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Sustainability at HRNZ

He aha te mea nui o te ao

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata

Creating a sustainable future requires the action of people. Our sector is all about people and we believe HRNZ has a leading role and responsibility to play towards a more sustainable future. We are weaving sustainable practices, solutions and strategies throughout our organisation – inspiring our team to be sustainable champions so our impact grows within our whānau and beyond to our wider community.

Why is sustainability important to our team:

“At HRNZ we’re committed to supporting HR leaders/professionals in their roles as the facilitators of the change that enables a sustainable future.  For New Zealand organisations to achieve [the SDGs], leaders need to change the hearts and minds of people in their organisation. It requires commitments from all employees to a broader corporate responsibility.”Nick McKissack | CEO HRNZ

“Sustainability for our people is about the recognition of our unique context when looking at HR. Designing for our future workforce (being ahead of the game), means critically looking at what we are doing now and making sure we are prepared to support the future.  And sometimes that means we need to throw out the current ways and designing something that is completely different.  It can be scary, but our Tipuna and our Rangatira have prepared us for this.  Kia kaha and trust that ‘feeling’ that we are heading in the right direction.” – Lorna Goodwin | Project Manager: Transforming HRM

“Through our mahi we interact with organisations and businesses all throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand so HRNZ is in a really awesome space where we can role model what good looks like in every day decisions, and share with others how easy it is to shift your ways of working to align with the SDG’s and make your practices sustainable. The potential for great sustainable outcomes are present in so much of HR practice, especially when HR interacts with so many different aspects of the employment lifecycle, so it’s crucial we’re walking the talk ourselves!” – Amy | Manager Professional Standards and Development

We are kickstarting our sustainable change through aligning to and actioning the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2015 all 193 UN member states, including New Zealand adopted Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are not only the roadmap to achieving Agenda 2030 but are HRNZs framework for making sustainable impact. We have aligned HRNZs mahi to the relevant SDGs and targets (see Our Sustainability Commitment for more details). 

Similar to the SDGs, HRNZ prioritises all areas of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. We are Associate Members of the Sustainable Business Council, members of Diversity Works NZ, and we have a seat on the Council for Workbridge. Akin to the ethos of the 2030 Agenda: “Leaving no one behind” this is key to an inclusive and diverse HR sector but more than that, we want to engage all our staff, HR and wider community to connect and action the SDGs. Through our various webinars that educate and inspire sustainable practices to our increasing library of podcasts showcasing sustainable leaders, we are doing our bit in the Decade of Action.

HRNZ is also recognising those making impact towards areas of sustainable development with its HR Awards. We have categories that celebrate individuals who promote diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and learning development and this year we’ve introduced two Mana Tangata Awards, which celebrates individuals or organisations incorporating bi-cultural HR into their practices and the enactment of Tikanga Māori-based HR practice. Applying the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an on-going focus for HRNZs sustainability journey and we are in the process of building a bi-cultural HR strategy (see Our Partnerships for Sustainability for more details).

We believe people can change the world and right now, the world certainly needs changing. HRNZ welcomes you to join its sustainable mission and let’s achieve the world we want by 2030.