Not being able to get to any of my favourite Marlborough spots for a meal or a glass of something has really made me appreciate how lucky we are to have places like Arbour, Scotch, and Harvest, Gastro-pubs, brew-bars and too many winery restaurants, cellar doors and cafes to list. Not to mention Grovetown Hotel. … Continue reading Absence Makes the Stomach Grow Fonder

Amsterdam recently announced that it would be adopting the doughnut model as part of its approach to recovering from the impacts of covid-19. The doughnut refers to a framework proposed by Kate Raworth in her book Doughnut Economics. The spelling of the title should put you on immediate notice that we're not talking about Homer's … Continue reading Doughnut Economics

A newsroom article from the end of last month posed an interesting challenge - let’s not return to normal. It’s a reminder that with crisis comes the opportunity for positive change. Lockdown has had some benefits for the environment. It’s also a reminder that before the current crisis, we were dealing (or not dealing) with … Continue reading Not Returning to Normal

I’ve been doing a bit of reading on regenerative agriculture recently and was sent an article by a colleague about the application of regenerative principles in Winegrowing. The Wine Enthusiast article is a simple but useful summary of some of the key elements of regenerative practices. Fundamentally it’s about treating the farm (or vineyard) in … Continue reading Beyond Sustainability

There is no Planet B. I love this slogan, as far as slogans go, for a number of reasons. It reflects the global nature of the challenge we are all facing. He waka eke noa. We are all in this together. It reflects the need to do something. It’s not a choice. There is no … Continue reading Plan B

By living beyond the planet's means, consuming non-renewable resources, we are effectively borrowing from the future. Without any way of paying that loan back, and maybe without any intention of doing so, it’s hard not to look at that as theft. We're stealing from future generations. On top of that, our consumption of fossil fuels … Continue reading Being Good Ancestors

I love coffee as much as the next person, or more. Probably more. But I hate the idea of single-use disposable takeaway cups and lids. It’s not the 'takeaway' I don’t like, but the 'throwaway', which is why #TakeawayThrowaways makes so much sense to me. More on that later. Loving coffee, and hating disposable cups, … Continue reading #TakeawayThrowaways

While the koru might sit at the back of our national carrier's planes, it’s great to see the koru leading the way in Sustainability. Air New Zealand won the Sustainable Business Leadership award at the Deloitte Top 200 Awards, which considered criteria including governance, leadership, accountability, long-term perspective and purpose, and initiatives that support sustainable … Continue reading The Koru Leading the Way

When the size of our planetary challenge, or the implications of insufficient action start to weigh on your mind, check out this list of 99 good new stories you probably didn't hear about in 2019 from the good people at Future Crunch.