NXw balances profit and planet
NXW was delighted to join the panel at a summit led by Invest New Zealand, of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, at SailGP in San Francisco, aiming to highlight the important role businesses have to play in balancing profit and planet.
San Francisco: Speaking at an InvestNZ event in San Francisco today, SailGP CEO and Kiwi sailing legend Sir Russell Coutts had some strong words for businesses and investors about the need to do more to help restore the ocean.
“If you’re in business and addressing climate change isn’t at the heart of everything you do, you need to change,” he said. “The time for talk is over; we’ve created a climate disaster that’s getting worse fast, and everyone needs to act now.”
Anthony Mosse New Zealand Honorary Consul in San Francisco, hosts a panel discussion with Sir Russell Coutts, Sally Paterson, Alex Worker
InvestNZ has engaged with SailGP to launch the next round of its ‘Do Good, Do Well’ global investment strategy, helping foster a sustainable, inclusive, and innovative business culture that delivers both societal and financial benefits. The event brought together prospective investor migrants with some of New Zealand’s leading companies, managed funds and charities.
It is the first major piece of international marketing by InvestNZ under the Active Investor Migrant Programme and is designed to attract more active investment to deliver more significant economic impact for the good of New Zealand - offering investors options in direct investments, managed funds, listed equities or philanthropy.
InvestNZ General Manager Dylan Lawrence commented: “New Zealand businesses are leading the charge to develop innovative ways to help the ocean, which is understandable given our connection with the sea. We're a nation founded by the great Polynesian voyagers, and we have the fourth largest ocean space on the planet.”
“New Zealand has many innovative marine-based businesses, some of which were at the event today. Our future well-being and prosperity lie in growing such businesses, which is why InvestNZ is actively searching for Investor Migrants here in the West Coast of the United States who want to do well by doing good.”
SailGP’s Russell Coutts commented: “SailGP exists to make sailing better and use it as a platform for a better planet, which aligns perfectly with Invest New Zealand’s ‘Do Good, Do Well’ initiative. We’re proud to be associated with an event which promotes sustainable New Zealand startups.”
Sir Russell Coutts addresses a room of investors at an InvestNZ event in San Francisco
One of the businesses at the event is the nutrition venture NXW, which is a biotechnology company creating non-GMO microalgae proteins and other specialised food ingredients that offer a sustainable alternative to traditional animal proteins. More than 50% of New Zealand’s GHG emissions are from agriculture, and businesses like NXW play an important role in reducing this figure.
NXW Co-Founder Alex Worker said: “We believe that abundant protein production from microalgae technology is not only good for the environment but also good for business. Consumers are seeking delicious nutrition choices that do not cost our earth nor marine life, and we saw an opportunity to meet that demand while protecting our waters and ocean.”
Alex Worker from NXW on the InvestNZ Panel
Also at the event is the marine conservation charity Live Ocean Foundation, which supports science and innovation that can be scaled up to help reverse the ocean's degradation. Investors wanting to move to New Zealand under the Active Investor Plus category can support their application and do good by making philanthropic investments in such organisations.
Live Ocean Chief Executive Sally Paterson added: “A healthy ocean is our greatest ally in the fight for a healthy planet. The ocean is the life support system of the planet, it produces more than half the world's oxygen and is a powerful carbon sink. It’s vitally important that we invest in the knowledge to inform good decisions for the future and New Zealand as guardians to one of the largest and most significant ocean spaces on the planet can play an outsized role here.”
Sally Paterson from Live Ocean, with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from SailGP, and Dylan Lawrence from NZTE at the InvestNZ event in San Francisco
Under the Active Investor Plus programme, people can earn the right to live in Aotearoa New Zealand by making a significant business or philanthropic investment, with more information available here: All you need to know about Active Investor Plus | Invest New Zealand (nzte.govt.nz)
