Chow:Hill CSR 2020 - 2021

This is our 12th year reporting on our business activities through a Company Social Responsibility (CSR) framework.

It took a whole-of-team approach to successfully navigate the year, and demonstrated that we had the resilience to do so. We have learned a lot from the experience in terms of the value of communication, in trusting in people, supporting and caring for each other. In common with other business, we reduced overheads and focused spending on essentials to retain liquidity and this worked well. One of the positive consequences of reducing business activity was the dramatic reduction in our carbon emissions, with emissions from travel and energy for heating, cooling and ventilation well down on average years.

In the last quarter of the year we developed and adopted two key documents. The first, a formalisation of an Environmental Policy. For many years we have operated without this codification but felt it necessary given the need for such a document from some stakeholders. The second is our Cultural Design and Relationships Framework – this recognises our identification of intergenerational stewardship in sustainable practice with kaitiakitanga from the perspective of a Māori world view.

The one other significant element to the year has been a comprehensive review of our governance and operational structure, which in the coming year will lead to a rollout of changes to our Board and internal structures for managing non-governance matters. We believe the involvement of a greater number of senior team members in managing and leading will result in a more effective and resilient business.

In the coming year we will oversee the completion of the restructure process and alongside this, modules of formal leadership training for a broad cross section of our staff. For our whole team we will be looking at implementation of aspects of a working-from-home strategy that we will be trialing mid-year. Looking outwards, our existing clients are a priority, yet we see opportunity for new relationships as the widespread effects of covid continue to influence the movement of people and capital; and create opportunities and new ways of thinking.

Each of the Directors contributes variously to Board activities to ensure our comprehensive coverage of risk, compliance, strategic, financial, people, culture and environment matters. Additionally, each has a specific project market sector in which they lead the business at a developmental and operational level. Leadership is supported and developed at all levels and includes specific professional development in leadership for graduate staff through to senior professionals. This programme focuses on projects and people, it builds confidence and resilience, and provides the skills for team members to apply these to client and consultant engagements and beyond this to our internal initiatives.

To rapidly plan and execute a whole-of-business strategy to respond to the Covid-19 emergency.In common with most New Zealanders, we shared the experience of a rapidly developing situation in the early part of 2021. Our Board came together quickly and were unified in our approach – regular and consistent information-gathering and analysis, regular communication with our team and external clients and stakeholders. Confidence was critical and by listening to experts and following the science we were able to maintain a steady and measured approach to the situation as it evolved. Constant monitoring of the financial, project status, technology and regulatory side of our operations was coupled with intensive involvement and care for the health and well-being of team members. The foundation for this was established and led by the superb, untiring work of our CEO.

Our team responded incredibly well during the first lockdown period, remaining flexible and understanding and working extremely hard despite stressful work-from-home conditions and challenging data communication channels. Personal contact through this period was important and we held regular company-wide Zoom meetings to share latest information, answer questions and advise next steps; project leaders kept in regular contact with individuals and project teams. Activation of working from home during the second lockdown was a smoother process but no less stressful or fatiguing than the first. In the fourth quarter we managed a successful return to our studio environment. Throughout, our people were incredibly proactive, understanding and patient throughout the worst phases of the pandemic and the key reason we have reached the optimistic position we are in at year’s end.The impact on our people precipitated by the pandemic at a personal level is not something we can quantify, but unquestionably it had a negative effect on the emotional and physical health of everyone. Overall, though, we each have developed a greater resilience, and collectively as a company have developed strategies and tools that have equipped us to better face future challenges in a more assured and collaborative fashion.

To undertake a review of our governance model, succession plan and operational structure, and then to plan and implement a way forward from the findings of that exercise.We delayed our process for this to the latter half of the year while we concentrated on our Covid-19 response. The purpose of the exercise was to evolve our governance and management model to best fit our business as we see it growing in the future, our ability to respond to market shifts, stakeholder needs and ways of working. Importantly, the outcome needed to fit with our culture and sustain our need for diversity.

With the contribution of external advisors and workshopping processes, we took a looking back/looking forward approach and comparing our structures and processes with like businesses. Key findings were the need for a smaller number of Board numbers with the opportunity for an independent Board Chair, the formation of formal Board subcommittees, a stricter separation of governance and management responsibilities and accountabilities, a clear line of authority for our CEO and the increased participation and contribution to programmes and processes by senior staff.

Last year we completed our review of our governance model, succession plan and operational structure. In the year to come we will be implementing changes to streamline our Board function, overseeing the formation of committees to oversee key areas such as risk and compliance, and people culture and environment; a greater devolution of operational responsibility and authority to our CEO, with increased senior staff involvement in day-to-day management.

This is our 12th Annual Company Sustainability Report. Covering the next few pages is a set of downloadable recorded data on our performance. We highlight our three most significant results in KPI Highlights. To capture whole-of-company performance in a broader context – how we conduct business, the impact we have on others, and matters of interest or concern to our stakeholders – we provide further information on and sections of this report.

We collect data to measure a range of business-relevant performance areas defined in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards framework, and these are reported in detail elsewhere on our ‘Measurement’ page.‍Our most interesting or significant results are highlighted here, whether they are highly positive or the contra. Recognising and understanding the ‘why’ of the negative acts as a catalyst to improve our performance.

Chow:Hill donates annually to the Sustainable Business Network’s Million Metres Streams programme for restoration of New Zealand’s waterways as a means of balancing the negative effects of our emissions. This year we have contributed to the Whangarei Urban Awa Project and this will fund 241m of stream planting which will is around 10% of the total planting planned. You can read more about MMS and this project in particular at