New Zealand businesses want the government to show greater leadership around carbon, waste and water issues, a University of Waikato study has found.

The report’s co-authors, Associate Professor Eva Collins and Professor Juliet Roper from the University’s Waikato Management School, say the findings are important for the government as it prepares for climate change talks in Paris later this year.

The report shows many businesses are reluctant to invest more in sustainability initiatives until the government steps in to provide long-term regulatory certainty and level the playing field and lack of government leadership has seen companies stop measuring their carbon footprint or put their carbon strategies on hold.

The full survey results are available online at http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/sustainabilityreport/2014sustainabliltyreport.pdf