SME Sustainability & Impact Guide 2024

OVERVIEW OF THE MOST COMMON TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS
There are literally hundreds of different ecolabels, certifications, management systems and measurement frameworks addressing sustainability. Some are sector
specific (with over 100 for food and beverage alone) and others can be used for any product or business. This guide covers most of the tools and frameworks more
commonly used in Aotearoa New Zealand. Broadly, they fall into 3 buckets…
Plan, Measure and
Manage.
Greenhouse gas
Measurement and
Management.
Specific
Sustainability Issue.
• Support sustainability planning, measurement
and management across a broad range of
sustainability aspects.
• Can be thought of as more ‘organisation-wide’
frameworks.
• Strategic in nature, taking a longer-term focus.
• Require engagement from across the business.
• Usually become embedded in the businesses
DNA over time.
• Often recognised and used by organisations
globally.
• Some provide external certification.
• Specifically designed to support the
measurement and management of an
organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• Help with the technical side, like getting the
right data, aligning with accepted accounting
practices, and setting targets.
• Provide external certification/audit to provide
accountability.
• Can help underpin the GHG aspects of
broader frameworks from the ‘Plan,
Measure, Manage’ bucket.
• Designed to tackle specific issues under
the umbrella of sustainability, like fair
wages, product efficiency, organically
grown, product recyclability, and so on.
• They often have a certification pathway
via an audit or review, which gives
credibility to claims.
• Often used in tandem with each other.
• Useful for access to markets that
require evidence of specific standards.
• Can help underpin various aspects of
broader frameworks from the ‘Plan,
Measure, Manage’ bucket.