Recent commercial work and reports
New media has brought on an Age of Authenticity.
Players in all sectors must get their story straight if it’s going to penetrate.
Savvy businesses talk openly and authentically about how they intend to improve our world.
NGOs require that same uncompromising clarity and consistency.
My work makes that happen online, in social media and in publications.
Recent commercial work and reports
Consultant copywriter and communication designer
The Sustainable Business Network
Personal development and spirituality have always been intertwined with environmentalism. But the power of that combination remains vastly underestimated. The age old insight that we are the environment has a myriad of implications. This is especially true if you work on environmental issues. We may recognise when our work compromises our well-being.
The Sustainable Business Network is looking to the waters around Auckland. They are both a focus for our activities in the region and a barometer of our success. In New Zealand we have one of the world's most beautiful stretches of water on our biggest city's doorstep. The Hauraki Gulf/Tikapa Moana/Te Moana-nui-a-Toi.
The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) is currently focused on two major national projects. We are working to protect and restore the health of New Zealand's water. We are working to make this nation a world leading low carbon circular economy. Through GulfX in the Auckland region we will be looking to the mauri or life ...
The British singer Frank Turner wrote: "Our history runs down our rivers. Down our rivers to the sea." If so, then what will be our legacy? Currently, intermingled into all our rivers is the saga of more than a century of plastic production. This story has grown louder and louder in recent decades.
Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. This has become a worldwide concern. Here are some basic initial steps your business can take to be part of the solution. The New Year is the perfect time to make this change. A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases emitted ...
Some work days you remember for the rest of your life. Last week Andy Kenworthy and others in the SBN team had the privilege of spending a day at Ōrākei Marae. It was revelatory. Since last year the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) has been working on its GulfX project.
Andy Kenworthy wants to bring you the good news, if only for his own sanity. I am a news junkie. I stockpile news apps like I'm on some kind of current affairs lolly scramble. But there have been times in recent years that even I considered quitting.
Compostable packaging seems a straightforward solution for a world battling plastic pollution. So why do the authorities seem so against it? On 1 July the new law banning single-use handled plastic shopping bags came into force. You may be surprised to see it applies to biodegradable, compostable and "oxy-degradable" plastics bags.
Animated short film. Idea, script and original storyboard by Andy Kenworthy
Conventional disposable coffee cups can't be recycled in New Zealand and cause tonnes of waste. New options are coming through, but how do we handle the transition? The Kiwi love affair with the brown bean has some early heritage. Way back in 1890 David Strang of Invercargill held the world's second patent around the production of instant coffee.
TV and radio coverage greeted the release of a new SBN report on May 10. The first of its kind study in NZ found that Auckland could be billions of dollars better off in 12 years' time with much lower carbon emissions if we have shifted to the circular economy.
Public trust in institutions and the economic system is in crisis worldwide, according to a new report. What business risks and opportunities are emerging from the turbulence? The Edelman Trust Barometer Annual Global Study for 2017 is carried out by Edelman, a global communications marketing firm.
Water quality is an issue all over New Zealand, but Kiwis are not about to stay out of the surf. SBN member DHI Water and Environment has stepped in to help. Ideally we wouldn't need this latest innovation, but New Zealand's national water quality issues means checking the pollution forecast before hitting the beach could become ...
Modern slavery is a global problem that undoubtedly happens in New Zealand. What do business leaders need to know? In September 2016 Faroz Ali became the first person in New Zealand convicted of human trafficking. Ali was jailed for nine years and six months.
The shape of the new government is still undecided. Andy Kenworthy takes a look at a trio of reports from AUT University on the systemic economic challenges it needs to face up to. In 2016 Dr Bill Rosenberg, Policy Director/Economist at New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, said: "New Zealand's problems are in large part ...
Technology alone will not solve the world's problems. But combining technological advancements with circular economy thinking could be our best shot at creating a sustainable industrialised future. There are some wildly different theories on the role of technology in the coming era. Some suggest technology will overcome our global challenges, and may even take over ...
Everyone agrees we need to sort out plastic. But turning declarations and political promises into reality requires system level collaboration. Who can say when we finally fell out of love with plastic? Or rather, the way we use and dispose of it today? Was it the pictures of birds and whales choked full of the ...
Sea creatures living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench are aware of the global plastic crisis, so you should be too. We are not about to give up on plastic. It's too useful. Even in terms of sustainability, there are very good reasons to keep using some plastic for the foreseeable future.
Permaculture is all about resilient and sustainable design. It can inform everything from business start-ups to retirement planning. Auckland Permaculture Workshop is celebrating a decade of bringing its benefits into the region. Permaculture is a holistic design methodology. It is founded on simulating or directly using the patterns of nature.
As an SBN member you can be part of the biggest business transformation since the Industrial Revolution - the circular economy. So what's the plan, and what might life be like if we succeed? Waking up to a circular economy You wake up in the city and reach for your phone.
SBN's work on the circular economy has given New Zealand pioneers global exposure, and is tackling the issue of plastic packaging. Two SBN member companies are currently featured in the worldwide online Disruptive Innovation Festival. The DiF is curated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global leader in circular economy thinking.
The Government's 2019 Well-Being Budget could be the start of a genuine transformation. But much greater and consistent investment in the transition to an equitable low carbon economy is needed. The New Zealand government's shift away from Gross Domestic Product as the main measure of national success makes perfect sense.
Dresden's fresh look at optometry is influenced by circular economy principles. Dresden's Australian founders are Bruce Jeffreys and Jason McDermott. They're both spectacle wearers. They couldn't see why it was necessary for people to pay such high prices and not know how their glasses were made. So they designed Dresden to be more transparent.
Compostable packaging seems a straightforward solution for a world battling plastic pollution. So why do the authorities seem so against it? On 1 July the new law banning single-use handled plastic shopping bags came into force. You may be surprised to see it applies to biodegradable, compostable and "oxy-degradable" plastics bags.
Anyone who's ever been on a building site notices how much gets thrown away. Nearly every project starts with some form of demolition or clearance. There's earth moving, removal of unwanted buildings and infrastructure, as well as discarded fittings and fixtures. Some waste is inevitable. Old materials may break while being deconstructed.
Conventional disposable coffee cups can't be recycled in New Zealand and cause tonnes of waste. New options are coming through, but how do we handle the transition? The Kiwi love affair with the brown bean has some early heritage. Way back in 1890 David Strang of Invercargill held the world's second patent around the production of instant coffee.
The Sustainable Business Network is hosting a business for positive social change event at AUT University in Auckland on 31 May. Workforce and technology trends expert Dominic Thurbon of Karrikins Group (Australia) is one of the key speakers. It's about the connections between purpose and profit.
The $10-per-tonne Waste Levy was created eight years ago to fund waste management innovation and cut landfill. Some say it must increase to be effective. Others claim good progress in the sector amid economic turbulence. The Waste Minimisation Act was a Green Party Private Members' Bill led by MP Nandor Tanczos.
Some of New Zealand's top players in the growing organic food market want us to get a bigger share in the global boom. Spending on organic products in New Zealand now adds up to $217 million a year. About $167 million of that rings through supermarket tills each year, up 127% since 2012.
A growing sector. A recent merger between two of New Zealand's largest organic organisations. Plans for a national legal standard for organic certification within two years. Is the organic sector ready for lift off? It is estimated that $217 million worth of organic produce was bought and sold in New Zealand last year.
Increased charges imposed on solar panel users by a NZ lines company have provoked outcry. It raises important questions about managing the pace of change. It also points to some possible winners and losers in New Zealand's energy transition. This April Hawkes Bay lines company Unison introduced new pricing for solar panel users.
The yearly study finds most Kiwis believe the country is doing badly on key issues. They feel New Zealand is failing to lead on the major challenges we face. The Colmar Brunton Better Futures report has been running since 2009. It takes a nationwide sample of 1,000 people.
Environmental and ethical awareness is growing. If you want the pick of the crop of job applicants, your business needs to go with it. Generation Y is also known as the Millennials. The demographic covers people who reached young adulthood around 2000. They are currently the folks somewhere between 21 and their mid-to-late 30s.
The Smart Transport Forum is coming to Auckland on 21 July. We talk to Colette Campbell, innovation manager for IAG NZ insurance group about what is coming down the road for New Zealand. "Transport is a complex issue," says Colette Campbell.
Andy Kenworthy, the Sustainable Business Network's new communications and campaigns specialist, shares his insights and tips ahead of our annual conference. Watch and read our Q&A. I work in campaigns and communications. The key thing for that is getting the message out to our network of interesting things that are happening with our projects and with the work that we do with our members.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
A major Maori business body is leveraging the expertise of Crown Research Institute Industrial Research Limited to help turbo charge its contribution to New Zealand exports. First formed in 1984, The Federation of Maori Authorities represents more than 130 Maori authorities, with an estimated natural resource asset value of about $8billion.
Understand Halal, or miss out on an enormous business opportunity. According to a recent estimate, 23% of the global population, or 1.57 billion people, are Muslims, with a massive and growing population among our near neighbours in South East Asia. And in the latest New Zealand study, more than 36,000 people identified themselves as Muslim.
It takes lightning reflexes to beat Apple to the punch in the tech business but Guy Horrocks has managed it. Born and bred in Christchurch and still in his late 20s, Horrocks has the claim to fame of co-founding Polar Bear Farm, a world first iPhone development company, well before the App Store and all that goes with it.
Access to the Chinese market, Australia's surprising cultural barriers and Mexico's emerging middle class were all on the agenda when NZTE's regional directors spoke in Auckland recently. Exporting to China has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. Rod Mackenzie, Regional Director for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan provided an update on its effects for exporters.
The New Zealand Herald
By Andy Kenworthy What if our homes provided all their own food, water and energy needs, and when we were done with them we could recycle the whole thing? Welcome to the Cradle-to-Cradle approach to house building, an example of which has just been completed on a discreet site on the west coast of Great Barrier Island in the midst of a regenerating Kauri forest.
By Andy Kenworthy Can we make waste a thing of the past? Every year, New Zealanders toss about 2.5 million tonnes of material in holes carved out of our countryside. That is more than a tonne per household. The majority of this is not reprocessed or recycled, and does not readily biodegrade.
By Andy Kenworthy Most serious commentators now agree that Peak Oil has either already happened or will happen in the next few years. This means oil will become increasingly costly and risky to extract, and the price of a tank of petrol or diesel is on a long-term upward spiral, making the electric alternative increasingly attractive.
By Andy Kenworthy An increasing population and the conservation of the dwindling stocks of our last wild food means one thing: aquaculture is more important than ever. With the business of catching wild fish under pressure from all sides, the world is increasingly looking to aquaculture, the deliberate and controlled farming in water rather than on land.
By Andy Kenworthy The book: Harmony, by HRH Prince of Wales with Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, published in 2010, is the frankest account of the Prince's philosophy to date. It is an uncompromising read. It begins, rather ironically considering the Prince's position, with a call for revolution.
By Andy Kenworthy Primary industry: Stephen Ford is setting out to revolutionise the world's agriculture, from an industrial unit in Pukekohe. That may sound unlikely, but after years of successful field trials Ford and his team at Biotelliga is commercialising a technology with the potential to supersede and replace the world's chemical pesticides, with completely non-toxic alternatives.
The power under the ground - New Zealand Herald
By Andy Kenworthy Clean technology: Cleantech is now very big business. According to a recent report from New Zealand's Pure Advantage business group, $250 billion a year is being invested in clean technology around the world - more than the world invests in fossil-fuel and nuclear power combined.
Business: Since 2005 Mitre 10 has invested more than half a million dollars in the Department of Conservation's (DoC) Takahe Recovery Programme. The company last year signed a fresh - New Zealand Herald
By Andy Kenworthy Cities: The strip of land at the junction between Auckland City and the sparkling Waitemata Harbour is one of the most frequented parts of the country by locals and tourists alike. With the launch of Waterfront Auckland's Sustainable Development Framework it will become the eco benchmark against which other developments can be measured.
By Andy Kenworthy, Adam Gifford Sustainable business: Global business is shifting its focus from profit by exploitation, to prosperity through nurturing people and restoring our natural environment. There's a long way to go, but it is vital we recognise each step we take.
By Andy Kenworthy, James Russell William McDonough is a leading light in creating not just architecture, but entire systems of non-toxic, no-waste production. When William McDonough thinks, he thinks big. Why can't every single material we use to build things be designed for a life beyond its original purpose?
Primary industries: The fact that he had to live beside his crop made eschewing sprays for organic farming a logical decision for avocado farmer Wayne Reed. - New Zealand Herald
By Andy Kenworthy Sustainable business: Planning a career is a risky business these days; in times of rapid technological change and fiscal uncertainty there's no guarantee the career you embarked on will exist as an occupation in the future, or will be so radically different as to be unrecognisable.
By Andy Kenworthy Could seabed mining boost our economy or are we out of our depth? Seabed mining is the business of sucking huge amounts of sand from the sea floor, extracting valuable minerals from it using magnets and filters, and then pumping the remaining sand back down.
Idealog Magazine
Some say the circular economy can reshape our world. The idea is to maximise the lifecycles of all the materials we use, optimise their use and reuse them continuously. No more waste. This would replace our dominant 'take-make-waste' linear model with a circular one. The Chinese have gone a bundle on it in their five-year plans.
George Bernard Shaw wrote: "The single biggest problem in communications is the illusion that it has taken place." This is true whether you are talking to your partner, or trying to sell an idea to millions of people. We communicate through stories. Stories are powerful.
The idea of payment via mobile phone isn't exactly new, but making it a widespread reality is something else. Auckland-based Pushpay has entered the fray, hoping to be the Rebel X-Wing against the jostling Death Stars of some of the biggest businesses on Earth.
Photograph by Mike Heydon How DNA helped turn an IT breakthrough into a consumer hit In this edition: This is part one of the Idealog Guide to Commercialising Ideas. Part two is included with the March-April 2010 issue of Idealog It's easy to consign the work of designers to the end of the innovation process.
This guide helps New Zealanders turn their ideas into world-beating products, businesses and brands. Whether you've got an idea of your own, you're working on other people's ideas or you'd ...
As will be quite clear by now, the emissions scandal engulfing Volkswagen has ramifications - most of them bad - way beyond the German carmaker. Politicians, regulators, other car makers, and others, will all be under the spotlight, after the revelation that Volkswagen installed software on 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide, allowing them to pass America's stringent nitrogen oxide emissions tests.
Air miles? Bah. Branka Simunovich's olives are carbon-positive, thank you, and she has the papers to prove it. Andy Kenworthy visits a very ambitious eco-venture Shortly after entering the Simunovich Olive Estate, about 18 months after emigrating from the UK, my body's internal calendar finally blows up. I thought I'd adjusted reasonably well.
They've been called racist, sexist and homophobic, and you can't deny they're controversial. They're also filthy stinking rich. With so much money in the bank, why do the Business Bakery boys even bother to keep building their empire? Intrepid writer Andy Kenworthy dons his tinfoil hat and takes a trip inside the Business Bakery.
To understand what made high-flying Rob Fyfe jump on board with Icebreaker is to understand what the brand has been quietly gearing itself up to become: a world-class player on par with the likes of the North Face and Marmot, aiming for a billion-dollar turnover within the next 10 years.
The Idealog + NZ Marketing Innovation Guide Last year Idealog published Cash for Ideas-The Idealog Guide to Commercialising Your Ideas. In its pages we brought together an expert panel from six of the top innovation support firms in the country. We enjoyed it so much, and learned so much, that we are doing it again.
The Little Big Things By Tom Peters (HarperCollins, 2010) $40 Buy@Fishpond Tom Peters has one hell of a CV, but has no idea what he does for a living. As a US Navy combat engineer from 1966-1970, he did two tours in Vietnam and one in the Pentagon.
Photograph by Jessie Casson All ideas are welcome at AUT's business incubator In this edition: This is part one of the Idealog Guide to Commercialising Ideas. Part two is included with the March-April 2010 issue of Idealog For most investors, the prospect of some random guy turning up with a 'worldchanging idea' is horrific.
King Salmon turns ideas into action, thanks to Accolade In this edition: This is part one of the Idealog Guide to Commercialising Ideas. Part two is included with the March-April 2010 issue of Idealog We usually associate innovation with the small and nimble: the little fish in a big pond.
Biz whiz Derek Handley reckons sustainability and innovation would make for smashing bedfellows.
Politicians may not be able to pick winners, but perhaps they can incubate them [Funding] In 2006, the Labour government gave a US$8 million five-year interest-free loan to Right Hemisphere, a private enterprise employing only a few dozen people. Eyebrows were quickly raised. "Sounds great," David MacGregor wrote on the Idealog blog.
When people need hard stuff built, tested and trialled, they turn to IRL In this edition: This is part one of the Idealog Guide to Commercialising Ideas. Part two is included with the March-April 2010 issue of Idealog In another life you may have dreamt of building robots or creating a wonder drug.
Food and beverage makes up more than half of our exports and we export four times the amount of food as Japan. And for all the talk about being too reliant on a commodity economy, you have to admit it's too much of a monster to stop now.
Making any startup work is a terrifying balancing act: trying to get investment for your ideas without losing control of them, while constantly risking your financial neck. But that wasn't the case for 3D-visualisation company Nextspace when it was first created back in 2007.
Few industries are so instrumental in shaping our national identity, and few can compel the government to create new employment laws on the hoof. But is the film industry all it's cracked up to be - or is it just cracked?
If you've read part one of this guide you might be thinking, 'I think I'll just get started.' Woah, there.
We're all junkies for fracking - with no conviction to quit.
New Zealand is equipped to be a leader on the global food export market.
Ponoko gets Wired-up to more cutting-edge advice
Photographs by Alistair Guthrie Orion Health is taking an industrial design infusion to give Barack Obama a hand reforming US healthcare. Andy Kenworthy peeks at Orion's master plan Ian McCrae is a former Ernst & Young man and senior business analyst for the London Stock Exchange.
Wetox goes panning for phosphates and comes up with $1 million.
but tech is only part of the problem. As hybrids, electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered cars arrive in showrooms, the biggest barriers to adoption are infrastructure and politics-and both can be solved with some judicious marketing. Idealog meets a New Zealander who is helping US President Barack Obama with his alternative fuels plans, and another laying the groundwork for our fossil-friendly future.
'Sustainable procurement.' Two very dull words that just might make you money. The people controlling multimillion-dollar budgets are demanding to see your eco-credentials before they buy. finds how to get your piece of the pie-and become more efficient at the same time The modern equivalent of a travelling salesman rocks up at North Shore City Council, a folder full of carpets under his arm.
Recession-hit SMEs reduce sustainability Many businesses have reduced their sustainable business practices during the recession-at a time when greater numbers of them are relying on New Zealand's clean green image to make sales. "The recession shook out firms that had sustainability as an 'add-on'.
Stephen Ford is into mushrooms. He's growing tiny fungal spores that kill off pests, boring through their skin and sucking out their insides. It sounds like something out of a science fiction film about to go horribly wrong, but for Ford, it's oh-so-right.
The Kiwi housing stock is a shambles: damp, drafty and usually facing south. Andy Kenworthy examines what it would take to jump-start a green housing revolution New Zealand housing says as much about our world-famous ingenuity as it does about our tough pioneering spirit.
Innovation is pretty much the only thing that can prevent New Zealand from becoming a second-class plantation nation.
Is the government's energy strategy a giant leap backwards? The government's draft New Zealand Energy Strategy aims to make the development of the oil and coal industries our nation's number one priority.
Everything you ever wanted to know about sugar and sustainability but were too afraid (or high on lollies) to ask
Photograph by Alistair Guthrie Kiwi golfer Michael Campbell has nurtured hopes of morphing into a global sports brand ever since he beat Tiger to win the 2005 US Open. It hasn't happened yet. Andy Kenworthy talks to Cambo about what could be the toughest challenge of his career You're a branding expert.
When Simon Wallace was fresh out of Lincoln and expecting to follow his family into dairy farming, his search for the perfect location led him all the way to Brazil. A combination of Kiwi practices, verdant land and cash from clued-up investors like Sam Morgan yields him three times the production he'd get at home.
The Kiwi housing stock is a shambles: damp, drafty and usually facing south. Andy Kenworthy examines what it would take to jump-start a green housing revolution New Zealand housing says as much about our world-famous ingenuity as it does about our tough pioneering spirit.
Interestingly, and perhaps most arguably, he asserts that this idea is directly reflected in the structure of the human brain. For Sinek, this is where 'gut reactions' come from. Since the part of the brain that deals with feelings does not 'do' language, so these feelings cannot be truly expressed or appealed to directly but come from the establishment of trust through a whole host of more subtle triggers.
Unless you work in a business that uses roller desks and cartridge pens, you will have noticed that sustainability is more than just a fad invented by people who knit their own yoghurt. Sustainable business really just means doing business in a way that means you can keep doing it for the foreseeable future.
Photograph by Angie Knox Even companies with great ideas usually don't know how to analyse them. Bill Wilmot makes sure ideas get scrutinised-ruthlessly. Here's how he helps kill bad ideas and give great ideas a tune-up Picture the scene: A high-ranking BBC executive has just been given one minute to pitch an idea to a group of her colleagues, many junior to her.
As a writer I'm often looking for the best contact at an organisation. Because I'm usually looking down the barrel of several deadlines at once, I need to do this fast. This is where the Internet should come in handy. Trouble is, I am never sure where on a website to find the right person.
Making any startup work is a terrifying balancing act: trying to get investment for your ideas without losing control of them, while constantly risking your financial neck. But that wasn't the case for 3D-visualisation company Nextspace when it was first created back in 2007.
Good magazine
Most of us are vaguely aware that cheap things have a cost somewhere else, but we usually don't know enough of the detail to be too bothered. Sometimes people even joke about it: "Made for kids, by kids". Andy Kenworthy goes hunting to see if he can shed some light on what's really happening.
If your watch told you to be healthier, would you listen? Andy Kenworthy wonders if a gadget can change your life. The FitBit Flex costs $160. It measures motion to work out the steps you have taken, how far you have walked and the calories you have burned doing so.
As you watch water gurgle down your sink, shower or tub, you've probably thought about reusing in the garden or to flush the toilet. But beware: environmental health professionals advise caution. Words Andy Kenworthy As you watch water gurgle down the drain from your sink, shower, bathtub or washing machine, you've probably seen the potential...
Looking for a natural alternative to sugar? Here are a few options Words Andy Kenworthy Agave nectar Produced from the agave plant (that's the same one which gives us tequila), this syrup has a caramel flavour sweeter than sugar, so less can be used in cooking.
Eco expert Andy Kenworthy reveals what you need to know before you hit the shops Eco expert Andy Kenworthy reveals what you need to know before you hit the shops Why we love wood Wood can be one of the most eco-friendly materials to build with.
In the face of economic uncertainty, we're increasingly using new social media technology to rediscover the noble art of sharing Every summer weekend my neighbour spends an hour on his $4,000 ride-on lawnmower. Often one of the other neighbours will also be out on a similar machine for a similar amount of time.
Waste happens when we get rid of stuff before it's reached the end point of its usefulness. But surely there's a better way? Waste happens when we get rid of stuff before it's reached the end point of its usefulness. But surely there's a better way?
The Maori did it; early settlers did it. You could say putting grass on our roofs was one of the first things that united our embryonic nation. Now it's back, new and improved. Andy Kenworthy looks at why our roofs are growing green. Plus: How to give your letterbox a green roof Sod was the roofing material...
Filling the school lunchbox with nutritious food can open a box full of questions. Andy Kenworthy offers some helpful tips and suggestions. How do I fill kids up without loading them up with sugar? The easiest way to make kids feel full is with a good helping of protein such as lean meat, chicken, tuna,...
We're told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and the evidence seems to support this. Andy Kenworthy checks out some of the options we're putting in front of our children. Let's get serious about our morning meal. According to a 2005 study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that summarised...
Buying pork raises lots of environmental and ethical questions - which is not something you want to grapple with when you're just after a ham sandwich. Andy Kenworthy surveys the various labels to help you tell the difference between pork and porkies. Imported pork New Zealand imports pork from Canada, the USA, Australia, China, Scandinavia...
What kind of chicken is best to buy - for the birds, and for your health? What's just greenwash? Eco expert Andy Kenworthy reveals what you need to know before you hit the shops. Chicken tonight? A recent Colmar Brunton survey of 1,017 Kiwis found three of the top four choices for the New Zealand...