The Sustainable Business Council says today’s Building Natural Resources report is a critical part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda.

Sustainable Business Council Executive Director Penny Nelson says the vast number of businesses leveraging off New Zealand’s natural resource base makes it imperative that all business becomes greener, rather than a select few.

“The quest for a more sustainable economy comes down to decisions about resource use made every day by businesses all over New Zealand.

“Businesses that are members of the Sustainable Business Council are keen to work in partnership with communities and local and central government on initiatives identified in the Building Natural Resources report.

“Developing indicators to measure our progress in greening economic growth, supporting the growth in capability of individual businesses, and scaling up resource efficiency in business are among the many avenues to greener growth.

 “Getting a large scale increase in export growth while steadily improving the quality of our environment is the goal ahead of us.

 “That goal is hampered by the often polarised debate around the use of natural resources. Better dialogue among businesses and communities leading to decisive, responsible development of our resources will help bring the goal to reality,” Ms Nelson said.