Governing for nature: Strengthening strategy, risk and long-term value
Overview
New Zealand’s prosperity is tightly bound to the health of our land, water and biodiversity. For many organisations, nature underpins everything from supply chain reliability and infrastructure resilience to market access, insurance affordability and long-term competitiveness. Boards that understand their organisations’ nature dependencies and impacts are already making better strategic decisions - strengthening risk management, improving capital allocation, and uncovering new value through nature-based resilience and resource efficiency.
Nature loss, like climate change, is no longer a distant or specialist issue. It is a mainstream governance and business challenge that affects financial performance, investor confidence and organisational resilience. As markets, regulators and trading partners increasingly expect credible action on nature, the ability of directors to integrate these considerations into strategy, risk oversight and future investment planning has become essential - particularly in New Zealand, where our economy is deeply connected to natural systems.
This webinar brings together international perspectives, Aotearoa Circle insights on nature and economic resilience, and real-world experiences of applying nature considerations in governance and strategy. Together the speakers will explore how boards can confidently engage with nature as part of core business decision-making, and how nature-related insights can strengthen organisational resilience, innovation and long-term value creation. This session will provide pragmatic guidance to help you ask the right questions, make informed decisions and position your organisation for sustainable performance in a rapidly changing environment.
CPD
IoD members may log 1 CPD point for attending this webinar or watching on demand.
Speaker Information
Vicki Watson MInstD
Vicki Watson is the Chief Executive of The Aotearoa Circle which started its work in 2019. The Circle convenes public and private sector partners to tackle complex climate and nature challenges that threaten New Zealand’s future economic prosperity. Vicki and the Circle team have grown a significant coalition of the willing, and in collaboration with its partners, have completed over 25 major workstreams across agriculture, energy, seafood, tourism, and transport sectors. Vicki’s personal vision - Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Economy - aligns closely with The Circle’s mission, and she is deeply committed to achieving the vision of its founder, Sir Rob Fenwick.
Dr Charles Ehrhart MInstD
Dr. Ehrhart is a global executive and board member with 30 years of experience addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Charles currently serves as Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest multilateral fund for climate action, and as a Trustee and Governing Board Member of the Chapter Zero Alliance, which supports corporate directors worldwide to navigate the challenges posed by climate change and the loss of nature. Previously, as Global Solutions Lead for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Nature at KPMG International and Lead Partner for Climate Change and ESG at KPMG New Zealand, Charles guided boards, investors, and executive teams to integrate sustainability into governance, risk, and reporting systems. Earlier, as Global Coordinator for Climate Change and the Environment at CARE International, he led strategic planning, portfolio development, organisational change, and resource mobilisation for adaptation and nature-positive activities across 78 countries. Across sectors and continents, his work centres on anticipating and managing systemic risk, crystallising opportunity, strengthening accountability, and transforming ambition into long-term value creation for organisations, people, and planet.
Judene Edgar CMInstD
Judene is a Principal Governance Adviser with the Institute of Directors’ Governance Leadership Centre and Chapter Zero NZ lead providing best practice advice, guidance and advocacy for directors. She is also a trustee of the Rātā Foundation and Network Tasman Trust, and Chair of the Nelson Historic Theatre Trust.
Prior to joining the IoD she ran her own consultancy for over 20 years specialising in governance, policy, strategy and communications working across a wide range of sectors, including housing, health, solid waste, aviation, energy, not-for-profit and infrastructure.
She was a local government elected member for 12 years and a director on a range of private and public entity boards. She has a background in behavioural science and communications and is a Chartered Member of the IoD.
Additional information
Contact
Amy McNicol
National Sponsorship and Events Manager
+64 27 265 5824
amy.mcnicol@iod.org.nz