Region well positioned for green business boom

THE WHANGANUI region is well-positioned for a share of the trillion-dollar world markets for environmental products and services.
Laurence Boomert is working to get the new Whanganui Sustainable Business Forum (WSBF) going in Wanganui. He says we need to be innovative to catch the wave that is sweeping the world.
Mr Boomert said Wanganui was one of the best places in the world right now, and with the planet on the environmental tipping point, we could lead the way.
We had to act now to reduce our carbon emissions, and he is consulting with businesses in the city to commit to sustainable economic development.
This week the regional council came on board and businesses have already signalled their interest.
"Sustainable business has the potential right now to look at ways to reduce its carbon footprint and to develop new and innovative ways to do that."
Mr Boomert points to Marks and Spencer in the United Kingdom improving its own environmental performance, which would drive standards up the supply chain with the goal of making its entire business ? suppliers and all ? carbon neutral by 2012.
New Zealand products have already been targeted as less desirable under "food miles" measuring.
However, organic food imported into the UK would still be considered environmentally preferable to locally produced non-organic food.
"There's a global revolution happening, where people want natural products ? medicines (rongoa), fibres, cosmetics, organics and, of course, bio-fuels, eco-tourism and tapping into solar energy.
"Whanganui iwi are positioned very well with their lands on the Whanganui River to look at innovative ways for its use." He said the lands of the Mangaporau Trust in the middle reaches were ideal for bio-diversity.
In Wanganui, businesses were already performing to reduce their carbon emissions but he added that if people thought they had 20-50 years to implement changes, they just had to look at the rises in temperature.
"A two-degree average rise in temperature will be a four-and-a-half degree rise in average temperature on land. The extremes are already happening."
The WSBF hopes to work with Federated Farmers to organise several workshops to explore a range of sustainable land use systems including organics and the potential for agri-forestry carbon trading.
"There are lots of easy ways for any organisation to improve environmental performance and by doing so cut costs, reduce liabilities and become more innovative and resilient in the process."
It all makes good business sense, said Mr Boomert.