Participant Information Sheet

Date Information Sheet Produced:

23.11.2022

Project Title

Insights on New Zealand Sustainability Professionals

An Invitation

You are invited to participate in research investigating the role of the sustainability professional in New Zealand.

Very little is known about sustainability roles, which are gaining an increasing presence in many organisations. Oxygen Consulting, in conjunction with the Sustainable Business Council, The Sustainable Business Network and Auckland University of Technology, are conducting this research for a fourth year to continue to shed light on this rapidly evolving profession, the capabilities, enablers and succession pathways of these roles.

What is the purpose of this research?

The purpose of this anonymous survey research is to help grow the sustainability professionals’ sector. The key objectives are to clarify the role of the sustainability professional, benchmark current sustainability professional demographics and identify core capabilities needed by sustainability professionals. This will include current and future growth areas in this profession as well as barriers and enablers to sustainability professionals – both within organisations and within the learning & development environment. In order to gain a candid insight to this sector, information will be gathered at an industry group level only. This research will focus on the professionals within these organisations only. It will not cover the sustainability strategies or activities these organisations are undertaking.

The findings of this research will be presented in an open-source research insights report and may also be used for academic publications and presentations.

How was I identified and why am I being invited to participate in this research?

The target participants for this research include any employed persons who have ‘sustainability’ as part or all of their role. ‘Sustainability’ includes responsibilities that address the social, environmental and economic risks to the organisation. The scope will include anyone in full time, part time or contractual positions within public, private and not for profit sectors.

You have been identified as someone who has sustainability as part or all of your role, through your association with the Sustainable Business Council or the Sustainable Business Network.

How do I agree to participate in this research?

You consent to participate in this research by completing the survey at this link, which should take up to 20 minutes to complete. Your participation in this research is voluntary (it is your choice) and whether or not you choose to participate will neither advantage nor disadvantage you. You can withdraw from the survey at any point until your responses have been submitted but that once this has occurred your data cannot be identified or withdrawn. Your consent is implicit in the completion of the survey.

What will happen in this research?

The anonymous survey contains 5 sections. You will be asked a series of multi choice and short answer questions covering the organisational context for your role, the demographics of your role, including barriers and enablers, your wellbeing and individual perspectives on the future of sustainability roles. Data collected will be anonymous and only included for the purposes outlined above.

Oxygen Consulting intends to publish an industry insights report annually. Consequently, there is potential for the current survey data to be used in conjunction with results collected in previous and subsequent years. This would enable comparative multiyear analysis. This means your secured anonymous data will be kept indefinitely for future comparative Insight Reports and for academic publications. It will not be used for any other purposes.

What are the discomforts and risks and how will these be alleviated?

You may feel potential discomfort in answering some of the more confrontational questions e.g. regarding remuneration, or wellbeing.  However, your response will be completely anonymous, therefore neither you or your organisation can be identified. You can opt out of the survey at any time if there is any residual discomfort.

What are the benefits?

  • Enable sustainability professionals to benchmark their roles against others and to identify where the succession pathways exist;

  • Assist businesses to better support and specify these roles within their organisations;

  • Enable learning institutes to further understand how they can prepare people for these roles, through the courses and learning pathways they offer;

  • Establish robust data and intel on the role of the sustainability professional in New Zealand, to provide a better understanding and awareness of this profession;

  • Through the above, help grow the sustainability profession.

What are the costs of participating in this research?

There is no cost to this research, although it will take up to 20 minutes of your time to complete.

What opportunity do I have to consider this invitation?

The online survey will be open for four weeks, to allow you to consider and participate.

Will I receive feedback on the results of this research?

The results of this survey will be published in an open-source insights report, which you will be able to freely access via the Oxygen Consulting website https://www.oxygen-consulting.co.nz/

How is the survey data stored?

The anonymous data derived from this survey is held securely in Oxygen Consulting's Google Workspace and is indefinitely held by Google, until the data is electively removed.

What do I do if I have concerns about this research?

Any concerns regarding the nature of this project should be notified in the first instance to the Project Supervisor, Dr. Peter McGhee, pmcghee@aut.ac.nz, Extn 5865.

Concerns regarding the conduct of the research should be notified to the Executive Secretary of AUTEC, ethics@aut.ac.nz.

Whom do I contact for further information about this research?

Please keep this Information Sheet for your future reference. You are also able to contact the research team as follows:

Researcher Contact Details:

Dr. Sarah Holden, sarah@oxygen-consulting.co.nz, 027 620 4406

Project Supervisor Contact Details:

Dr. Peter McGhee, pmcghee@aut.ac.nz, Extn 5865.

 

Approved by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee on 18.01.23. AUTEC Reference number 23/1.

Sarah Holden