Disrupting the status quo for a sustainable future

Climate-tech investor Oliver Bruce MInstD sees climate change as the ultimate game theory problem. 

Everyone pollutes, but the effects are felt in places completely unconnected to those that caused the problem. It explains why governments everywhere are struggling to reduce emissions meaningfully. 

The answer, he says, is to build a better solution than the one causing the problem. 

Bruce has spent his career identifying and backing companies that challenge conventional thinking and drive meaningful change. 

“I’m looking for companies and opportunities that, if they work, will fundamentally alter the market dynamics. Climate-tech is ripe for this kind of disruption,” says Bruce, who will join the IoD’s panel of speakers at the inaugural Climate Governance Forum in Auckland on 21 October. 

He believes New Zealand has a unique opportunity to lead in the global fight against climate change by developing and exporting cutting-edge climate-tech solutions.

“New Zealand is a minnow in terms of global emissions, but that doesn’t absolve us from acting. We have a moral obligation to our kids and to the world. Lots of countries look to us, and we need to be smart about how we act.” 

Being smart means recognising that electrifying the economy is not just about reducing emissions, it is also sound business. 

“When you can save money and reduce emissions, that is a no-brainer. Initiatives such as Rewiring Aotearoa are showing us the way forward by promoting large-scale programmes for solar and community electrification.

“Solar and batteries are a classic example of climatetech that has just continued to get cheaper and cheaper,” he says.

But the vision extends beyond New Zealand’s borders. Bruce is convinced the greatest leverage lies in developing technologies that can be scaled globally.

“The biggest opportunity for impact, and the one that will make us richer as a country, is getting good at developing and exporting climatetech technologies that reduce emissions worldwide.

“New Zealand has the talent and the ingenuity to lead in climatetech innovation. We have a moral imperative to act, but more than that, we have a strategic opportunity to make a real difference – for our economy and for the planet.”

Read more of what Oliver Bruce has to say in the spring issue of Boardroom magazine coming soon – and visit iod.org.nz/climate-governance-forum to register for the Climate Governance Forum on 21 October and learn more about our speakers and the full programme.