You probably know Essity more what’s in your house: Purex and Sorbent in your loo and Handee towels in your kitchen. You may also know that this tissue is produced in a mill in Kawerau, central North Island, across the road from the old Tasman Pulp & Paper mill. Perhaps what you didn't know is that by the end of this year, the Essity mill will have ditched gas to run almost all on renewable geothermal steam. This shift will reduce the mill’s carbon footprint by 66% compared to 2009, cutting emissions equivalent to taking over 2,200 cars off the road.

Few businesses have figured out how to make Aotearoa's native bush 'pay'. Helen Paul Smith husband Scott have patiently created a health and beauty brand, Oku, entirely from native extracts and bioactives. Reinvesting the profits into regenerating Ngahere in the Waikato, Oku is an inspirational story of business done right.

In late August the wholesale energy price spiked as high as $1000 mwh (megawatt hour) as the country felt the effects of a dry winter - when the hydro lakes aren’t replenished by ice melt and rain. The spike has added woes to an already woeful economy and at least one factory - Winstone Pulp International - announced closure. In response, the government announced a suite of actions, including construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, a review into the energy market. This comes on top of reversing the ban on oil and gas exploration. Fossil fuels come back all is forgiven!

But do we need to more gas and oil? Could renewables fix the dry winter problem? And just how did we get into this mess? Vincent interviews energy expert Dr Christina Hood and Dr David Hall, a contributor to Rewiring Aotearoa.

If you think you’re forgetful, spare a thought for New Zealand businesses. Mutu, a Kiwi start-up, says they routinely forget assets they bought and never used - up to five million tons of them annually.

Mutu’s resource-sharing app does the remembering for them and adds up the cash and carbon savings they make by using stuff they already own.. 

James Hughes looks into the future and tells New Zealand’s councils just how bad life could get as a result of climate change. James, technical director for climate and resilience for engineering consultancy Tonkin + Taylor, performs climate risk assessments. You could call it staring into the abyss; he tells Ross Inglis it’s often the starting point for difficult conversations about the impacts of global warming.

Solar developer Rānui Generation started ground works the Twin Rivers Solar Farm, near Kaitaia. The 31MWp project could power 6,000 households or 25,000 electric vehicles for a year - and it’s the first of four solar farms planned around the country. To talk about the project and what role solar will play in our energy future, Vincent was joined by the CEO Jason Foden.

Media release

RanuiGeneration

Electrification report

You might know Steven Moe as a lawyer for Christchurch based Parry Field, specialising in charities and the impact sector; or as the chair of Community Finance - an investor in community housing; or as the host of Seeds, a longstanding weekly podcast; or as the author of The Apple Tree, or as a mentor for Christchurch incubator Ministry of Awesome or a quietly spoken father and friend. However you know him, Steven's seems to crop up everywhere there are sustainable causes or purpose-led businesses. Vincent chats to a quiet revolutionary at work.

 Apple Tree Book https://theseeds.nz/books/the-apple-tree/

 Seeds Podcast www.theseeds.nz

 Legal opinion on impact investing https://www.parryfield.com/impact-investing-information-hub/

What does ‘nature’ mean for business? How do companies incorporate nature dependency and nature opportunity into their strategy and action? And what is TNFD? Vincent was joined by two experts: Sam Rowland, the Programme Manager for Nature at the Sustainable Business Network and Kirsty Brennan, the Environmental and Sustainability Business Partner at the Lyttleton Port Company.

Could congestion pricing be the way to address traffic gridlock and reduce emissions? Auckland Council seems to think so, suggesting congestion pricing within the next two years. If so, how will it work? Mark Heine is the CEO of eRoad, the Kiwi company managing electronic road user charges, or eRUCs. He sees a promising future for transport management using eRUC and shifting funds from roads to alternatives.

When it comes to aviation emissions, New Zealand is far from clean and green. Economist Dr Paul Callister tells Ross Inglis that we are the world’s sixth highest per-capita aviation polluter, emissions are tracking the wrong way, and the sector’s plans to cut emissions offer little real hope.