Vincent attended the Sustainability Business Live conference in Melbourne recently and met an impressive array of experts and entrepreneurs from Australia and New Zealand - all chasing what one speaker called the triumph of the transition. In the next few episodes we'll meet some of these transition trumpeters. First up, Ben Symons, a senior natural capital advisor with Climate Friendly, one of Australia's leading carbon and biodiversity consultancies.

https://www.climatefriendly.com/

Biodiversity credits remain somewhat the holy grail in conservation. Imagine being paid to manage nature - not for farming or mining or fishing - but simply for being, nature. Yet like the holy grail, the promise outshines the reality. Carbon credits have struggled to meet expectations. Various attempts like He Waka Eke Noa and the ETS have failed to link markets to nature.

But a new report by the BNZ, Deloitte and The Nature Conservancy predicts a brighter future. ‘Connecting Nature, Climate’ and Capital says demand for high-integrity nature-based carbon credits is strong and growing – with carbon markets projected to grow from NZ$2.5bn today to up to NZ$35.5bn by 2030 - and that New Zealand is uniquely positioned to capitalise.

Well to explain that outrageous optimism Vincent was joined by authors Louise Aitken of Deloitte and Erik van Eyndhoven of the Nature Conservancy.

The report can be found here.

Jack Bobo is a food futurist and keynote speaker at E Tipu New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit. He argues the food system’s hardest problem after climate is social. We all disagree about what food is, how it should be grown and how it should be distributed. It doesn’t have to be this way. In a wide-ranging conversation, Vincent asks Jack to reflect on the future of food to 2100.

Jack Bobo is the author of ‘Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices’ and is Executive Director of the Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies at UCLA in the United States. He is speaking at the E Tipu New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit in Christchurch in May 2026.

Sustainable transport advocate Kirsten Corson tells Ross Inglis that the war on Iran both exposes our dependence on imported oils and offers an opportunity to move away from them.

Wondering how well we are doing with cutting emissions? London-based climate communicator John Lang runs the ruler over NZ's performance and offers Ross Inglis a take on the maturity of the climate debate here, why institutions matter more when governments duck their climate responsibilities, and quick answers to three top climate whataboutisms.

The outgoing chair of major NZ insurer Tower says climate change is costing lives and money but there are bigger fish to fry before we cut emissions. Ross Inglis asks him to explain.

 What does October's energy policy announcement mean for the future of NZ's electricity market and the climate? Law professor Barry Barton steps Ross Inglis through a package big on fossil fuels and very quiet about renewables. 

Earlier this year New Zealand's first and largest big storage battery began selling into the grid; there are signs that it is already softening prices. So, are we on the cusp of a low-emissions electricity transformation? Climate and energy modeller Dr Jen Purdie tells Ross Inglis that we are...to a point.

Every year the fashion industry produces over 24 billion shoes made largely of synthetics, with little regard for the materials sourced, the wellbeing of the people involved or impact after disposal. Orba shoes are different. Designed in NZ, made from entirely natural materials every part of every shoe Orba makes for the next 100 years will be gone before any synthetic sneakers discarded yesterday.

Orba is also included in this year’s Next List - the definitive list of the most sustainable products and businesses as judged by the Sustainable Business Network.

Vincent was joined by Gillian Boucher, sustainability manager, and Scott Anderson operations manager.

https://orbashoes.eco/

Auckland builder Paul Webster-Young is turning a new home for his sister into a case study for construction that sends less waste to landfill and costs less over time. The key, he tells Ross Inglis, is careful selection of materials and a new kind of collaboration with architects.