This B Corp month we’re bringing together great minds from B Corps, The Wellington Chamber of Commerce, NZTE and sustainability experts to dig into building resilience and prosperity in Wellington by supporting values-led businesses.

During this B Corp Month panel event we’ll be asking our amazing panellists:

Why are businesses that consider people, the planet, and profit successful?
What should all businesses be thinking about implementing in the near future?
What role does Employee Experience play in the current market?
Can a values led approach lead to resilience during economic pressures?
What support and resources are available to adopt a values led approach to business?

Our panel includes:

Facilitator: Holly Norton, Regenerative Design Lead at the Sustainable Business Network (SBN)
Qiulae Wong, Aotearoa B Lab Manager for B Lab Australia and New Zealand
Florence Van Dyke, Sustainability Lead at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and also Co-Founder Chia Sisters.
Wendy Alexander, Kin
Louise Aitken, Deloitte
Jenna Williams, The Wellington Chamber of Commerce

Panellist bios below.

The details:

Date: 29 March 2023
Location: Kiwibank, Central Wellington.
Time: 5:30 pm

After our panel event we'll have some drinks and nibbles.

Who should come along?

People involved in a values led business asking ‘what next?’.
Small to medium businesses thinking about moving to a values led approach.

Overall, the panel are going to provide valuable insights and takeaways for businesses looking to adopt a values-led approach and for organisations and individuals interested in supporting this movement for a better future in Wellington.

Come along to this in-person B Corp month event and hear from amazing people working in this space as they share their experiences and hopes of how our community can build a better future. #wegobeyond

Brought to you by your B Local community, Lee Bright from Method Recycling, Clare Everett from Springload and Sam Pigott from Sharesies.

And thank you to the amazing Kiwibank for being our hosts.

Attending the event

We're incredibly thankful to Kiwibank for hosting us at their beautiful office. Some information on access: when you arrive at 20 Customhouse Quay, please wait in the lobby (on the Waring Taylor Street side) for a Kiwibank representative to take you upstairs to level 8 where the event is taking place. You will be taken up to the event in groups, we ask for your patience as we manage this process. The building doors close to the public at 5.30.

More information about our amazing panellists and facilitator:

Holly Norton,Sustainable Business Network (SBN).
Holly leads Innovation and Regenerative Design at the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). She believes businesses can be a leading force in fighting climate change and nourishing our whenua and communities. She’s has lead innovation projects across government, NGOs and business and recently sold her first start-up Collaborate a ‘tinder for volunteering’ app. Prior to her work in Innovation she represented NZ in peace building visits to the Korean Demilitarised Zone and Geneva where she found her love for facilitation and solving complex problems in a people centered way. Holly thrives in any situation where all parts of a community ( government, NGO's Business) must work together to create solutions. Check out the latest sustainability tool she has led this kind of co-creation around - Docket!

Qiulae Wong. Aotearoa B Lab Manager.
Qiulae is the Aotearoa New Zealand Manager for B Lab - the non-profit organisation which oversees B Corp certification. Qiulae's background is in impact measurement and systems change, and she has recently returned from the UK where she worked for industry bodies and consultancies supporting businesses to align profit and purpose. In her role at B Lab she is working across the private and public sectors to make impact measurement and stakeholder governance the new norm.

Florence Van Dyke. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Florence is also the co-founder of Chia Sisters, a health beverage company supplying cafes and supermarkets nationally and in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Chia Sisters is a solar-powered, Zero Carbon and B Corp certified company. Florence is a Trustee and Co-Founder of Businesses for Climate Action. For her work in business and climate change, she is recognised on the Forbes 30 under 30 List and as an Edmund Hillary Fellow.
Florence is a lawyer by training, previously working at Bell Gully and for the United Nations. She has spent the last 12 months living in San Francisco where she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a Masters of Laws focused on business and climate change.

Wendy Alexander, Kin.
Wendy co-founded Kin, a quiet recruitment disruptor in 2017. After more than 20 years in and around the field of employee experience and recruitment, Wendy sensed that Kiwi businesses were ready for a fresh approach to attracting and retaining talent. Six years on, Kin has worked with over 250 companies across Aotearoa, supporting them to power their businesses by employing incredible humans.

Louise Aitken. Deloitte.
Louise Aitken is Deloitte New Zealand’s sustainability and climate lead for the Consulting practice. Louise brings more than 20 years’ experience leading people and businesses, delivering powerful outcomes to communities, and working with corporate and public partners to drive progress toward net-zero goals for a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Jenna Williams. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
As Programmes and Sustainability Advisor, Jenna brings a range of skills and enthusiasm to her role. Since joining Business Central in 2021, she has coordinated the roll out of our sustainability initiative- GoZero. Working alongside the BusinessNZ network she supports members to integrate sustainable practices into their workplace. Jenna is responsible for measuring Business Central’s carbon emissions and implementing new reduction initiatives, to help us meet our sustainability goals.