| 19 South Canterbury: Port Blakely Port Blakely staff celebrate winning the Environment Canterbury Sustainability and Environmental Commercial Award at the 2023 South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards in August. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT While some may still see sustainability as a buzzword, for Zolve Environmental managing director Zac Robinson, it’s an absolutely vital aspect of running a modern business and one that can be achieved by taking very practical measures. Zac Robinson says his ive years at forestry irm Port Blakely (as their health, safety and environmental manager) was amazing, saying ’they really walk the talk when it comes to sustainability and community engagement’, and it was a hard call to move onto starting his own consultancy. It was Zac himself who nominated Port Blakely for the Environment Canterbury Sustainability and Environmental Commercial Award at the 2023 South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards in Timaru on August 18. Having seen and in-fact instigated some of Port Blakely’s environmental initiatives; he has seen irsthand how they have really leaned into a real pathway towards more sustainable practices. “The awards night was great fun; it’s just nice seeing the team awarded because they put so much e ort into these initiatives,” Zac says. “They do a lot in the environmental space, from species protection to vegetation management and planting to now recycling materials that were going to waste so its nice to see them getting some acknowledgement for that by the Problems can be Zolved business community in South Canterbury.” The Wood Residue program was one that impressed, the judges on the evening commenting on how taking such a practical step and inding a good use for slash that was previously considered waste and turning it into a bio-fuel, showed it was leading by example. They also commented on the Pekapeka (bat) species protection and general indigenous forest management practices drew praise. Tree planting can go a long way towards helping protect Pekapeka and indeed all native species. Not that Zac has ventured out on his own by starting Zolve Environmental, he is focused on helping businesses and organizations reach their sustainability goals by putting real action plans and initiatives into place. “There are a lot of regulations coming out in terms of climate change and we really pride ourselves on being that link between the public and private sector, helping to turn their environmental goals into a reality with tangible and measurable results. These sorts of project do have real environmental, social and economical bene its and I think the business community is starting to see that.” For more information on how your business or organisation can reach its environmental goals, visit https://www.zolveenvironmental.com/ or reach out to Zac at zrobinson@zolve.co.nz Inspired by our people, committed to our environment. Zolve Environmental 03 972 6877 | www.zolveenvironmental.com Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to delivering high-quality solutions. Based in South Canterbury, we deliver services Nationwide. Our expertise includes: • Biosecurity • Health, Safety and wellbeing • Environmental Management • Forestry (Environmental Services) Some of the services that we offer includes: • Project Development and Delivery • Contractor Management • Strategic Analysis and Reporting • HSE Systems and Policy Development • Regulatory Compliance
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