12 August 2022
Southland Just Transition – Business Transition Research Report
The goal of Southland Just Transition is to:
Help Southland build its economic, environmental and social resilience through and beyond the planned closure of the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter in December 2024.
The workplan has been broken into seven workstreams:
- Clean energy – led by Murihiku Regeneration
- Land use – led by Thriving Southland
- Aquaculture – led by Southland Aquaculture Working Group
- Business transitions – led by Southland Business Chamber
- Worker transitions – led by Murihiku Regeneration
- Long-term planning – led by Great South
- Community capability building – led by Invercargill City Council.
Within the Southland Just Transitions – Business transitions workstream, the Southland Business Chamber was contracted to undertake an in-depth research project to identify the support businesses need to successfully navigate the transition from NZAS, with a focus on SMEs and start-ups.
This research was broken into two distinct pieces of work:
- Engagement with NZAS supplier businesses to understand their challenges and the support they need to transition from NZAS and fully participate in new economic opportunities while continuing to support existing major industry, and
- Identifying the changes needed to the existing start-up support frameworks to reduce the region’s reliance on NZAS, and provide a better transition for existing business into new industries.
Please click here to read the Southland Just Transitions – Business transitions Research Report (excluding financial information for the two recommended business transitions project proposals).
We wish to thank all the local businesses, stakeholders and other workstreams who volunteered their time, and provided insights and validation for this research report.
The next step is for the Southland Just Transitions project proposals to be considered by the Ensuring Oversight Group (EOG) in September 2022. It is important to note that there is no expectation that any of the Southland Just Transtions proposed proposals will be accepted for a bid for Budget 23, and/or receive funding.
For more information about Southland Just Transitions visit southlandjusttransition.nz.