NZ Taxonomy technical advisory group recruitment

An Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (NZ Taxonomy) provides recognisable definitions that can be used by investors and capital providers who want to make investments into the global transition to a low emissions economy. 

Over 50 jurisdictions are developing taxonomies. NZ’s approach is to closely align to the Australian Taxonomy, adapting international definitions to fit our business, legal and policy environment. Being an importer of capital, these definitions need to be recognisable, credible and relevant to investors, while being applicable and suitable in the NZ context. 

A common language and approach is preferable to individual organisations creating their own definitions. The standardisation will reduce friction and accelerate the pace and scale of capital flow towards better outcomes. 

While taxonomies don’t provide a complete solution, they are vital tools that financial institutions and Government can use to direct capital towards more sustainable outcomes. 

Taxonomies offer broader benefits – they help prevent greenwashing, guide Government incentives, attract international green capital, and align with key trading partners’ regulations/standards. 

The NZ Taxonomy prioritises interoperability and harmonisation with global standards. It will be closely aligned to the Australian approach, which also follows the principle of ensuring credibility and harmonisation.

CSF is a taxonomy development partner and will coordinate the process, technical delivery and stakeholder engagement for the taxonomy. CSF is not the decision-maker on the various aspects e.g. technical screening criteria, do no significant harm criteria, and minimum social safeguards.

The role of the Government is to provide legitimacy to the process and to provide a predictable source of funding to guarantee a stable environment for the development of the NZ Taxonomy.

Importantly, the Government does not drive the development of the NZ Taxonomy. Instead, it either accepts or declines to endorse the process, rather than evaluating the quality of criteria developed by the TEG and TAGs. CSF is the liaison between all groups and care is taken to ensure that industry and political influences do not hinder the independence of the body developing the technical screening criteria.

Taxonomies prioritise climate change mitigation for several reasons:

• Measurability: It’s generally easier to determine and quantify substantial contributions that economic activities make to mitigation efforts.

• Established frameworks: There are already well-established best practices, criteria, and thresholds in the area of climate change mitigation, providing a solid foundation for our work.

Adaptation and resilience are crucial for NZ, however there is currently a lack of international consensus on what constitutes a substantial contribution in these areas, largely because these factors are often highly localised. This makes it difficult to establish standardised criteria that are both globally relevant and locally applicable.

Our approach is to focus on mitigation as an immediate priority, with adaptation and resilience developed at the same time, to the full degree possible, while taxonomies develop internationally. This strategy allows us to move quickly while aligning with the Australian adaptation and resilience criteria for agriculture and land use, as global standards evolve.

In line with the recommendations developed by the ITAG, the NZ Taxonomy development and Governance will include Māori experts and perspectives.

Typically, recommendations are made by a technical group comprised of relevant experts to an oversight group, which also considers usability and application in the market and determines whether to accept the technical recommendations. From here, the Government has a role in endorsing (or not) the process taken and ultimately in endorsing the taxonomy.

CSF has recommended that integrity safeguards are put in place to protect the process from undue industry or political influence.

Yes, there are three ways to engage: 

1. Public consultation: Opens from April 2025 to May 2025. Sign up here for reminders.

2. Join public webinars and/or stakeholder discussion sessions to stay in formed at key phases of the development.

3. Stay informed: Subscribe below for NZ Taxonomy-related updates. 

Sustainable Finance is a broad approach integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into financial decisions.

Green Finance is for activities aimed at supporting environmentally beneficial projects.

Transition Finance helps high-emitting sectors or entities shift towards low-carbon or net-zero pathways.

See this article for more information, including scope, application and examples from New Zealand.