The last thing New Zealand businesses want is to be unprepared for a sustainable economy when government regulations finally force the issue, says Ecostore co-founder Malcolm Rands.
Rands, a keynote speaker at the University of Auckland Business School's inaugural Sustainability Week - a collection of events being held this week to spark action on sustainability - has built a multi-million dollar global business, starting with a highly successful range of eco-friendly household cleaning products.
A strong advocate of sustainability and business's role in implementing it, Rands says most companies are not doing enough.
That's in spite of the fact he says many of the planet's fastest-growing businesses are authentic and open about their greenness - treating stakeholders as win/win partners, investing in the communities they operate in, and understanding consumers' growing drive for sustainable solutions.
Rands still spends much of his time in the permaculture village in Northland that spawned his eco-friendly range of products now sold in Australia, Asia and the US. However, when invested with the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours, he noted his products made up only 6 per cent of the market in New Zealand supermarkets.
There is still a general perception that eco-friendly products are expensive and less effective, he says, and many businesses - though well aware of the advantages of sustainability - were simply not doing enough.
"While it's great to be noble and great to work in businesses people believe in and it's great for the world - the bottom line is that, in the end, only sustainable businesses will be left standing."
The Carbon Trust report last year spelled out the business imperative. Climate change unchecked could cost the world 20 per cent of global GDP each year by 2050. The World Bank has estimated the cost of adapting to a warmer world as US$70bn-$100bn annually from 2010-2050.
"Those are significant figures - and it is only a matter of time before some form of government regulation arrives," he says. "I don't like to get into the political side of things but, unfortunately, I think we have a government designed for the 20th century - the only problem being we are in the 21st century.
"Only business can bring together the productive capacity, technical capability and financial muscle to build a sustainable low carbon economy. Businesses also know the power of the consumer is driving demand for sustainable products; each time such a product is bought, it is a vote for the kind of world that consumer wants to see."
However, while some businesses are adapting to the growing drive for sustainable goods and economies, most are not.
"If a business is not becoming sustainable, they are simply handing their competitors - who are doing so - a huge advantage. The worst thing that could happen to them is for legislation to come along and affect businesses not prepared; they will instantly be unprofitable.
"Becoming sustainable is a way of future-proofing longevity and financial health - never mind just doing the right thing."
To accelerate matters, Rands believes a form of carbon tax is required and a massive education campaign from the government.
"All you have to do is look at the reduced number of smokers in New Zealand," he says. "It is a classic example of how, if you tax bad behaviour, people will change that behaviour."
Drink-drive was another example, though "shaming" transgressors acted instead of a tax - but pollution could sometimes reward others as opposed to those taking positive steps.
"Take an example from our own industry - household cleaners. Because we have removed harmful elements from our products, city councils do not have to spend on specific action to take those elements out of the water before they return it to the environment.
"But our competitors' products do - so really the ratepayer is subsidising those products. That's the sort of thing we should be moving on."
# Malcolm Rands will share sustainability stories from his book "Ecoman" as part of Sustainability Week (April 4-8). Phillip Mills, CEO of Les Mills International and founder of Pure Advantage will talk about a safe climate future; Air New Zealand's Captain David Morgan will talk about sustainable transport and Chris Morrison, co-founder of All-Good Organics, will talk about pioneering sustainable business.
For more information and to register, visit the University of Auckland Business School website.