Through its strategic partnership with the Young Enterprise Trust, the Ministry challenged young entrepreneurs to rethink business to enhance New Zealanders’ relationship with the environment and enable a sustainable future.
On 1 July, at a hackathon style event called Entrepreneurs in Action (EIA), 60 Young Enterprise Scheme students came together to respond to the Ministry’s environmental business challenge. Deputy Secretary, Joint Evidence, Data and Insights (JEDI), Tash Lewis opened this year’s EIA alongside Louise Nash, Founder and CEO of Ministry strategic partner Circularity, who explained the importance of shifting to a circular economy and the ways that NZ businesses were achieving this.
How can businesses design and deliver products and services that enhance New Zealanders’ relationship with the environment and accelerate Aotearoa’s transition to a more sustainable future?
Ministry staff helped the rangatahi consider how to incorporate Te Ao Māori and circular economy concepts into business design. Ministry staff helped the rangatahi consider how to incorporate Te Ao Māori and circular economy concepts into business design.
We have a huge task ahead of us to create a climate resilient, low emissions, and circular economy. But it's possible... Our health and wellbeing is dependent on a healthy environment. We need to reconnect and remember that.
Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Anna Ririnui had the unenviable task of being one of the judges.
“It wasn’t easy to choose – these young people really threw themselves into the challenge,” said Anna.
“First place was a low-cost camping/farm stay business, second was retailing planter boxes for renters and apartment-dwellers, and third was a Tinder-style app for sustainable grocery shopping choices.”
As well as being involved in the annual start-up weekend, the Ministry’s partnership with the Trust is focused on embedding environmental and sustainability considerations into the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) national programme, which reaches over 4,000 rangatahi every year. Many YES alumni go on to become founders themselves, so embedding these concepts early is a strategic move by MfE.
“While the weekend may catalyse ideas for potentially real businesses that could help progress the transitions sought by the Emissions Reduction Plan, waste strategy and biodiversity goals, we are also helping create current and future connections to Government support and priorities. These are Aotearoa’s young leaders of tomorrow, and they now have greater depth in environmental understanding and circular economy thinking,” Anna said.
Congratulations to all of the teams. Nōu te ao - the world is yours.
The Young Enterprise Trust builds capability and capacity amongst our future leaders and company founders through its Young Enterprise Scheme. The annual ‘Entrepreneurs in Action’ event is for year 12 and 13 students.