Sustainable business leader and entrepreneur Florence Van Dyke has been appointed Head of Sustainability at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise | Te Taurapa Tūhono (NZTE), the government’s international business development agency.
Ms Van Dyke (pictured) will take up her role with NZTE from 11 July, supporting exporters to adopt sustainable and purpose-led approaches as part of their international growth. She will also guide NZTE’s own ongoing journey towards sustainability as a global organisation, NZTE said in a statement today.
Ms Van Dyke is recognised as a sustainable business leader in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, ranking in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Asia-Pacific in 2019. She joins NZTE after six years at Nelson-based exporter Chia Sisters, an accredited Living Wage, Zero Carbon, Climate Positive and B Corp drinks company which she co-founded with her sister Chloe.
Both co-founders were recently announced as finalists in the United Nations’ 2022 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge, which celebrates innovative women entrepreneurs advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through business.
Ms Van Dyke will retain an active directorship with Chia Sisters following her appointment to NZTE.
As part of her wider advocacy and mentorship in sustainable business, Ms Van Dyke is a co-founder of Businesses for Climate Action, which supports New Zealand businesses to measure and reduce their emissions. In this role she has led workshops with hundreds of businesses to tackle the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
In May Ms Van Dyke graduated from the University of California Berkeley School of Law with a Master of Laws in Business and Climate Change. She was a corporate lawyer prior to Chia Sisters.
“I am looking forward to combining my experience from Chia Sisters and learnings from Berkeley to support New Zealand companies to be world leaders in sustainable business,” says Ms Van Dyke.
“I see an opportunity for New Zealand businesses to be purpose-driven and to have a positive impact on people and on the environment. This is the right thing to do for the planet and can also bring competitive economic advantatages to Aotearoa.
“Globally, sustainable businesses are growing faster, attracting investment and retaining talent. At Chia Sisters I learnt this first hand. At Berkeley international leaders from the finance, business and academic sector reinforced it. This is the future of the global economy.”
