New Zealand native know-how lauded for big business
Instead of a wasteful 'take, make and throw' approach, companies should copy indigenous principles and aim for a 'circular' way of work that recycles and re-uses
London — Global businesses should heed traditional, indigenous knowledge to better protect land, honour old customs and boost profits, participants at a conference in New Zealand said on Thursday. Instead of a wasteful “take, make and throw” approach, companies should copy indigenous principles and aim for a “circular” way of work that recycles and re-uses, said participants at a summit devoted to the circular economy. “We’re a Maori organisation so while there’s a very strong commercial and business arm to what we do, there’s also a cultural, charitable and community focus,” said Kerensa Johnston, CEO of Wakatu Incorporation. New Zealand-based Wakatu has about 4,000 shareholders who mostly descend from the region’s original Maori land owners. Johnston said the firm followed the traditional tenets shared by many indigenous people, whose way of life is under threat globally as the governments and corporations seek to develop the land and resources that sustain their native communitie...
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