Taupo Beef wins supreme award

Rachel Brown, Sustainable Business Network chief executive office

Taupo Beef has taken top honours at the 2015 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards.

The company won the Restorative Impact Award, and went on to take the supreme award from 10 other category winners at a ceremony in Auckland on Tuesday night.

It won high praise for its vision in leading New Zealand beef farming while also protecting Lake Taupo water quality.

Mike and Sue Barton set up Taupo Beef 11 years ago after swapping careers in tertiary education for a farm in Taupo's western bays with a nitrogen cap that severely limited their options. Today Taupo Beef is produced from three farms in the western bays.

The company's sustainable business award is not the first time its efforts have been recognised. Mr Barton, who is a trustee of the Lake Protection Trust and a serving board member, was awarded a Queen's Service Medal last year for services to farming and the environment.

Judges for the NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards said Taupo Beef had successfully converted farming practice to protect the waterways and produce high quality beef that demands a premium price. They said impact of the model had the potential to permanently change New Zealand's farming practices and consumers' purchasing behaviour.

Sustainable Business Network chief executive officer Rachel Brown said Taupo Beef stood out because it had led the way, successfully farming with fewer livestock and also connecting with consumers who would pay a premium for their products. "Told that it wouldn't work, they are instead receiving outstanding reviews for their beef and are demonstrating how New Zealand farmers can change to produce a high-value product while also farming environmentally and sustainably."

Its success has led to Mr Barton being asked to chair a Ministry of Primary Industries, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Ministry for the Environment and Ministry of Conservation group with the express purpose of providing a leadership position on the future of New Zealand's agriculture.

Laminex NZ, whose Taupo manufacturing site was closed for five days earlier this month after being damaged by fire, took the EECA Business Energy Management Award category.