WasteMINZ’ Be the Change Summit 2020
19 – 22 October 2020
Do you recall where you were when you heard about the death of JFK, Princess Diana or John Lennon, or the first moment you heard of the Twin Towers? Of course.
Your future self or the next generations may well ask instead – ‘Where were you when Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand was going into lockdown?’
This defining moment in NZ’s history has demonstrated our personal and national resilience.
Our ability to unite in a common goal.
Our desire to be the change.
It’s hard to believe, but we chose this theme for our 2020 conference in February, in the heady days before the world turned completely upside down. We sensed then that our members were looking to play their part in moving our industry forward – to do better, to be better, to deliver higher value.
Then came that fateful Monday afternoon in March. Business Continuity Planning took centre place in our boardrooms and conversations – with stakeholders, clients, central and local government, and with our staff and teams – as we found new ways to work under Alert Level 4 of the COVID-19 Response plan.
Said Winston Churchill: ‘Never waste a good crisis.’ Necessity is the mother of invention and the provider of great clarity. New Zealand’s ensuing decisive action gave us certainty while other countries were left floundering.
But tough decisions require tough actions. Managing risk has become ever more critical in our industry, changing the ways we could and do serve our communities. The protection, health and safety of Aotearoa New Zealand’s people and land took its rightful place up front and centre. Waste services went from being largely invisible to being essential. Higher value has been placed on the people delivering the service, with people from among the 1.5 million households served showing their appreciation for those collecting their rubbish and recycling in creative and heart-warming ways.
Within the waste minimisation, resource recovery and contaminated land management sector, NZ’s innovative style has helped us be agile in finding ways to keep servicing as much of the nation as possible with minimal interruption. People and organisations know more than ever about the value chain of our services and products in the reduction, containment and elimination of waste.
And it is that innovation and solution based mentality that has led to our decision about Conference 2020. This year’s conference – henceforth known as WasteMINZ ‘Be the change’ Summit 2020 – is being delivered to you virtually.
With a digital summit, we can deliver more insight and knowledge to far more of you, and at lower cost. You can attend all the sessions and not miss out on the nuggets of wisdom from other streams. You can select the best options for yourself and have flexibility to manage your workload and family commitments. You can mingle and chat with your colleagues and listen to top-tier international presenters without the expense and difficulty of travelling.
Just as we all stayed within our bubble when asked, it’s important that we also hold each other to account, that we don’t lose our sense of urgency to find a new way of doing things, that we continue being open to new options, to new thinking and seeing technology as an aid to our ongoing conversations.
COVID-19 has, in many ways, brought the world together.
In the WasteMINZ Be the Change Summit 2020, we will bring our world together.
To prepare for a world that we did not expect but in which we will continue to do what we do best and to thrive.
A summit in which to meet. To discuss. To progress. To be the change.
