Environmental Choice Board Chair Richard Tong says the new members will complement the board's wide areas of operation.

There is increasing demand for more sustainable consumer products and services with 90 percent of New Zealand consumers' purchasing behaviour being influenced by whether a company and its products are sustainable.

Tong says "Consumers conscious decision-making is driving businesses to consider corporate social responsibility through sustainability. Kiwi businesses are taking sustainability seriously and are starting to see the financial benefits to 'doing good'."

He believes ECNZ is fortunate to have a powerhouse of industry leaders in the consumer space joining the board.

Consumer New Zealand's Karen McDonald brings a consumer-focused perspective to the board from her five years plus at the member-based independent, non-profit. McDonald says she has also noticed a growing customer awareness and demand for products and services that are better for the environment.

"Sustainability is becoming part of the mainstream and as consumers demand more environmentally-friendly products, sustainability becomes a real consideration for businesses in terms of customers and brand."

The building industry is not an exception with trends toward efficiency and sustainability growing, Hans Buwalda's expertise as an environment, health and safety consultant is invaluable. He provides governance, strategy and risk management advice on environment, health and safety issues and can offer practical guidance in these areas.

Buwalda is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management and the Safety Institute of Australia.

ECNZ's stakeholder engagement will be led by Cottonsoft's Kim Calvert, a highly experienced and strategic senior manager in the FMCG industry who has served brands including Woolworths, George Weston Foods, Colgate-Palmolive and Villa Maria Estate.

Under Calvert's direction as Country Manager, Cottonsoft Limited has become a vanguard for sustainability certification in New Zealand, adding to its PEFC certification with the 2013 achievement of the Environmental Choice label, earned after a rigorous 18-month independent auditing process involving international supply chains.

As the winner of the 2014 ECNZ Innovator of the Year, Cottonsoft is today the only tissue-converting company to maintain a manufacturing presence in the South Island.

The Environmental Choice label is New Zealand's official environmental label, owned and endorsed by The Ministry for the Environment. It is the only Type I ecolabel in New Zealand which is managed by the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust at no cost to the government.

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