Programme
SB Ōtautahi brings together global brand leaders to reimagine a thriving future and gain practical insights and connections to drive meaningful impact.
Monday 24 August
9.30am
Registration open
Coffee and tea available
10.15am
Conference opening & mihi whakatau
10.35am
Reimagine
Re-imagine! Hear from local and global perspectives on the society we want to live in, where other countries are headed and the role we play in shaping that society.
Zhen Wu, Magna International, Andrew Winston, Net Positive (virtual), Gary Shaw
Andrew Winston
What do we really mean by purpose? What does leadership look like and what role can brands play in shaping the society we want to live in?
Andrew, named the #1 Management Thinker in the World by Thinkers50, will deliver insights into how leaders can build THRIVING, SUSTAINABLE companies that profit by solving the world's biggest challenges.
Gary Shaw
What impact do brands really have on society? Do we accept the impact brands or we as individuals make? Gary will expose some impacts we tend to shy away from about and highlight how we, as leaders within brands, can help shaping the society we want to live in.
Zhen Wu, Magna International
What is the future other countries are planning for? Hear from Zhen Wu about what is driving the vision for Chinese society, their expectations and the role brands are playing in meeting that vision - with a particular focus on urban centres and mobility.
12.00pm
Check out the hangi!
12.20pm
A fresh lens
Food for thought... A fresh lens on business models.
Hear from the dynamic duo of Steven Moe and Manu Caddie as they bring their refreshing and practical perspective on business models to the table. Genuine food for thought!
Steven Moe, Parry Field Lawyers, Manu Caddie, Hikurangi Bioactives
Steven Moe, Parry Field Lawyers
Few people are better place to comment on how nature can be truly integrated into your business than Steven Moe! In dynamic duo with Manu Caddie, Steven will explore how brands can truly integrate nature into your fundamental business model.
Manu Caddie, Hikurangi Bioactives
How to design practical, innovative business models that ensure financial results are delivered back to communities that have guardianship over the resource being utilised? Few people can talk with as much confidence on this topic than Manu Caddie who will join Steven Moe for our 'Food for Thought' session on Day 1.
12.45pm
Lunch - Consume the hangi!
1.45pm
Redesign - the how
Case studies on how brands are rethinking (or redesigning) their business models to drive positive social and environmental outcomes and ultimately, profit from this.
You will hear from the leadership team of brands spanning consumer goods (Karma Drinks), finance (Pathfinder), procurement (Ngāi Tūāhuiriri) and apparel on how they framed their business models, the business case behind it and candid insights into challenges they face.
Jonny Harrison, Karma Drinks, John Berry, Pathfinder Asset Management, Amber Clarke, Whitiora, Peri Drysdale, Untouched World
Jonny Harrison, Karma Drinks
Karma drinks are "...here to prove that a drink can be both a treat for your taste buds and can help build a better world".
Jonny will expand on the practical aspects of building a socially responsible supply chain and the importance (and tension!) of recognising the role a 'treat' should play in society.
John Berry, Pathfinder
Hear from the CEO of Pathfinder on the role of finance in building 'the future we want for generations to come'.
Build a deeper understanding of the philosophy behind Pathfinder, the business structure that enables this and how their purpose nurtures the brand. And, of course, the reality of the need to be a financially sustainable business while delivering on purpose.
Amber Clarke, Whitiora
Hear from the inspirational team from Ngāi Tūāhuriri, who, by starting from the perspective of desired outcomes, developed a new procurement model that served those outcomes.
Peri Drysdale, Untouched World
Founded to be sustainable from day one and disrupt a broken industry Untouched World has continued to lead and achieve recognition for that leadership over decades.
Hear from Peri, the founder, about what it took to build a globally recognised brand (at the highest level!), what it took to sustain the founding principles and why holding true to the founding philosophy continues to benefit society and the brand itself.
Jonny Harrison, Karma Drinks
Karma drinks are "...here to prove that a drink can be both a treat for your taste buds and can help build a better world".
Jonny will expand on the practical aspects of building a socially responsible supply chain and the importance (and tension!) of recognising the role a 'treat' should play in society.
3.30pm
Refreshment break
4.00pm
Redesign - metrics and messaging
Practical insights into how we measure the impact, engage the consumer and account for the benefits.
In this session learn from our panel of experts (BCorp, PAN and Future Fit) about practical tools that help brands assess impact. Also covered will be a candid discussion on how to engage customers and user on the metrics with insights from HP.
Angie Farrugia, B Lab Australia & Aotearoa, Kate Meyer, Planetary Accounting, Roger Robson-Williams, Future-Fit Aotearoa New Zealand
Angie Farrugia, B Lab Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand
Constantly challenged on the business case for purpose why should brands sign up to 3rd party programmes? Walk away from this session from Angie with a clear view on the business case for purpose and the importance of trust.
Kate Meyer, Planetary Accounting
As awareness grows that impacts beyond carbon (you will have heard of carbon-tunnel vision) needs to be accounted for, how do brands get their heads around the metrics and then engage with the user on these metrics?
Hear from Kate about how PAN is applying the metrics and the traction brands are getting from communicating the outputs.
Roger Robson-Williams, Future-Fit Aotearoa New Zealand
Meet Roger Robson-Williams. A sustainability leader over many years who chooses to work on the hands-on practical while backing the tools that can help brands measure and act on their impacts.
Roger will uncover the some of the key benefits of the Future-Fit tool, explore how it has been applied to this conference and why it might be applicable to your brand.
5.30pm
Networking
Drinks and light dinner
6.30pm
Nature & Nurture experiences
Revitalise and connect in-depth with your fellow attendees through curated experiences reflecting people and place.
Tuesday 25 August
8.00am
Breakfast sessions
Concurrent sessions - Choose one to attend
Benefit from deep dives into your focus area with the opportunity to contribute and connect in depth with speakers and fellow attendees.
Build It! The build environment impact & opportunity
Sponsored by Tonkin + Taylor, Eco Choice Aotearoa
- Simon Harvey, Tonkin + Taylor,
- Tony Moore, Christchurch City Council
- Dianne Rhodes, ChristchurchNZ
- Alex Eddington, Eco Choice Aotearoa
- Sandra O-Brien-Kelly, Tonkin + Taylor
Wear It! Delivering positive change at scale in apparel industry
Wrap It! Bringing product and packaging together to create value
- Nada Piatek, Again Again
Sing It! Shifting mindsets & ensuring engagement on purpose
- Kath Dewar, GoodSense,
- Allanah Robinson, GoodSense
Move it! What should we be planning re mobility and what role can brands play?
- Zhen Wu, Magna International
Build It! The build environment impact & opportunity (Sponsored by Tonkin + Taylor, Eco Choice Aotearoa)
Kick off your day exploring how Eco Choice Aotearoa, the country’s official ecolabel, helps brands back up sustainability claims with independent verification across the full product lifecycle. We'll dive into the ongoing commitment and robust data needed to obtain the ecolabel, and how that translates into trust and long-term value.
The session blends a lively panel discussion, an interactive hands-on segment, and an open conversation with the room. Hear directly from businesses with Eco Choice certified products, alongside city and sector voices to find out more about how these approaches are being applied in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Join us for this practical session of what it takes to prove your claims with credibility.
Wear it! Delivering positive change at scale in apparel industry
The fashion industry has built a narrative of the passing value of clothing - in one month, and out of fashion the next. How do we move on from this - do we change the story (vintage/ resell/ hire), do we change the product (material selection/ supply chain improvement/ resource reduction) or do we change the ending (fibre recovery/ reuse / regenerative closed loops).
And, who do we collaborate on the global stage to amplify the impact?
Wrap it! Bringing product and package together to create value
Is packaging waste a material problem, a consumer behaviour problem, or an infrastructure problem?
Packaging plays a vital and important role in protecting the product and ensuring it travels through the logistics chain to the consumer–but the sheer volume of packaging waste creates an urgent problem for our societies to solve.
Sing it! Shifting mindsets & ensuring engagement on purpose
The risks of silence. The power of story.
In this executive workshop, GoodSense will guide action-focused discussion to help executives regain confidence in leading their organisations to communicate sustainability well, stepping up to the need for urgent action and reducing commercial risk.
GoodSense will share new insights into the sources of climate misinformation, disinformation and malinformation, and how the bad actors behind them are covertly influencing your brand voice.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to collectively shape GreenHush Insights — a first-of-its-kind statement on sustainability communication from Aotearoa's brand leaders: what's getting in the way, and what needs to change.
We'll conclude the session with practical guidelines for igniting a culture of strong, safe communication of sustainability initiatives.
Move it! What should we be planning re mobility and what role can brands play?
What is the future of mobility? How much will (should?) be driven by technical innovation and how much by brand-led culture change?
Don't miss this session with global insights out of China from Zhen Wu that will help inform New Zealand's thinking on mobility and deliver insights into expectations on those looking to engage with or supply into the dynamic China market.
9.20am
Relocate + Refresh
9.40am
Reimagine
A window into future brands we want to work with.
Cat Rowe and Ricky Fife, Silver Fern Farns
What does it take to fundamentally reimagine how a brand behaves?
Hear from Cat and Ricky about SFF's 'Promise to Place' programme, how this programme looks to reimagine the how the organisation operates at a fundamental level, and from that position, how it looks to influence the society we live in now and into the future.
At the same time, building brand strength and resilience.
11.00am
Food for thought
The opportunities for brand-led culture change and the role of AI for genuine good.
In this session hear from Mindy Wigzell about their Food for Thought programme focus on youth nutrition and also from Callum Ross about immediate, practical, application of AI to deliver on social and environmental challenges.
Mindy Wigzell, Foodstuffs Co-operative Affairs, Callum Ross, RossAi
Mindy Wigzell, Foodstuffs Co-operative Affairs
What if brands introduced programmes that could fundamentally change the health outcomes for the many? Mindy will speak to Foodstuffs's "Food for Thought" programme that leads with nutrition.
Callum Ross, RossAi
What if we could shift from retrospective reporting toward autonomous prediction and real-time decision support that delivers reduced contamination, better safety outcomes and reduced waste?
Callum will reflect on the global AI context and how it can be put to practical use for concrete outcomes.
11.50am
Lunch
12.50pm
Regenerative - the what and how
Case studies showing regenerative outcomes, financial realities, and benefits to society.
Facilitator: Jacqui Macalister, Macalister & Co, Rhys Roberts, Align Farms, Carolyn Mortland, Zespri, William Kenna, KW Kiwi Orchards
Rhys Roberts, Align Farms
If you wanted to know what it takes to assess the real impact of regenerative farming - this is the ideal case-study. Rhys will deliver a candid deep-dive into how you frame the model and what the business case highlights from nutrition to financial impacts!
Carolyn Mortland, Zespri
Many brands are still grappling with the what and how of regenerative growing. Indeed, whether 'regenerative' is even the right term.
What is the opportunity for change when big brands focus on delivering healthy eating occasions? What will flow back to the soil?
William Kenna, KW Kiwi Orchards
To deliver on regenerative we have to start where food is grown.
But just WHERE to start? William will bring the grower perspective to the discussion on regenerative food and the challenges of implementing change on the ground that will keep pace with consumer demand and regulatory change.
2.45pm
Refreshment break
3.00pm
Regenerative - metrics and messaging
How do we measure regenerative models and how can brands effectively engage consumers on this?
Melissa Baer, Backstory, Hugh Jellie, ĀTA Regenerative, Sarah McDonald, Zentera Wool Company
Melissa Baer, Backstory
In an insightful session with Hugh and Sarah, Melissa will bring a view on the supply chain context and touch on how technology can be leveraged to reduce the burden on the grower and enhance transparency.
Hugh Jellie, ĀTA Regenerative
Hugh will deliver a vision of a regenerative, non-extractive supply chain and expand on positive impacts beyond just the land and nutrition itself.
Sarah McDonald, Zentera Wool Company
Sarah will explore the demand-side push for transparency and how that increasingly requires robust validation of regenerative practices.
4.45pm
Close-out & feedback
This is your chance to round out key discussions and have your say on what you would like to see next.
5.15pm
Conference close
Programme subject to change, updated 17.06.26