Cleaner production in New Zealand: taking stock

Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728 www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Cleaner production in New Zealand: taking stock Greg Brown a, Lesley Stone b,* b

a Eco$ense Ltd, New Zealand Sustainability Uptake Research Group Limited, and University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Accepted 21 June 2006 Available online 9 November 2006

Abstract New Zealand has seen a significant change in attitude and behaviour toward sustainable business practices since the late 1980s when the introduction of cleaner production marked the beginning of a change in the way the relationship between business and the environment was perceived. The context of this change is important. New Zealand is unique in terms of its relative geographic isolation and as a consequence human settlers encountered a unique ecosystem, dominated by avian species and without mammalian predators. Subsequent anthropogenic activity has seriously impacted New Zealand’s biodiversity and sustainability is seen by many as a way of restoring, or at least conserving the remnant of that unique ecosystem. The country’s natural environment and resources, the shape of business and the health of the economy all colour the way and rate at which sustainability is adopted. This paper charts that change and provides a perspective on relevant policy, research and intervention initiatives over the last 15 years or so and discusses the challenges that face New Zealand in a global market. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: New Zealand; Cleaner production; Sustainable business practices; Biodiversity; Global markets; Sustainable societies

1. Introduction The receptivity of a society to new ideas and the subsequent rate of change away from the status quo are related to context. To understand what motivates, or what may motivate, change has been the subject of much research, and context is vital to our understanding of how change toward sustainability occurs. It is true that while to many a more rapid and revolutionary change to a sustainable society would be desirable, that a change is occurring at all is important. Our focus must be on how to nurture and encourage, and if we can, accelerate the rate of that change. This paper attempts to establish a context for, and provide an overview of what is occurring in New Zealand (NZ) with regard to aspects of business sustainability. In this paper, sustainability should be understood as ‘strong’ sustainability, meaning that each of the ecological, economic

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ64 9 974 3201; fax: þ64 9 372 8608. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Stone). 0959-6526/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.06.025

and social aspects must be maintained in good condition both individually and as a whole. The context is complex and there are probably as many ways to characterise it as there are perspectives. However, this paper focuses only on the two aspects of context that the authors believe are the most significant in terms of the sustainable business change process in NZ. The first relates to the broader society/environment interface that sets NZ apart and has underlying implications for business. It is beyond the scope of this paper to go into significant detail in this regard, but it is touched upon briefly in Section 2 to provide insight into the unique imperatives of sustainability within NZ. The second is the more traditional (and more universally acknowledged) business context discussed in Section 3, within which sustainability is promoted: economic imperatives and business demographics. Section 4 reviews a range of sustainability initiatives and discusses the strengths, weaknesses and lessons learned from our ‘sustainable’ business history. While the paper gives more prominence to cleaner production, as a business

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728

approach it represents but one of many initiatives seeking to move NZ businesses toward sustainability. Section 5 considers more recent government responses and the implications they have for future direction and progress toward business sustainability within NZ.

2. The society/environment interface Two key features of the broader society/environment interface that make NZ unique are its ecological legacy and its indigenous Maori people. NZ’s relative geographic isolation meant that human settlers encountered a unique ecosystem, dominated by avian species. In the absence of any mammalian predators, a significant number of the bird species were flightless. Together with accompanying mammals, human arrival has had a rapid and devastating impact on NZ’s biodiversity. While biodiversity losses had already begun by the time of colonisation, the rate of habitat destruction and devastation increased significantly with the arrival of European settlers. Agriculture has, since early colonial days, formed the backbone of the New Zealand economy. Together farm production and post-farm manufacturing and processing contributes 17% of New Zealand’s GDP and utilises close to half of New Zealand’s total land area [1]. Much of the development and early success of New Zealand’s agricultural sector is due to the fertile soil produced by once abundant and ecologically rich lowland floodplain forests. As observed by Park (1995), the fenced boundaries between native bush remnants and surrounding pastoral land are a place where ‘‘we can comprehend what happens ecologically when humans decide to channel a whole ecosystem’s productive energy into themselves’’ [2]. That the natural fertility has been substantially mined to exhaustion is evidenced by the increasing use of chemical fertilisers to support the pastoral farming characteristic of New Zealand agriculture. The bulk of these fertilisers are from non-renewable resources, such as the petroleum based urea nitrogen supplements and phosphate rock derived products. ‘‘It is commonly recognised that the high quality reserves [of phosphate] are being depleted expeditiously and that the prevailing management of phosphate, a finite non-renewable source, is not fully in accord with the principles of sustainability’’ [3]. While an extensive grassland system providing natural sources of nitrogen through nitrogen fixing legumes (clover) has served New Zealand well, more intensive practises are evidenced by the increasing reliance on external feed inputs, in addition to increasing fertiliser application [1]. However, New Zealanders are in general aware of this rich ecological heritage and appear to share a view that NZ is relatively unspoiled, when contrasted with older and more heavily developed western economies. The absence of a core of heavy industry, a low population density and its isolation mean that there is value placed on NZ’s ‘clean green’ image, certainly as a tradable brand, but also as a lifestyle quality. The threat to biodiversity is viewed as one of New Zealand’s most critical environmental challenges [4] and this concern underpins a strong conservation ethic.

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Evidence of the importance of the environment/society interface in NZ can be found in the Resource Management Act (RMA), which provides the primary legislative framework for controlling the environmental effects of development activities within the country. Enacted in 1991, and currently under review, the RMA replaced a plethora of environment-related laws (although there is now also separate legislation covering specific areas such as hazardous substances and new organisms, biosecurity, greenhouse gases, ozone protection and energy efficiency). The NZ Ministry for the Environment acknowledges that the RMA is ‘‘the most devolved system of environmental legislation in the world’’, with the responsibility for granting resource consents distributed around 86 local government entities grouped within 14 regions [5]. With a core purpose of promoting the sustainable management of NZ’s natural and physical resources, the legislation has driven considerable change and improvement since 1991. One criticism, and perhaps with unforeseen outcomes, has been the environmental effects based emphasis of the legislation. In the absence of national environmental standards one result has been a wide variation in interpretation and subsequent inconsistency of implementation between regions. Recent initiatives have sought to remove this variation with the gradual introduction of mandatory national standards. Another related outcome of the effects based approach has been a preference, by applicants, for end-of-pipe solutions to mitigate environmental effects, rather than preventative measures. Although preventative measures are not excluded, the lack of a purpose-built directive has resulted in more familiar and traditional methods being selected. This limitation was highlighted in a 1998 review of the RMA [6]. In addition to the regulatory requirements that it places on business development, the RMA also draws attention to two key features that differentiate New Zealand’s sustainable business context from that of other countries. The first is the significance that is assigned to the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand, and the second is the fundamental principle of public participation in decision-making. The European settlement of New Zealand, in common with the colonial experience elsewhere, involved a degree of oppression and subjugation of pre-European Maori inhabitants. The ‘Crown’s’1 agreement with Maori in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi, has had a revived impact on the social landscape since the latter part of the 20th century, with the partial return of confiscated land and financial settlement of historic grievances perpetrated by the Crown. An important part of this changed social climate is the institutional eminence that is given to Maori culture and concepts. Under the RMA, individuals and organisations wishing to undertake new activities or to change significantly the resource-related aspects of existing ones are required to consult with Maori. While this 1

The term ‘Crown’ was originally used in reference to the British sovereign, the other party to the agreement, known as the Treaty of Waitangi. Although British sovereigns now play only a constitutional role in New Zealand’s government, the term has stuck and tends to be used in reference to the government.

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requirement is only discretionary for other members of the public, it has resulted in a culture of consultation and a defacto requirement that members of the public be consulted with and incorporated into decision-making. What this means for businesses is that they not only expect to involve Maori and members of the broader public in decision-making regarding their activities, but that in doing so they are frequently exposed to broader sustainability-related concepts. An important example is the concept of guardianship (kaitiakitanga), which is recognised by the RMA and generally refers to the stewarding of natural resources on behalf of ancestors and for current and future generations. This concept is consistent with inter-generational equity, inherent in the original definition of sustainable development as mooted in the Brundtland Report [7], but frequently ignored. The New Zealand cultural context, therefore, demands at least in principle that businesses extend the focus of their programmes beyond sustainable resource use and management to also include guardianship or responsibility for the stewardship of those resources. While this is by no means a mainstream interpretation and it is not yet evident as an outcome for the majority of business initiatives, it has already been identified as an important means whereby to test their effectiveness (see [8]). Public expectations and case law support public involvement to such a degree that many businesses have come to recognise the importance and value of engaging with stakeholders in a pre-emptive way. 3. Business-specific context 3.1. Economic imperatives New Zealand has seen a radical reform of its economy over the last 20 years, with a rash of privatisation and the removal of a majority of the market subsidies through the 1980s and 1990s. The rapid introduction of a market economy for a small trading nation removed geographically from most of it markets has not been without impact. As a result of the economic reforms of the 1980s, including major changes to the social welfare system, income inequality rose rapidly over the period 1988e1991, and following a brief respite until 1994, has been steadily rising since. The relatively larger rise in income of the top 20% has been the main contribution to the increasing inequality, although exacerbated by global recession and increased unemployment in the late 1980s [9]. The increasing inequality has implications for business sustainability when engaging with operational staff, where economic benefits are perceived to be unevenly allocated and environmental benefits not well understood. The success of New Zealand’s economy is dependent on competing successfully in the global market place. The importance of agricultural or food related exports is illustrated in Fig. 1, and this lends support to the need to maintain a clean-green marketing edge. Economic growth continues to be a pre-eminent goal. Growth of course carries with it the baggage of increasing resource consumption and waste. In 2002 the New Zealand

Optical/medical 1%

Meat 18%

Other 18%

Plastic 1%

Textiles 2%

Iron and steel 2%

Petroleum 1%

Other food products 7%

Dairy 20% Wool 2%

Fruit and nuts 4% Aluminium 3%

Fish 4%

Machinery & equipment 8%

Forest products 9%

Fig. 1. Overseas merchandise trade [45].

economy, as measured on a per capita GDP basis, ranked 21 out of 30 OECD member countries. A stated objective of the current government is to move New Zealand into the top half of the OECD countries on a per capita GDP basis. As at 2002, this target required over a 60% increase in GDP per capita [10]. While New Zealand has yet to adopt an alternate metric to GDP for monitoring economic activity, economic growth is now framed within the context of sustainable development. Within the context of the economic objective the government has stated [11], ‘‘Implicit in the quality of the growth we are seeking will be integration of the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development. Sustaining a high quality environment, managing the risks to it and implementing efficient resource use policies underpin our competitive advantages as a nation. Managing the environmental pressures from economic growth, while continuing to satisfy human needs will require an integrated effort. [.] Sustainability will be paramount’’. Without significant decoupling from resource use, demands on energy supply, material resources and the environment, the economic growth target presents significant infrastructural and social challenges. By government setting this economic growth target in the context of sustainable development however, there is now an implicit expectation that the New Zealand society will off-set potential resource or environmental degradation by improved utilisation of resources and protection of the receiving environment. There is as yet little evidence of any significant decoupling on a national level. Although some individual regions have demonstrated what is possible (see Fig. 6b), national energy statistics for example have shown decreasing intensity on a per GDP basis (see Fig. 2). 3.2. Business demographics As discussed above, the agricultural sector is important to New Zealand’s economy and together with other primary

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728 120,000

800 100,000 700 600

80,000

500 60,000 400 300

40,000

200

Real GDP, NZD million

Primary energy consumption, PJ

900

20,000 100 0

0

1974

1979

1984

1989

1994

1999

Year Primary energy

Real GDP, NZD million

719

Similar to most economies, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the dominant size of business. SMEs are defined in a New Zealand context as businesses employing less than 20 personnel, and as such represent 96.8% of identified business enterprises and employ 43% of the total full time equivalent workforce [12]. Fig. 3 illustrates the employment pattern in the New Zealand economy in relation to business size (excluding agricultural production). Using value added as an indicator of contribution to GDP, Fig. 4a illustrates the relative contributions to the economy by different sized businesses. SMEs (less than 20 FTE) contribute an estimated 36% of the value added to the economy. Expressing productivity in terms of added value per FTE employee, Fig. 4b illustrates the productivity by business size.

Fig. 2. Primary energy use and real GDP [46,47].

4. Sustainable business initiatives in NZ

Table 1 Distribution of enterprises and employment across business categories [12] Business category (ANZSIC)a

Proportion of employment (%)

Proportion of enterprises (%)

Agriculture, forestry and fishing Mining Manufacturing Electricity, gas and water supply Construction Wholesale trade Retail trade Accommodation, cafes and restaurants Transport and storage Communication services Finance and insurance Property and business services Government administration and defence Education Health and community services Cultural and recreational services Personal and other services

2.3 0.2 16.7 0.4 7.7 6.6 12.5 4.8

4.1 0.1 7.1 0.1 12.2 5.5 11.4 3.6

4.5 1.8 3.1 13.3 4.4

3.6 1.1 3.8 33.2 0.1

7.0 8.8 2.4 3.6

2.1 4.4 3.5 4.1

a

Australia New Zealand Standard Industry Codes.

4.1. Background Cleaner production was introduced into New Zealand in the late 1980s. Initially the subject of advocacy by international and local environmental groups, it was incorporated into the Auckland Region’s Trade Waste By-law in 1991, the result of a consultative process involving NGOs, 200 plus industry representative groups and local council officers. It was also the subject of a 14-port nationwide tour by Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior II in early 1992. These early initiatives together with the introduction of the concept at a central government level provided fuel for nationwide involvement by waste management professionals in the publication in 1992 of a document titled ‘Our Waste: Our Responsibility’ by the Centre for Advanced Engineering (a not-for-profit trust) [13]. Widely circulated within New Zealand, perhaps its most significant feature was interest sparked amongst the broad range of professionals from the waste management industry who had been asked to contribute to the publication. An early flush of interest in the document’s publication culminated in attempts to establish a cleaner production foundation, which was unsuccessful due to a lack of industry interest or support at that time. Following publication of the CAE document, the NZ Ministry for the Environment (MfE) allocated resources to cleaner production in the early 1990s, publishing a number of case 400000 350000

Employment, FTE

industries (such as forestry and fish) comprises over 50% of exports traded by New Zealand on the world market. Issues regarding sustainability are of course not limited to agricultural practises. All economies develop some measure of diversity both to support existing industries and as sectors in their own right. There are approximately 365,000 identifiable business enterprises in New Zealand, including some 70,000 agricultural production units. Of the remaining 295,000 enterprises (less the farms), only 4% are directly related to the agricultural sector, although a proportion of the remainder will undoubtedly be providing services to the agricultural sector. These 295,000 enterprises provide full time equivalent employment for a little over 1.5 million people, or about 38% of New Zealand’s population. The distribution of business enterprises in New Zealand by category and by employment is summarised in Table 1 [12].

300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 1-5

6-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-499

Business size (full time equivalent)

Fig. 3. Distribution of employment by business size [12].

500+

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728

720

$8,000,000

a

$7,000,000

$16,000 $14,000

Project funding, NZD

Added value, NZ$ million

$18,000

$12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $0 1-5

6-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-499

500+

Business size (full time equivalent)

$6,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $0 1994

b

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Year project approved

Added value/FTE, NZD/FTE

$90,000 Maintaining and restoring biodiversity Legislation training Influencing attitudes and behaviour Economic instruments EMS & Sustainable Communities

$80,000 $70,000 $60,000

Monitoring Waste management & cleaner production Contaminated sites Sustainable land management Kaitiakitanga

$50,000

Fig. 5. Funding of environmental projects by output category [15].

$40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0 1-5

6-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-499

500+

Business size (full time equivalent)

Fig. 4. (a) Added value by business size [12]. (b) Added value per FTE by business size [12].

studies in 1993 in an effort to raise awareness amongst industry [14]. While direct allocation of staff to support and promote cleaner production by the Ministry ceased not long thereafter, this role was effectively transferred to a contestable ‘Sustainable Management Fund’ (SMF) established in 1994. Over the period 1994 to 2003, 26 projects actively promoting cleaner production attracted funding totalling NZD2.4 million, with an additional eight projects focussed specifically on solid waste recycling receiving NZD 0.73 million. The cleaner production projects attracted 6.2% of the total funding pool over the 1994e2003 period (see [15]). As the major funding source for cleaner production projects, the level of funding and number of projects provides a useful indicator of cleaner production activity in New Zealand. These indicators are summarised in Fig. 5. While Fig. 5 indicates a fall-off in funding of cleaner production orientated projects (waste management and cleaner production category) by the SMF mechanism, this has been to some extent mitigated by increased funding by local government. In addition there has been a broadening of the understanding and the consequential implementation of aspects of sustainability within business. In 2000 for example, a dedicated fund was established to address sustainable farming issues and since 2000 has allocated NZD33 million to 265 individual projects [16]. The SMF fund was reframed in 2004 to emphasise community interaction, requiring business intervention programmes for example to be undertaken within the context of a broader community outcomes. In addition, an increasing proportion of the public good science funding is

being specifically directed at issues surrounding sustainable resource use (10% of total funding, or NZD60 million over 2003e2005) [17]. The broadening interest in sustainability within government has resulted in the development of a sustainable industries group focussed specifically on developing initiatives with industry. Some specific initiatives are discussed in following sections. The market economy that developed in New Zealand from the mid-1980s forward has resulted in a light handed approach to legislative measures. There is no equivalent of the UK Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control legislation in NZ. Neither is there a raft of EU directives providing an impetus for change. Certainly within the MfE, for example, there has been an identifiable preference for voluntary measures. ‘‘If done well, industry self-management is more effective in achieving positive environmental outcomes than relying only on a rule-based regime imposed by regulatory agencies’’ [18]. Although a truism, the debate continues to revolve around the size, scope and difficulties addressing the ‘If’. As a consequence of a distributed land based agricultural industry and low population density, the visible impact of human activity on the environment has not been as evident as in the more industrialised and heavily populated nations. Whereas the European Union has moved in recent years to adopt a stringent environmental legislative framework to control and mitigate past (particularly relevant since German reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union) and present environmental damage, New Zealand business operates within a less demanding environmental regimen. While the effects of industrial activity are controlled via resource management legislation, there is no requirement to adopt a preventive approach, other than those that exist in the market. With full participation and buy-in voluntary measures, if wholeheartedly adopted, would undoubtedly secure desired results. However, the journey is necessarily slow, as

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728

market signals are not strong [enough], and arguably lag behind the physical needs of the environment. 4.2. Review of key initiatives: successes and shortcomings It is important to the future development of cleaner production and other aspects of sustainability in New Zealand that practitioners and policy makers alike continue to look back and learn from on-going experiences. There has been an increasing range of activities focused on aspects of sustainability, and evaluating and reviewing progress is essential to enhancing future understanding and progress. While inadequate resources have precluded evaluation in all too many cases, where there has been opportunity, the learning has been invaluable. 4.2.1. Community-based NGO initiatives The move toward a more responsible approach to managing waste in the early 1990s heralded the first cleaner production orientated activity. The promotion and adoption of a waste hierarchy, as one aspect of sustainability, by government has yielded significant downstream effects. Alongside and in part catalysed by government sponsored projects there has been a proliferation since the mid-1990s of NGOs focussing on different aspects of the waste hierarchy (although to some degree this has been retrogressive, with community based NGOs having largely focussed on the recycling of solid waste). The introduction of legislation enforcing stricter landfill management requirements resulted in a rationalisation of landfills and increasing pressure to extend the lifetime of those remaining. The number of operating landfills was reduced from 327 in 1995 to 115 in 2002 and is expected to reduce further to 43 by 2010 [19]. In addition, legislation requiring local governments to incorporate the waste hierarchy into their waste management planning was introduced in 1996 (Local Government Act Amendment no. 4, 1996). As a consequence there has been a significant increase in the volume of solid material being recycled from both businesses and domestic dwellings. A large proportion of the recycled material is shipped overseas for reprocessing, with the relatively small volumes in New Zealand limiting opportunities for private processing initiatives. Recent research evaluating the effectiveness of community NGOs [20] found that while largely successful in increasing recycling of solid materials, in general neither the organisations themselves nor their community sponsors were taking responsibility for addressing other aspects of the hierarchy, specifically prevention, reduction and reuse. While the research recognised that individual organisations may be more effective concentrating in specific areas (such as solid waste recycling), one of the key recommendations drawn from the research was the need to integrate a range of activities that work together to achieve a broader goal. While the efforts of these many organisations must be applauded, it is regrettable that their efforts have not been

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replicated to the same extent by initiatives focussing on the prevention and reduction of these wastes in the first place. (In mitigation, it is worth noting that research has found that economic pressures play a significant role in effectively forcing community groups to place more emphasis on income generating activities such as recycling [20].) The focus on recycling also highlights another issue. Many businesses have, following some form of intervention, proceeded to implement solid waste recycling and local government and NGO initiatives have generally been quite successful in this regard. While of itself not a problem, the apparent failure of these same businesses to progress to implementing preventative measures is a concern. There is a sense that these businesses believe they are doing all they candor at least all they were asked. A manager responsible for waste minimisation within a large corporate commented that an initial focus on recycling within their business may have limited progress toward other areas of improvement, as staff came to think that waste minimisation2 was only about diverting waste from the landfill [21]. The community group study also highlighted a more critical issue. Efficient local government infrastructure has for most in society generated the unconscious view that waste is somebody else’s problem. Whether the disposal of the waste is sustainable has only recently come into question, but historically the pipe or the rubbish truck just take it awaydsomewhere else. Ultimately, within both business and society as a whole, the primary objective for any programme is to affect sufficient social change that individuals, businesses and corporations take responsibility for their waste [20]. 4.2.2. Integrated business programmes In addition to the numerous NGO-based community recycling initiatives there are also examples of more integrated programmes that have the objective of improving the resource efficiency of both business and residential communities. Integrated programmes provide an opportunity for observing programme change and development that occur in response to perceived successes or a lack thereof. One notable example is a local government sponsored programme that has operated in Christchurch since 1997 that incorporates a business intervention programme and a complementary Recovered Materials Foundation to process and recycle a range of solid materials, whether from kerb-side or business collections. The Foundation was established in 1997 in response to issues resulting from the collapse of markets for plastic, paper and glass recovered by the Council in previous years and was established with the aim of developing sustainable end uses for materials recovered from the waste stream. The original 12 businesses involved in the Christchurch business programme were supported by a central government grant and the outcomes and learning from this initial phase of 2

Note that while waste minimisation is in some countries considered to refer only to solid waste, in NZ the term tends to have been used in a broader sense, including liquid, gaseous, and other wastes.

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728

While this programme, known as ‘Target Zero’, has been the most comprehensive to date in NZ, other territorial authorities have engaged in similar activity, although on a smaller and more limited scale. The benefit of an integrated approach is illustrated in Fig. 6a,b. The landfill history of Christchurch city, in which Target Zero operates, is contrasted to that of the Auckland region, which has not had an integrated waste minimisation programme.

Auckland region

$26,000

800

$25,000

750

$24,000

700

$23,000

650

$22,000

600

$21,000

550

$20,000

450

$19,000

400

$18,000

19

8 19 4 8 19 5 8 19 6 8 19 7 8 19 8 8 19 9 9 19 0 9 19 1 9 19 2 9 19 3 9 19 4 9 19 5 96 19 9 19 7 9 19 8 9 20 9 0 20 0 0 20 1 0 20 2 03

500

NZ GDP, $/capita

850

Year MWh/capita

b

GDP/capita

Christchurch City 26,000

850.0

24,000 23,000

750.0

22,000 700.0

21,000 20,000

NZ GDP, $/capita

25,000 800.0

650.0 19,000 18,000 8 19 5 8 19 6 8 19 7 8 19 8 8 19 9 9 19 0 9 19 1 92 19 9 19 3 9 19 4 9 19 5 9 19 6 97 19 9 19 8 9 20 9 0 20 0 0 20 1 0 20 2 03

600.0 19

1. Workshop programmesdpart subsidy from local government: the workshop programme, in particular, was illustrative of the evolutionary nature of the Christchurch business programme. Concern that companies either discontinued more efficient practices or ceased to make additional progress once the formal intervention had finished, was a catalyst for programme change. (a) Medium to large sized training workshops (1999e 2004): a 6 month training programme targeted at medium sized companies (and larger) was developed out of an initial 2 day intensive format (1997), with the objective of lifting awareness and providing the basic skills necessary to undertake waste assessments, implement identified options and monitor progress. A focus on cross-functional team formation was introduced and functionality was introduced to improve effectiveness and to combat staff attrition. (b) The Natural Step (TNS) workshops (2001e2002): the Natural Step framework was introduced in a workshop series with the objective of helping businesses look beyond immediate savings to envisage a sustainable future. (c) Environmental Management System (2003e2005): programmes integrating cleaner production with the Enviro-Mark Environmental Management System [25] were introduced with the objective of supporting improvements within a systematic management framework. 2. Sector specific programmesdfull subsidy from local government: several programmes have been run that have targeted specific sectors including printers, powder coaters, electroplaters, education, supermarkets, retail and commercial buildings. 3. Site visit programmedfull subsidy from local government: a wide range of small to medium sized commercial and manufacturing businesses have received site visits from resource efficiency specialists. A summary report recommending options for improvement is presented to each site. 4. Bi-monthly breakfast meetings on a range of topics related to sustainability targeted at a business audience. 5. Web-site based resources.

a Landfill waste, kg/capita

the programme have already been reported in this journal [22e24]. Since the inception of the business programme in 1997, in excess of 200 Christchurch businesses have participated in a range of initiatives. The interventions have included:

Lanfill waste, kg/capita

722

Year kg/capita

GDP/capita

Fig. 6. (a) Growth of Auckland landfill disposal with GDP (Auckland Regional Council, personal communication) [47]. (b) Growth of Christchurch landfill disposal with GDP (Christchurch City Council, personal communication) [47].

Christchurch is managed by a single local government agency (city council) and has a population of 320,000 people and since 1997 has developed a coordinated CP programme. Greater Auckland is divided into four separate city councils and three district councils, with a combined population of over 1 million people, and has not had a coordinated approach to cleaner production. While a degree of decoupling of GDP growth from waste volume is evident in Christchurch, the same trend is not evident for Greater Auckland. 4.2.3. Environmental management systems The rapid uptake by New Zealand businesses of the ISO9000 quality systems in the early to mid-1990s was largely due to concerns that a lack of certification may impede trade access. Although a similar trend was expected with regard to ISO14001, this did not emerge and as of November 2004 there were 83 companies accredited to the ISO14001 standard, compared with 1359 to ISO9000 (JAS ANZ, 2004, personal communication). New Zealand has lagged other developed countries in the implementation of ISO14000. World wide, there is approximately one ISO14000 accredited organisation for every ten ISO9000 organisations. Although the uptake rate in New Zealand and Australia is similar, it is much lower than the world average, running at about one ISO14000 for every 17 ISO9000 accredited organisations.

G. Brown, L. Stone / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 716e728

Reasons for the slower uptake are largely anecdotal, but include:  A degree of disillusionment with the perceived benefit derived from administration top-heavy ISO9000 experience;  Less than anticipated pressure from export markets for environmental compliance; and  Inability of smaller companies to provide the necessary resources. For a more detailed discussion of barriers to EMS uptake, see [26]. The maturing of the management system market has resulted in a more pragmatic approach to implementation with the obvious option of integrating ISO14000 with existing ISO9000 systems. Environmental expectations, while still not at the same level as food safety, health and safety or quality, are moving up the priority list. One initiative gaining ground in the NZ market is EnviroMarkÔ [25]. Developed in the UK, Enviro-MarkÔ is a web-based five stage EMS targeted at small to medium sized enterprises. Designed as a do-it-yourself process, with third party verification of achievement, Enviro-MarkÔ has been designed to be accessible to smaller companies and as of November 2004 had 180 sites representing 143 companies working toward an Enviro-MarkÔ standard (Landcare Research, 2004, personal communication). Many of the smaller companies perceive the attainment of the continuous improvement standard (the third level) as adequate for the scale and scope of their business. Some of the medium to large companies are using the Enviro-MarkÔ process as a route to achieve ISO14000 accreditation. The promotion of Enviro-MarkÔ has to a large extent been through formalised programmes working in partnership with either major business through a supply chain approach, or with local government. In each of these cases the approach has been to integrate the EMS with resource efficiency, so that the principles of cleaner production and pollution prevention are embedded into the firms EMS from the start. This has been a deliberate effort to overcome the shortcomings of previous cleaner production programmes, where for many businesses, participation has been on a project basis, beyond which there has been little continuity. 4.3. Review of key issues and challenges 4.3.1. Organisation and culture Many of the issues confronted in cleaner production and other sustainability initiatives for NZ businesses appear similar to experiences in other countries. Generic issues such as a lack of time, resources and commitment are commonly cited by NZ businesses as barriers to the successful on-going implementation of cleaner production [27,28]. Many of the internal business issues are universal and linked back to organisational culture, while others are more specific to NZ and a product of the NZ context.

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Maintaining continuity from within a formal programme such that cleaner production becomes a part of the business process is a major challenge. Programmes providing a mix of training and consultative assistance generally include a project component whether as a vehicle for teaching or to demonstrate the cost-benefit of cleaner production to company management. In any event, businesses participating in such programmes often fall into the ‘project-trap’, that is, once the support is withdrawn and the project is completed the business returns to the status quo. The importance of learning styles, and the impact on training within intervention programmes, has also been recognised. The initial Target Zero programme, in particular, was the subject of in-depth research that highlighted the need for intervention to encourage reflective (or double loop) learning (see [29]) in order to more securely embed changed practises within an organisation [23,24]. Staff changes continue as a major threat to continuity, although efforts to establish a broader team approach [28] have attempted to mitigate this effect. 4.3.2. Voluntary framework While the voluntary focus of sustainable business initiatives such as cleaner production in NZ makes learning from these experiences particularly important, it is also worth drawing attention to the challenges it raises. NZ’s economic reforms of the 1980s and early 1990s were based upon the premise that Adam Smith’s ‘‘invisible hand’’ [30] would be sufficient to control all aspects of the market. Crediting the market with this degree of power continues to impact policy development in the 21st century (even though it was first postulated over two centuries ago). While there is now a well recognised need to move toward a sustainable economy, in NZ this is within a substantially voluntary framework, in contrast to the regulatory framework evident in, for example, Europe. While NZ’s policy development relating to resource use and sustainability has progressed significantly in the last 5 years, the majority of these policy initiatives still have a significant voluntary component. The impact of this voluntary approach, although arguably more robust in the longer term, is a lack of business imperatives (outside of participation in a market economy) to become more sustainable, or implement cleaner production practices. That is not to say that market pressures do not have an effect, but rather that this effect is delayed and tends to lag behind export markets. Krarup and Ramesohl [31] commented that the effectiveness of voluntary agreements, as a particular example of a voluntary approach, for improving industrial energy efficiency are dependent on the policy mix in which they are embedded. They suggest the mix of supporting policy needs to set demanding targets and provide significant incentives. In other words, the effectiveness of voluntary measures is limited when operating in isolation from a broader and supportive policy framework. In some cases policies may seek to directly affect the market by introducing tax incentives (e.g. tax relief for investment initiatives) or levies (e.g. landfill or carbon taxes).

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There is ample evidence of the effect of market requirements, however. An example is the NZ meat industry, where a focus on food hygiene and animal welfare has been driven primarily by major international customers. While the environment does feature, it is third on the priority list for the meat sector [32], and has been deprived of resources in view of the urgency to upgrade food safety risk management systems. 4.3.3. Competition, integration and cooperation The 1990s, and even the early 21st century, have been characterised to an extent by competition between NGOs, both in terms of the funding pool and ideology. As sustainability thinking becomes more mainstream, there has been a ‘jockeying for position’ of pre-eminence amongst some agencies in order to capture the growing funding allocation. While competition certainly has its place, increasing cooperation and recognition of complementarities amongst service providers and research agencies indicates a maturing sector. The NZ Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment expresses the view that NZ is favouring economic efficiency and environmental pragmatism, a ‘weak’ sustainability (see [33]) that will at best slow, rather than reverse social and environmental degradation [48].3 Cleaner production (and the related eco-efficiency, resource efficiency and pollution prevention concepts) in the absence of a corporate learning context can tend to favour a weak sustainability, with the feasibility of projects being defined outside of a sustainable and strategic context. As observed by de Bruijn and Hofman [34], ‘‘a company needs to appropriate certain capabilities in order to develop a successful and competitive sustainability strategy’’ that can be provided, at least in part, by cleaner production and related approaches. From a perspective of strategic planning, the value of a range of tools and approaches has been discussed in the context of an integrated planning framework, highlighting the importance of a cooperative, integrated approach [35]. Christchurch again provides an example of recent efforts to improve the level of cooperation amongst agencies and the respective tools and approaches they represent. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of NZ and is the main urban centre within a productive agricultural region. The city (government) has recognised that there are many sustainability initiatives operating in the city on a small scale and generally independent of one another that would benefit from integration into a cooperative sustainability framework for the city. To this end a programme is being developed that draws key NGOs, business associations, local, regional and central government into a cooperative sustainability cluster. The service providers encompass consultants, The Natural Step, an EMS provider, a CO2 off-set footprint evaluation, a materials recovery operation and a local sustainability 3 Weak sustainability argues for a substitutability between ‘natural’ and ‘manufactured’ capital, where the emphasis is more on managing a balanced portfolio (of environmental, social and economic capital) rather than maintaining the integrity of each in its own right (see [33]).

network focussing on promotional and awareness raising events. Central government agencies include the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and the Ministry for the Environment. With a primary objective of building a sustainable Christchurch, the programme will include a regional mandate beyond the main urban centre. Although the programme is awaiting confirmation (at time of writing), this type of cooperative thinking is new in New Zealand and signals a more cohesive approach to sustainability that recognises the strengths of individual initiatives and the advantage to be gained both by the organisations themselves, and the wider community. 4.3.4. Funding Continuity of programme initiatives is also an issue within NZ. While the central government subsidised Target Zero programme (see Section 4.2.2) achieved continuity as a result of local government in Christchurch committing to on-going resourcing, this programme is the exception rather than the rule. As discussed earlier, a majority of business orientated cleaner production initiatives have been funded by a central government sustainable management fund. Funding is generally for a fixed period only and most initiatives struggle to continue beyond the initial funding period. The limited funding also means that NGOs, who tend to take up the cause, are regularly competing for funds, which can result in an environment lacking in trust and cooperation (e.g. see 36]). 4.3.5. Monitoring and evaluation Assessing past performance, managing current performance and modifying existing methods to improve future performance are all essential to continuous improvement, whatever the field of endeavour. One of the keys to managing improvement is attention to the discipline of monitoring and evaluation. A recent review of waste minimisation and resource stewardship programmes in New Zealand [20] found that evaluation was generally not targeted at addressing the fundamental objective of bringing about change in thinking and practice, but at sub-measures that were related more directly to economic return and benefit. While the latter is important and should be measured, the usefulness of the monitoring in terms of evaluating progress toward the overall goal is limited at best. The study also suggested that NGOs in particular were vulnerable to economic imperatives favouring income generating activities, with any monitoring reflecting this focus [20]. For example, NGOs with a primary focus on landfill diversion would, naturally enough, measure waste diverted from the landfill (through recycling), but would not have any measure of the extent their approach was reducing material disposed of at the landfill i.e. landfill volumes were likely to be still increasing. While it may be unrealistic for the small and often underresourced NGO to monitor the big picture, the failure of funding bodies to pick up this responsibility leaves a gaping hole in the evaluation process.

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Business intervention programmes suffer from the same malaise. To be fair, the paucity of robust programme evaluation is as much related to a systemic issue with participating businesses as the programme itself. The authors’ interactions with business over the last 15 years only serve to reinforce the fact that a majority of businesses neither measure nor monitor resource use effectively, if at all. Consequently, it can be difficult for the facilitator of an intervention programme to gain data adequate to assess a programme’s progress against, for example, resource (water, energy, solid waste, etc.) reduction targets. The facilitator tends to be reliant, therefore, on predominantly qualitative data that while valuable, provides an incomplete picture of progress toward physical, resource-based objectives. Notably, one business intervention programme has developed a focus on assisting business develop robust monitoring capability. Issues around inadequate programme evaluation are also related to the programme planning process. A more robust planning approach, such as Logical Framework Analysis (used, for example, by several aid agencies; see [37,38]) or similar, would ensure that activities and objectives and broader goals are internally consistent and that suitable metrics are established before a programme commences. Too often the easy option of measuring outputs such as companies visited, seminar attendees or reports written are used as substitutes for the measures actually needed to assess progress against the outcomes for which a programme was established, such as resource reduction or behaviour modification. From an overview of context and some of the issues facing sustainability within NZ, the following sections look at some of the more recent governmental responses to these challenges. 5. Government response In this part of the paper we focus on the central and local governmental response to sustainability. As observed earlier, an analysis of voluntary measures have indicated that to be effective they need to be embedded in a strong policy mix that establishes demanding targets and provides appropriate incentives [31]. 5.1. Waste strategy A waste strategy developed through a consultative process by central and local government in collaboration with industry over the period 2000/2001 sets out a range of objectives and targets for a wide range of wastes. Waste is defined in the strategy as any material, solid, liquid or gas, that is unwanted and/ or unvalued, and discarded or discharged by its owner [39]. Energy is treated in a separate strategy (see below). The waste strategy recognises the need for the decoupling of resource use from economic growth and clearly states the need for an integrated approach to improving resource efficiency, from production through to consumption and disposal. The strategy is built around five core policies addressing legislation, pricing, environmental standards, information and material use.

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As a strategy it contains no legally binding requirements. Although for example targets have been set across a number of material use areas, the strategy states that these should be considered goal statements rather than mandatory requirements’ [39]. In the same way, statements made regarding the other core policy areas are recommendations for policy development, rather than legally binding requirements. While legally enforceable policy may yet emerge, the strategy continues a trend of favouring a voluntary approach over a legislative approach. That said, the devolved nature of the Resource Management Act allows local bodies the discretion to adopt recommendations and enforce them as law on a regional basis. The targets cover a range of issues including specific activities and reporting on progress in waste minimisation, targets for organic waste, hazardous wastes, construction and demolition wastes, organochlorines, contaminated sites and trade wastes. The waste minimisation targets include specific reference to industry, including recommendations that regional councils progressively require industry to have a recognised waste minimisation and management programme in place. (Interestingly, these mechanisms mirror to some degree the innovations included in the Auckland Regional Council Trade-Wastes By-law in 1991.) The role of extended producer responsibility, or product stewardship, is recognised specifically in regard to wastes requiring special management, such as oil, tyres, end-of-life vehicles and electronic goods. Product stewardship activities are anticipated to be initiated by specific sectors, or by central government, to ensure national uniformity and access. To date the examples are relatively few, with the more notable being a company initiated whiteware take-back scheme (operating since 1993), a cell phone take-back scheme, and a Packaging Accord negotiated between central and local government and industry representatives (see Section 5.1.4). 5.2. Energy strategy In 2001 an energy strategy was released, also developed through a consultative process. In a similar vein to the waste strategy, targets have been established, that are not binding but rather ‘something to aim for’. The energy efficiency target establishes a benchmark but is not a mandatory requirement [40]. Two high-level targets specifically address energy efficiency (an improvement of 20% by 2012) and the proportion of renewable energy supply available to the end user. The government has confirmed a renewables target for 2012 of 30PJ, or a 22% increase over a 2000 baseline [15]. The strategy recognizes the need for a mix of voluntary and mandatory measures, although the general direction is more dependent on voluntary means. Mandatory measures directly referred to include:  Renewable energy obligations on energy retailers;  Minimum energy appliance standards for selected appliances;  Development of mandatory building design standards; and

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 Minimum building performance standards [40]. An act of parliament (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000) established a Crown entity, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), to implement the strategy across all energy forms. In addition, an Electricity Commission has been established to focus specifically on electricity which receives funding from a levy imposed on electricity. Both these agencies should catalyse significant activity in the business community and civil society over the next few years. 5.3. The Kyoto Protocol The impetus to improve energy efficiency has been strengthened by NZ’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. Ratification carries with it an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels over the 2008e2012 period. Emissions for 2002 are estimated to be 22% above 1990 levels [34] and NZ will be required to take responsibility for emissions above the agreed 1990 level if reductions are not achieved. A climate change office established within the Ministry for the Environment is responsible for developing policy and strategy to meet New Zealand Kyoto obligations. The range of polices being developed to meet New Zealand’s obligations are listed below [41].  An emissions charge system will apply to fossil fuels over the first Kyoto commitment period (2008e2012). Revenue will be recycled back into the economy through tax relief or programme funding.  Carbon credits to be issued to projects reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the prospect of the credits being traded on an international market once it has developed. Credits have already been issued to 15 projects including wind-farms, co-generation, bio-gas and hydro-electricity.  To mitigate against the potential for enterprises to move to non-Kyoto signatory countries by negotiated greenhouse agreements committing to reducing emissions to world best practise in exchange for relief from emissions charging.  Additional measures targeting small top medium sized business include education and auditing programmes.

voluntary accords with key industrial sector groups. Two examples are the Packaging Accord and the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord. The Packaging Accord has been negotiated between the government and the Packaging Council of New Zealand, together with brand owners, retailers, importers, recyclers and local government. The Accord represents a voluntary commitment by the signatories to reduce the amount of packaging waste in New Zealand’s waste stream from improved design and manufacture, selection for appropriate use through to material recovery and reuse. The commitment of the nine sectors represented within the Accord is expressed through sector plans that detail the specific steps taken by the individual sectors to conform to the intent of the Accord [42]. The Accord contains targets for the reduction of packaging materials expressed in terms of the proportion recovered, which as a KPI falls short as a measure of the decoupling of material use from economic performance, as the improved recovery could of course be of an increasing overall consumption. Supplementary monitoring initiatives, while not target driven, provide a better indication of decoupling and include a national mass balance reporting on weights of packaging materials consumed and recycled and a measure of per capita disposal of packaging waste to landfill [42]. The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord has been negotiated between NZ’s dominant dairy company, Fonterra, and central and local government. It has an objective of minimising the impact of the dairy farming industry on natural waterways, with targets specifying the exclusion of dairy cattle from waterways, improved management of fertiliser application and improved treatment and disposal of dairy shed effluent [43]. There are two identifiable drivers for industry to engage and make progress within a voluntary framework: 1. The Government has clearly stated that ‘‘if a voluntary approach does not provide sufficient improvements . Government is prepared to consider doing so by regulation’’; 2. The regular publication of progress toward targets and of supplementary KPIs, verified independently, will provide the New Zealand society and the wider market with direct knowledge of a sectors progress. 5.5. Funding and research

5.4. Sustainable industries A response of government to the need to promote and develop sustainable industry within New Zealand has been the establishment in 2002 of a Sustainable Industries Group (SIG) within the MfE. Established to help industry ‘‘think, plan and operate sustainably’’ [18], the group focuses on providing resources and information, sustainability tools and services (such as audits) and encouraging industry-driven initiatives. There is also a work stream focussing on promoting sustainable practises with government departments. Working within the voluntary framework favoured by the NZ government, the SIG have governmental oversight of

The focus of funding from the Public Good Science Fund provides insight into government priorities. Recent funding allocations signal the emergence of a clearly visible sustainability component, made all the more visible by its complete absence previously. While the broad environment vote has consistently averaged approximately 25% of the annual public good funding allocation over the last 15 years, the increased focus on sustainability is clearly visible within research portfolios that include: e sustainable production systems, e resilient, functioning and restored natural ecosystems,

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e understanding and adapting to global environmental and earth processes change, e maintaining environmental integrity for sustainable resource use, and e building sustainable cities and settlements. The sustainable resource use portfolio includes a focus on business resource use. One programme, with an overall objective of defining ecological footprints for New Zealand’s primary processing industry, includes a component evaluating the role of organisational and cultural structures that may promote or inhibit behaviour that supports sustainability. By understanding the effect of culture and what sustainability means to different stakeholders in a value chain, the research has the goal of identifying the structural changes that would help promote sustainability criteria within industrial decision making. An interesting aspect of this research is that it is framed within a processing company’s existing technical improvement programme and will seek to integrate and apply a social science methodology directly to the solution of what would otherwise be treated as a purely technically orientated problem [17]. 6. Conclusion As the last discovered major landmass settled on earth, NZ has developed within a unique contextdunique in terms of its ecological and cultural history and also the speed of its development. NZ’s unique biodiversity is largely a result of its relative isolation. Eighty million years of isolation following its separation from Gondwanaland resulted in an unusually high proportion of endemic species that in a relatively short space of time have been seriously challenged by human settlementdinitially by the Polynesian ancestors of NZ’s Maori people (circa 13th century AD [44]) and more recently by the mid-19th century influx of European settlers. The unique nature of NZ’s flora and fauna contribute strongly to the nation’s identity as a clean green land and the threat to NZ’s biodiversity provided a base for the development of a strong conservation ethic. In the first instance colonialisation and more latterly globalisation have stripped away the protective shield of isolation and NZ confronts the same threats (to varying degrees) to its environment and quality of life as other industrialised nations. NZ’s response to these threats has been less regulatory focussed than Europe and more reliant on voluntary participation. A consultative process has been well established within NZ’s legislative framework and this approach is also evident in the development of industry accords (e.g. packaging and dairying) and resource strategies (e.g. waste and energy). A proliferation of NGOs throughout the latter 1990s and into the 21st century indicates increasing awareness and activity on both a community and business level. Competition between NGOs, or at least a lack of coordination, has been evident particularly in the business sector where there has been competition for funds. At least one recent initiative suggests willingness by a range of groups to work cooperatively within the context of a funded sustainable business programme initiative.

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A conservation ethic, an economy dependent on a buoyant primary food sector and a large SME business base contribute to a context for NZ to progress cleaner production within business and more broadly, sustainability within society. That the rate of progress has not received the same priority evidenced by the stricter regulatory framework of Europe can in part be explained by the perception by some in society that NZ is still clean and green and the need is not as urgent. Although this perception is losing credence, the reluctance to emulate Europe’s legislative route is evident, but is arguably countered by policies encouraging voluntary participation in sustainable business practises. Whether the policy mix is sufficiently robust for voluntary mechanisms to move NZ business significantly along the sustainability journey remains to be seen, but most certainly it is the more desirable route if measurable and sustained progress can be made. References [1] PCE. Growing for good: intensive farming, sustainability and New Zealand’s environment. Wellington: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment; 2004. [2] Park G. Nga Uruora (the groves of life): ecology and history in a New Zealand landscape. Wellington: Victoria University Press; 1995. [3] Steen I. Phosphorus availability in the 21st century: management of a non-renewable resource. Phosphorus & Potassium 1998;217. [4] MfE. The State of New Zealand’s Environment. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; 1997. [5] MfE. Information sheet, NZ Ministry for the Environment, Wellington. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; 2004. [6] PCE. Towards sustainable development. The role of the Resource Management Act 1991: PCE Environmental Management Review No. 1. Wellington: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment; 1998. [7] WCED. Our common future: report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1987. [8] Stone L-J, editor. Resource stewardship and waste minimisation: towards a sustainable New Zealand. Christchurch: Centre for Advanced Engineering, University of Canterbury; 2003. [9] MED. The social report. NZ Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington, 2004. http://socialreport.msd.govt.nz/economic-standard-living/ income-inequality.html. [10] Brown GI. Environmental technology sector research project: a review of economic potential. Christchurch: Centre for Advanced Engineering, University of Canterbury; 2003. [11] OPM. Growing an innovative New Zealand. Wellington: The Office of the Prime Minister; 2002. [12] StatsNZ. NZ business demographic statistics. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand; 2004. [13] CAE. Our waste: our responsibility. Christchurch: Centre for Advanced Engineering, University of Canterbury; 1992. [14] MfE. Cleaner production at work: case studies from NZ industry. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; 1993. [15] MfE. Sustainable management fund e summary of funded projects. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; nd. [16] MAF. Sustainable Farming Fund project summary. Wellington: NZ Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; nd. [17] FRST. Research abstract and report databases. Wellington: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology; 2004. [18] MfE. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; nd. [19] MfE. The 2002 landfill review and audit. Wellington: NZ Ministry for the Environment; 2003. [20] Stone L-J. Assessment of waste minimisation activities in New Zealand. Christchurch: Resource stewardship/waste minimisation project Phase 1 report. Centre for Advanced Engineering; 2002.

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