← Strategic response to external factors
Sustainability, kaitiakitanga, and broadened measures of success
Recent papers explicitly test whether a business measures success beyond shareholder profit alone — genuine action here, not just a green statement, is what the standard rewards.What genuine kaitiakitanga action looks like in a business context
- Kaitiakitanga is guardianship or stewardship — of the environment, resources, or a community's wellbeing — extending responsibility beyond the immediate transaction.
- A genuine action is SPECIFIC and material to the business's actual operations: a named programme, a measurable change in sourcing, waste, or resource use — not a general statement of values.
- Link the action to a real measure the standard asks about (market share, economic sustainability): stewardship actions often build long-term brand loyalty and customer trust, which supports market share over time even when they raise short-term costs.
"The business cares about the environment" is not an action
A statement of values with no specific programme or measurable change attached is not evidence of kaitiakitanga in practice — name the actual action (a zero-waste programme, geothermal energy use, an environmental partnership) and its actual mechanism, exactly as you would for any other strategic response. ✓Broadened success measures still need a named mechanism
A business measuring success by a "quadruple bottom line" (economic, social, environmental, cultural) is still expected to show HOW a sustainability action moves a specific measure — market share, cost, or reputation — rather than treating "we broadened our measures of success" as an answer in itself.Two ways a stewardship action pays off financially
- Directly: lower long-term input or energy costs from a more efficient process.
- Indirectly: brand loyalty and customer trust built over time, supporting price and market share even where the action itself raises short-term cost.