Thabiso Mashaba, co-founder and project coordinator for Slash For Cash. The Tolaga Bay based initiative jointly won the Transformational Leadership at the 2025 Sustainable Business Awards. Photo / Dave Olsen
Thabiso Mashaba, co-founder and project coordinator for Slash For Cash. The Tolaga Bay based initiative jointly won the Transformational Leadership at the 2025 Sustainable Business Awards. Photo / Dave Olsen
Two Tairāwhiti-owned businesses in the sustainability space have been recognised at a national award ceremony, with one winning a top prize.
The 2025 Sustainable Business Awards were held on Thursday night at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.
Across Aotearoa, 119 businesses were finalists. Winners and highly commendedwere selected for two awards, Disruptive Innovation and Transformational Leadership.
The Transformational Leadership Award was jointly won by Slash for Cash, from Tolaga Bay, and Adele Rose from 3R Group in Hawke’s Bay.
Slash for Cash, founded by Thabiso Mashaba, Hine Aio Prihira Mere Apatari and Matene Joseph Malachi Maraki, transforms forestry debris into organic biochar fertiliser and smokeless charcoal briquettes.
“Slash for Cash has turned a regional challenge into an inspiring example of community-led innovation. By converting forestry waste into valuable products, they are creating employment, protecting waterways and building local resilience,” head judge Barry Coates, founder and co-CEO of Mindful Money, said.
Mashaba, the project coordinator, said the team were still pinching themselves.
“It was already a great win just to be recognised as one of the 119 finalists because we are a small project in a small little town in Tolaga Bay, trying to take on a big, big task sure, but there are some other cool projects part of that 119 that are usually what I would say people are looking for, like trendy AI stuff.
“We have our 15-year resource consent from both [Gisborne District Council] and Hawke’s Bay, we’ve tested our kilns, we are ready to go for market, so this endorsement is very timely.”
Slash for Cash also runs a Department of Internal Affairs-funded job-readiness programme that has trained 18 unemployed locals (six in Wairoa, six in Tolaga Bay and six in Ruatōria), and has an EIT partnership which has trained 53 people in biochar science and production.
Mashaba said he would welcome hearing from anyone interested in helping to fund the initiative.
Sustainable Business Network CEO Rachel Brown with RespondBio founder Dugald Hamilton. Photo / Dave Olsen
It is a biological system that regenerates soils and boosts farm productivity, using beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi in multi-species seeds to reduce the need for chemical fertilisers.
“It is a marvellous breakthrough for us to get recognised for sure,” Hamilton told the Gisborne Herald.
“We’re working with nature to remove chemicals from the food production, farming, viticulture,
“We specialise in soil biology and being able to match the correct fungus and bacteria with whatever plant people want to grow
“Field trials at Kanui Farm in Hawke’s Bay show 100 hectares planted with Respond Bio produced 18–22 tonnes of dry matter per hectare annually, a 36–43% increase over traditional fertilised pastures, with lower cost and fewer inputs," a blurb written for the commendation reads.
Dry matter content in grass is what remains after water has been removed. The higher the content, the less fresh weight of forage required to achieve a target nutrient intake for grazing animals.
The awards are in their 23rd year.
Rachel Brown ONZM, CEO and founder of awards organiser Sustainable Business Network, said in a statement that this year’s finalists proved sustainability wasn’t just good for the people and nature, but good for business too.
“These businesses show that when we work with nature’s systems rather than against them, everybody wins,” Brown said.
“I love these awards because they give us a chance to celebrate the extraordinary people and organisations showing what’s possible when we think sustainably. We hope their work inspires others to think bigger, act bolder and embed sustainability into everything they do.”
