Sustainability
At Spark

When we consider the challenges we face as a nation, it is clear that technology will continue to play a critical role in how we adapt and transition to a more prosperous future.
 
Covid-19 has changed the game for all New Zealanders in one way or another, and technology has helped us adapt – keeping us connected from a distance, enabling working from home, home schooling, and e-commerce, entertaining us, and supporting contact tracing and vaccination certificates.  When we look around the world, it is clear to see Covid has driven around five years’ worth of digital transformation in the last two alone.
 
At the same time, we are faced with one of the greatest challenges of our generation in climate change. It will take system-wide change across the economy to deliver the kind of emission reductions we need to see, and we can’t achieve this without addressing our long-term productivity challenges.
 
What is exciting for Spark is that technology is an enabler of this kind of change.  As we continue to grow our business, so too are we focussed on growing the digital economy and ensuring Aotearoa can reap the full benefits it will bring. 
 
We have reviewed and refined our approach to sustainability and updated our framework to reflect this new context and opportunity (see visual below).
 
A key focus is on our own sustainability, so that we can then support New Zealand’s recovery and economic transformation. The principle of equity is at the heart of our approach, and we remain committed to working in partnership to make a positive contribution to digital equity and to continue our focus on diversity and inclusion.
 
Sustainability is integrated into our three-year strategy as a key pillar – ‘A positive digital future for all of New Zealand’. This sits alongside the work of the Spark Foundation and Te Korowai Tupu – our Māori strategy. We recognise that how we work will be critical. We will work in partnerships based around shared values, underpinned by the principles of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga.
 
To learn more about our approach to sustainability – including how our focus areas are determined, how it is resourced, and our sustainability governance – please download a copy of Sustainability at Spark. You can also learn more about our approach to bridging the digital divide by downloading a copy of Spark’s Digital Equity Commitment.