Business award programmes 'not sustainable anymore'

Bay of Plenty businesses attending the launch of the Sustainable Business Challenge in Tauranga have been told told that one-off business awards are no longer sustainable.

According to Sustainable Business Network (SBN) manager Calum Revfem, businesses are losing interest in traditional business awards. "There are too many business award events in the Bay, they're attracting very small numbers of entries and they are one-off events that lose value or meaning within 12 months. Something needs to change."

In his presentation he explained how the Sustainable Business Challenge is different to any other business awards programme. After entering for the first time, businesses are benchmarked and set sustainable business challenges to achieve in the following 12 months.

Alan Bougen, Comvita Director and SBN Chairman, emphasised the need for Bay of Plenty businesses to take a serious look at their economic, social and environmental sustainability.

"We are starting to realise that there's more to business than just the economic bottom line – becoming a sustainable business is a journey, not an end point. The Sustainable Business Challenge provides a straight forward opportunity for businesses to start making progress."

The awards are supported by Environment Bay of Plenty, the major sponsor, as well as Tauranga City Council, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Destination Rotorua District Council and Trust Power.