He said a lot of businesses felt "overwhelmed by the continuous waves of change and try to resist by sticking to their fixed thinking patterns".
"The question is will Kiwi businesses choose to become surfers, and develop the skills to transform problems into opportunities, or cling to the raft."
Kat McDonald, company sustainability leader at Opus who is a sponsor of the conference, said she was excited to be working with Kortleven to help encourage more creative thinking and innovation within her organisation.
"We really understand the need to push conventional boundaries to design solutions that can address today's challenges whilst also moving us towards a sustainable future," said McDonald.
Michael LeRoy-Dyson , national sustainability manager of Fulton Hogan who is also a sponser of the March event, said he jumped at the opportunity to work with Kortleven.
LeRoy-Dyson said one of the big challenges for his business was to question the way things had been done in the past.
"One of our big goals is to provide the tools and support that enable our managers to tackle this challenge and be a leader in sustainable practice. It's not so much about being green, but building cost effective, smart infrastructure that works and fits with our company's values of doing the right thing," he said.
Other speakers at Fit for the Future include Amanda Sturgeon, the executive director of the International Living Future Institute - a US-based hub for sustainable building initiatives.
Sturgeon was recently named, alongside Hilary Clinton, one of GB&D Magazine's "10 Most Important Women in Sustainablity".
Bob Willard, an internationally recognized leading expert on the value of corporate sustainability strategies, would join the conference by video link.
Fit for the Future takes place in the Sit Paul Reeves Building at AUT on March 19. Tickets an more information were available from fitforthefuture2015.com.
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