environments, and the value that reputation adds to our primary products and tourism. A recent Business Council for Sustainable Development poll underscored its importance to exporters, with 86 per cent saying our 100 per cent Pure image was important to help ensure market access and give New Zealand a marketing edge. The poll also showed that only 2 per cent of New Zealanders believe the country lives up to its 100 per cent Pure image.

It is also a time for exploiting our comparative advantages in global “sunrise” industries.

We can capitalise on world-leading expertise in geothermal power and the microbial conversion of pollution from industrial plants to fuel. There are also research, trials and early commercial production in progress around conversion of forestry and dairy waste into products such as transport biofuels. Sixty per cent of our energy comes from fossil fuels with an annual import cost of $6 billion a year. Developing alternatives will ultimately create exports, make us energy independent and prevent thousands of tonnes of carbon from being released into the environment.

We also have expertise in areas such as water management, forestry, low-energy farming and sustainable fisheries that are becoming more important in a world of 7 billion people.

Our leaders need listen to the results of the 3 News Reid Research poll that rated the environment as the number one issue among voters and to become far more aspirational.

There are few countries on Earth that have the opportunities and advantages that we do. We need to diversify from our commodity export-based economic strategy.

There is little doubt that our farmers will benefit from increasing global demand for protein during global up-cycles, but relying too heavily on this leaves us vulnerable to the ever-present threat of lower cost competition, and the swings and roundabouts of a global economy likely to become increasingly volatile.

There is overwhelming evidence that economies that actively align governance, policies and funding to secure environmental performance targets enjoy significant economic benefits as a result.

New Zealand’s environmental credentials and economic prosperity can be simultaneously improved through a strategy whereby government commits to R&D, investment incentives and the development of a workforce skilled in the jobs required for low-carbon industry.

The Pure Advantage Trust has recently commissioned a group of world-leading economists to review New Zealand’s green growth opportunities and make recommendations as to how we can build a greener, wealthier nation. We plan to release the group’s findings early next year.

With a level of resolve and commitment similar to that shown by this country around the Rugby World Cup, New Zealand can create an economic future in which we are a leading exporter of high-value produce, renewable energy-based products and services and other environmentally conscious goods, with a top-tier in-bound tourism industry and a pristine environment that sits comfortably alongside growth and our national cultural values.

The time for change is now and we call on New Zealand’s politicians to show bold leadership.

- From the New Zealand Herald, Tuesday November 15, 2011

Hawkes Bay has long been known as the ‘Fruit Bowl of New Zealand’ while selling its produce into many corners of the international market -from Europe to the US, Japan and China.  As these markets have increased Hawkes Bay growers have seen firsthand how the premium standard of their product has insured their continued success.

Their discussion with Pure Advantage covered issues from the popularity of their GE Free position, food security, the role of regional councils in legislation and the opportunity Hawkes Bay has to lead New Zealand in terms of a green, collaborative – or ‘basket approach’ – of food producers and business organisations.

There are a number of features of the environment that make this special area of New Zealand so unique. These include the diurnal temperature range (warm days and cold nights), the quality of the soil, minimal chemical use, a large natural water aquifer underneath the Heretaunga plains and the intensity of UV light. These factors, combined with the commitment of its many producers, may soon lead to a standardization of horticultural practices in Hawkes Bay with far-reaching impact.

In the same way that produce from Champagne or Bordeaux are recognized as having a distinct and valuable provenance, produce from Hawkes Bay could soon be recognized as having just as distinct an origin story – though with more emphasis being placed on the ‘green’ nature of its particular brand.  As concerns about buying healthy and sustainably-grown food increase amongst a variety of overseas consumers, from the Chinese Government to Whole Foods in the US, this particular region is well positioned to establish industry leading practice to capture a larger part of these markets.

Last week’s meeting between Geoff Ross of Pure Advantage and a number of leading growers and concerned parties focused on the standards that would need to be set, the goals for the area and how these criteria could be communicated to customers and visitors. The panel for the gathering was diverse and the discussion passionate. While the details are still being worked out and the aims still being formalized, it was a highly productive meeting that could see Hawkes Bay soon being labeled one of the greenest ‘fruitbowls’ of the world, securing their position with one the highest quality appellations in a highly competitive global market.

It’s also hard to ignore New Zealand’s dismal economic slide over the past two decades, not to mention the growing gap between New Zealand’s 100% Pure brand and reality.

Philip Mills outlined Pure Advantage’s simple premise in the article Change Agents in Unlimited’s June/July edition last year. In the 20^th century the world grew on the back of a carbon economy fuelled by cheap oil. The megatrend of the 21^st century will be a low carbon economy. That signals an enormous economic and environmental opportunity for New Zealand.

Mills was joined by some of our most successful brand builders and businessmen last year to launch a lobby group that wants the country to pursue low carbon opportunities. They took it a step further this year by launching Pure Advantage to stimulate discussion around the opportunities. Pure Advantage has now been joined by more powerful figures like Sir Paul Callaghan, former Fairfax CEO Joan Withers and former General Motors CFO Chris Liddell.

The past is not an accurate guide to a successful future for New Zealand, says Morrison. “We can’t rely on doing things the way we have done in the past if we want to ensure New Zealand has a prosperous future.”
But the enormity of the task facing Pure Advantage was exemplified soon after its launch when the government released its energy policy, which focuses on more extraction of fossil fuels. Morrison described the policy as “based on the premise that we can have our cake and eat it too”.

New Zealand imports $6 billion of oil a year, providing around 60% of the country’s energy mix — and we are inefficient energy consumers, says Morrison. Instead of drilling offshore for oil, we should explore alternatives, he says.

“New Zealanders are proud of our farming industry but when our beef and lamb exports total $5 billion a year and we spend $6 billion a year importing oil, how smart is that?”

Much of the problem in getting Kiwis to understand or think differently has been the way the debate has been framed, says Morrison.

New Zealand’s slogan is 100% Pure. Not sort of, not maybe. If we are going to stick with the slogan, we better make damn sure we are 100% Pure, he says, or our exports could go down the gurgler.

Morrison, who recently added chairman of Kiwibank to his CV, took on the Pure Advantage role after retiring as chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, a brokerage, investment banking and private equity group. He was also a member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, put together by Australian Tim Flannery to align scientists, policy makers and businesspeople to find some sort of global concensus around climate change.

However, unified action on climate change is difficult because domestic politics always come into play, says Morrison. “The reality now is that gaining consensus between the senate, congress and the president in the United States is pretty remote. And if the US is not there then China won’t be there.”

That hasn’t stopped China setting tough targets around energy use in its five year plan, says Morrison. “What individual countries are doing is much more significant and the shift towards low carbon economy trends is being driven by energy requirements, pollution, overall environmental degradation and population concerns.”
Some Kiwis ask why we should set stricter environmental targets if other countries aren’t.

That would be logical if New Zealand wasn’t differentiating itself through the 100% Pure brand, says Morrison. And by looking after our environment and pursuing a low carbon economy, we invest in skills and IP that will be worth plenty in the global market, he says.

Pure Advantage hopes to push its case through reasoned economic debate and advertising campaigns. You may have seen their billboards around the countryside. The group will also lobby politicians and policy makers, says Morrison, because policy levers will often prompt an innovative response from business.

“California in the 1980s and 1990s had some of the toughest envirnmental legislation in the world. Now California has a 25% share of all private investment globally in cleantech. We really do need some clear political thinking around this. New Zealand at present doesn’t have any consistency in terms of strategic direction and it is remarkable how much we underestimate global opportunities.”

From Unlimited Magazine – Inspiring NZ Business. 4th November, 2011.

Media Statement, 26th October 

New Zealand has been accepted as a member of the International Partnership for GeothermalTechnology, announced Science and Innovation Minister Wayne Mapp.

“Geothermal energy is one of our most important renewable energy resources with huge potential for growth,” said Dr Mapp.

“This recognition of our geothermal research programmes will allow our scientists to collaborate with an elite group of researchers in the United States, Australia, Switzerland and Iceland.”

Dr Mapp saw the potential of geothermal technology first hand at the recent Clean Energy Expo at the new Clean Energy Centre in Taupo.

“There I met scientists from our research organisations who are committed to finding new ways to harness New Zealand’s extensive geothermal fields.”

The International Partnership for Geothermal Technology (IPGT) seeks to develop advanced, cost-effective geothermal energy technologies through international research co-operation.

Geothermal electricity generation in New Zealand grew by 21 percent in 2010, and accounted for 13 percent of total electricity generation that year. There is significant potential for this to grow with three large geothermal projects in the pipeline by 2020.

“Innovation and clean energy is a big part of enabling New Zealand to grow the economy,” said Dr Mapp.

“This new international partnership will help keep us at the forefront of technology developments such as enhanced geothermal systems.”

New Zealand will be formally admitted to the IPGT in Melbourne on 16 November.

From the oFFICE of Hon. Dr Wayne Mapp

Minister of Science and Innovation

Photo Gallery here

On the fifth of October, the Liberian flagged MV Rena approached the Port of Tauranga and smashed into the Astrolabe Reef at full steam.

With over 350 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil and 88 containers already making their way into the Bay of Plenty, this has become New Zealand’s biggest coastal clean-up ever.

This is the first major oil spill in our country and passionate Kiwis who love their coast soon made it clear to authorities that they were going to be a part of the clean-up whether they liked it or not. A command centre was set-up in an old supermarket building, with experts from all over the world and our team was called in to assist with deployment of volunteers.

This is the first time ever in the world, that volunteers have been utilised in the shoreline response for an oil spill. With over 6,700 registered and 53 events run so far, these hard-working people have proven their worth in front of an international audience.

Throughout the process the local Iwi have proven to be a real inspiration- their efforts have been a fantastic example of a motivated and cohesive community effort to restore the coastline which is so important for their heritage and culture.

Motiti Island sits only seven kilometres from the stricken Rena. Residents there have been faced with an enormous clean-up task as tonnes of rubbish from containers, all soaked in oil, has coated their precious island.

It came as no surprise to us, to learn that residents have been working every day since the Rena first hit. When locals Adam Desmond and Jay Reeve approached us at a volunteer station wanting to help the people of the island using helicopters, the Iwi were very thankful for the support.

We worked together with the business community and the Iwi and raised over $3,500 in only 3 days, to put together a 30 strong heavy operations crew that went out and relieved the thankful locals for a day.

The immediate support that the project received from many donors showed how quickly communities pull together to help those in need during a time of crisis. Special mention goes to Pure Advantage, Paez New Zealand, Balance Agri-nutrients and Craigs Investment Partners for their generous support.

We awoke Saturday morning to gentle sets rolling in on Papamoa Beach with a typically
colourful east coast sunrise as a backdrop, a welcome relief given the high winds of
the previous evening which had cast some doubt on our ability to fly out at first light to
Motiti, located 21 kilometres north east of Tauranga.

When we landed, the resident Motiti Island whanau were waiting to greet us and the
Rena loomed nearby on the horizon in clear view. We were welcomed onto the marae with a moving pōwhiri and warm hospitality in preparation for the long day ahead.

After a karakia, island representatives led us to selected areas where the huge effort already put in by the residents became clear: there were massive piles of waste that had already been collected by a small team who had been working around the clock which we helped transport to areas for removal. The daunting task ahead also hit home as we saw significant amounts of newly washed-up debris.

The work put in by our crew of volunteers was incredible- we finished ahead of time and managed to clean-up another beach on the island before returning to the marae for a huge feed (always a sign of appreciation) and goodbyes.

Massive thanks to everyone involved in turning this project into reality. It was a special day and the iwi were so thankful for our support that they have invited us back again.

Watch this space to get involved with another mission to Motiti, to help the area most in need get through this disaster. With more oil and debris on the way, the challenge has just begun.

APEV, advised by Soichiro Fukutake one of Japan’s most influential businessmen and now living in New Zealand, is modelled on the Japanese counterpart of the same name (www.apev.jp/en/) , of which Soichiro Fukutake is chairman. APEV Japan has been successful in uniting all facets of the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry under a collaborative umbrella, the goal of which is to accelerate the adoption of EVs.

Duncan Stewart the Campaign Manager for Pure Advantage says the launch of APEV in New Zealand is perfect timing and shows that New Zealand can make a positive contribution to reducing carbon emissions from the use of personal motor vehicles.

“New Zealand has one of the highest ownerships per capita of motor vehicles in the Western World second only to California. We are ideally placed to adopt electric vehicles because 74% of the country’s electricity comes from renewable sources such as hydro, wind and geothermal,” says Stewart.

“New Zealand now has two commercially available all-electric vehicles, Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV and the Nissan LEAF, but globally there are more than sixty EV brands planned or in production.”

Pure Advantage supports the vision of APEV because electric vehicle technology has the potential to develop into a significant new industry, and at the same time improve New Zealand’s environmental performance and preserve the country’s clean green image internationally.

Stewart also says that new businesses would grow up around a New Zealand electric car industry such as companies that would acquire skills in conversion technology, training institutes for mechanics and battery leasing programmes.

“Pure Advantage believes New Zealand could embrace electric car technology because it will ultimately reduce our reliance on increasingly expensive imported oil and develop capabilities which we can export to the world.”

APEV launches today at the NZ Clean Energy Centre in Taupo at 3pm, immediately following a two hour workshop on Electric Vehicles.