Business transparency rules have opened the doors to new opportunities for small- and medium-sized businesses. Transparency rules also improve debt collection in NZ as they improve the relationships between and among debtors and creditors. Transparency is brought about by demand from investors who want to know whether the companies they are backing are accountable in their response to environmental and sustainable challenges.
SMEs Being Part of the Solution
With the rules in place, New Zealand expects that all businesses are part of the solution to increasing social problems such as environmental damage caused by trade. New Zealand business leaders organized themselves and created a guide on how they can evaluate their value chain. The goal is to reduce their social and environmental impact in their supply chain. A logical effect to this cost savings. After all, there is a need for businesses to balance profitability with social responsibility.
“What we’re seeing is businesses are now regularly being held to account for their impact across the entire value chain – whether that’s in a supplier’s factory in a foreign country or how the product is disposed of once it has been used.”
Sustainable Business Council (SBC)
According to the SBC, some of the world’s biggest global brands want to be sure that their suppliers aren’t going to become a reputational risk for them. Overseas brands expect New Zealand businesses to understand their own risks and opportunities, and are acting on these.
“Our member companies – both large and small – who have worked through their value chains are seeing benefits; making them more resilient and in a number of cases identifying significant business opportunities.
Business Transparency Leads to New Opportunities
According to a research by NZ Business, sustainability transparency has opened new opportunities for businesses. A company regularly discloses its transparency in annual reports. Consumers, through the years, have increasingly been demanding products and services that come from ethical and sustainable sources. We have seen consumers boycotting brands and companies found to conduct unethical business practices. Social media has also allowed consumers to voice out their discontent against businesses and resonate these globally.
Business transparency also affects employee retention. NZ Business said nearly 75 percent of Kiwis employees feel it is important to work for a company that is socially and environmentally responsible. Transparency in business operations have also improved the standing of New Zealand products in international markets. Adding premium to sustainably sourced products allowed Kiwi companies to build trust in the overseas markets. Now, New Zealand is the gold standard for sustainable products.
COVID-19 Response for SME Sustainability
To continue to encourage transparency in more companies, the New Zealand government in mid-May announced the $50 billion COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, among other NZ COVID-19 reliefs to SMEs already provided. A $1.1 billion investment allocated in the Budget to create 11,000 environment jobs will support generations to come, according to the SBC.
What Business Transparency Means to Us
New Zealand is one of the best countries to do business with. At Slater Byrne, we help foreign companies in their debt collection in New Zealand using our knowledge on local business operations and domestic laws and regulations. We represent international clients, wherever you are in the world, as long as the debtor is in New Zealand.