Building New Zealand's Impact Economy
Our economic recovery from Covid-19 presents a huge opportunity to do things differently. We’re starting to see calls from businesses and community groups for a fairer, more sustainable and regenerative economy.
At Ākina, we’ve been doing some thinking about how we can contribute to that vital discussion. The result is Building New Zealand’s Impact Economy which details big-picture thinking about an impact focussed approach to our economic recovery. Impact represents a huge opportunity for our economy. We can consider positive impact in how we run our businesses, how we set up new ones, how we invest, and in the goods and services we procure.
We hope that Building New Zealand’s Impact Economy sparks conversation, generates ideas, and helps to steer us on a path to positive change. Together, we can build an impact economy for Aotearoa New Zealand – one that prioritises social and environmental outcomes alongside economic growth.
Building NZ’s
Impact Economy
Foreword by Ākina CEO, Louise Aitken
These past few months have seen so much upheaval it’s sometimes hard to get your head around it. Looking at the scale of the Government’s Rebuilding Together budget helps us understand the scale of the economic crisis this Covid-19 health crisis has created.
As we begin to leave life under lockdown behind many of us can't wait to get back to how things were. It's easy to view that old life through rose-tinted glasses – forgetting the struggles of day to day life for many Kiwis, or the existential threats posed to our native flora and fauna.
‘The Great Pause', as I’ve heard it called, gave many of us a chance to think. We're starting to realise this difficult truth; that 'old New Zealand' – the New Zealand of before this Covid-19 crisis – is a New Zealand of inequality, of child poverty, of polluted waterways, of an appalling suicide rate, and of unacceptably poor outcomes for many Māori and Pacific people. That New Zealand may not meet its carbon reduction targets in the fight against climate change. That New Zealand can't even guarantee our people a warm and dry place to live.
Many of these problems may well be exacerbated by an economic downturn. It's scary. That fear is why the temptation to get back to business as usual is so strong. We want to get back to a place where things aren’t as bad as they might still become.
But, if we return to the way things were, we will miss the incredible opportunity that this disruption offers us. When do we ever have a chance to stop – as we have – and restart? When else have we had a chance to rebuild, as we have now? Not within living memory. Change is hard, but the first step to making a change for the better is realising that change is needed. At Ākina we've known for a while that the old way of doing things is simply not good enough any more. That idea is what's at the heart of every social enterprise we've worked with; the knowledge that it is possible to do business in a way that generates better outcomes for people and our planet. Whilst making a profit is generally good, it isn't everything!
Ākina is currently entering the third year of a partnership with the Government to help create the overall conditions for a thriving social enterprise sector. This programme of work is called The Impact Initiative. What we’ve discovered is that programme has implications not just for social enterprises, but for all organisations right across our economy.
The idea that businesses can generate positive outcomes – or impact – alongside profit doesn’t have to be unique to social enterprises. It can be a priority at every level of our economy. We can include impact in how we invest and in how we procure goods and services. We can include impact in our business models, company charters and mission statements. Impact can be a core part of Government decision making. Impact can be reported on, and used in our storytelling. Impact can build connection and loyalty – encouraging people to support local businesses. This support will be so desperately needed in the coming months and years.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an obligation, but Impact is a mission, and it represents the kind of thinking we need now.
Yes, we want businesses to be profitable. Yes, we want enough secure jobs to ensure that people can provide for their families, but we can do better than that. Simply avoiding the worst of this crisis isn't a vision for the future in itself – and returning to the old ways will simply perpetuate old problems.
To build an economy that creates impact, we’ll need to be bold. But, if not New Zealand, then where? If not now, then when?
This document sets out some of our 'top-level' thinking for how – out of this Covid-19 crisis – we can create an Impact Economy for New Zealand. We wanted to quickly share our thinking on some of the levers we’ve been exploring as part of The Impact Initiative because their potential is huge, and so is our collective need for new solutions.
We're planning to share this document as widely as possible in the hopes that it sparks conversation, generates ideas, and helps to steer us toward a path to positive change for our economy.
Our new economy should be resilient, regenerative, and inclusive. Yes, it will take a great many of us working together to effect lasting change – but do not underestimate the small actions you can take today, or the conversations you can have with others to spread this vital challenge.
Given the scale of this disruption our economy will change whether we like it or not. It's up to us to ensure that it becomes an impact-centred economy that works for everyone and for Papatūānuku.
Louise Aitken
Ākina CEO