Prioritising Environmental Challenges:
Gillian Wratt, Cawthron’s Chief Executive, presented the 2007 State of the Environment address to Lincoln University in September, titled "New Zealand and Sustainability: Perspectives and Solutions".
The brief for the 2007 State of the Environment address was based upon Prime Minister, Helen Clark’s opening statement to parliament earlier this year, where she put a line in the sand saying “I believe New Zealand can aim to be the first nation to be truly sustainable - across the four pillars of the economy, society, the environment, and nationhood. I believe we can aspire to be carbon neutral in our economy and way of life”.
The question to be addressed in relation to this statement was “What would this mean for New Zealand, and where are we in relation to other countries?”
Gillian Wratt outlined international perspectives on sustainability, reviewed what is currently happening in New Zealand, and presented examples of bold approaches being proposed in other parts of the world.
State of the nation speech 2007 (PDF 300 KB)
State of the nation 2007 (PDF 3074 KB)