An examination of changing sustainable business practices in New Zealand : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Natural Resources Management and Ecological Engineering at Lincoln University

Abstract

To address global issues such as biodiversity loss, water pollution, urbanisation, deforestation, and climate change it is pertinent to understand the practices of one of the most significant contributors to environmental degradation globally – business. This study investigated ‘how’ and ‘why’ New Zealand businesses are changing their practices in the context of sustainability and examined the usefulness of social practice theory in a business context. A modified social practice theory-based framework was used to examine New Zealand businesses’ move towards more sustainable business operations and the recruitment, defection or continual performance of business practices. Shove’s ‘meanings’, ‘materials’, and ‘competence’ social practice model was modified to include a fourth element ‘rules’. Rules in this study are everyday directives and instructions and include social norms. Rules were found to be a prominent element in business practices and the addition of rules as a fourth element allows for business practices to be better understood and conceptualised. This research increases the current understanding of the establishment, disestablishment, resurrection, and transformation of New Zealand businesses’ practices which could be advantageous for the successful implementation of more sustainable initiatives across the business sector.