Jackson Rowland
on stewardship and sustainable finance

Jackson doesn’t see sustainability as a disruption, but as a natural evolution of good business. "New or different doesn’t equal bad. It's something to learn about, to trial, and to figure out how it can help us move forward at pace," he explains.

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As Director of the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code, Jackson champions the idea that investors have a profound role to play: by using their influence thoughtfully, they can help companies navigate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) opportunities  -  strengthening both long-term value and societal outcomes.

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His journey into impact was shaped by a pivotal moment. While studying law at Canterbury University, the Christchurch earthquakes struck. Jackson joined the Student Volunteer Army to help clean up the city - a formative experience that would change his career trajectory forever. "The fulfilment I felt from cleaning up a stranger’s driveway was a complete surprise to me, and motivated me to continue finding ways to serve since then, and to integrate that service into my career wherever I could," he reflects.

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Driving sustainability within the financial sector brings its own challenges. Jackson points to the higher burden of proof that sustainability initiatives often face: "Best practices are evolving so fast that traditional instincts and experiences often lag behind. While this burden of proof can be important and justified at times, too often it creates unreasonable expectations which get in the way of sensible decisions."

 

Yet, Jackson believes Aotearoa holds a unique advantage: "We sit at a unique nexus of seeing, smelling and feeling what we have to lose, and the ability to do whatever is needed to ensure we don’t. But we can’t let our beautiful surrounds fuel complacency. We need to make plans now to ensure our future is the future we all want it to be." He stresses the need for greater urgency, drawing attention to the intangible nature of long-term changes and New Zealand’s relative isolation from global best practices.

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When engaging stakeholders on ESG, Jackson’s approach is to meet people where they are: "What are their long-term priorities, and how does sustainability support those priorities, rather than feel like a trade-off?" In investment, he notes, long-term financial returns are simply incompatible with a future marked by instability, inequality, and extreme climate events.

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His advice to rising change-makers is simple but powerful: "Give everything a go. Study a variety of things. Volunteer for different organisations. Do whatever you can to get a variety of experiences so you can identify what it is you most enjoy doing. That’s where you’ll excel, and have the most fulfilling life in the process."

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To strengthen sustainable finance in Aotearoa, Jackson urges investors to actively adopt the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code - using their influence to drive better ESG outcomes, manage long-term risks, and maximise value creation. As the Code continues to shape investment practices post-2022, accelerating its uptake, especially across private markets, will be critical to ensuring that environmental and social sustainability are embedded into mainstream investment decision-making.

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BLOOMING  Sustainability Questionnaire

Name: Jackson Rowland

Company & Title: Director, Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code

Website & LinkedIn Profile: https://stewardshipcode.nz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonrowland/

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* Guiding Values | Kaupapa 

If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?  

Give everything a go. Study a variety of things. Volunteer for different organisations. Do whatever you can to get a variety of experiences so you can identify what it is you most enjoy doing. That’s where you’ll excel, and have the most fulfilling life in the process.  

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* Leading Change | Arataki

A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:  

I was studying at Canterbury University when the Christchurch earthquakes struck, and that will always be a key fork in my path. At the time I was studying law and wedded to the idea of being a lawyer, but like most of the other students I started volunteering with the Student Volunteer Army to help clean up the city. The fulfilment I felt from cleaning up a strangers driveway was a complete surprise to me, and motivated me to continue finding ways to serve since then, and to integrate that service into my career wherever I could.

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What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector? 

The higher burden of proof that sustainability is held to, because it’s newer, which means best practice is evolving rapidly, which means we typically have less experience and instinct with it than more traditional financial practices. While this burden of proof can be important and justified at times, too often it goes under the radar, and creates unreasonable expectations which get in the way of sensible decisions. New or different doesn’t equal bad. It's something to learn about, to trial, and to figure out how it can help us move forward at pace.

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Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:  

Meeting people and organisations where they are. What are their long term priorities, and how does sustainability support those priorities, rather than feel like a trade off? When it comes to investing, typically the long term goal is maximizing financial returns. That will simply not happen in a market that faces political instability, social inequality and frequent extreme weather events. Investors have a major role in influencing whether those outcomes eventuate, which is why more and more are starting to act now in a way that doesn’t undermine their long term priorities.

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What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?  

We sit at a unique nexus of seeing, smelling and feeling what we have to lose, and the ability to do whatever is needed to ensure we don’t. What we’re lacking, however, is the motivation to prevent that. I think this is for lots of reasons, the intangible nature of long term changes, and our relative isolation from both global best practices and geopolitical fragilities. But we can find the news. We can find the trends. We can’t let our beautiful surrounds fuel complacency. We need to make plans now to ensure our future is the future we all want it to be.   

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​ * Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki

Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability: 

• Abundance by Peter Diamandis: Fundamentally reshaped how I saw what was possible in our future 

• Project Drawdown, and the 100 solutions to slowing climate change that already exist, and simply need to be scaled

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Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:  

New Zealand’s geographical isolation makes it particularly important for us to actively get overseas to learn from where others are pushing boundaries. What international conferences are there in your field? Can you do a secondment at an international contemporary? Or even just meet with them and ask how they do things? When I’ve actively tried to learn about responsible investment practices in larger markets, for example, I’ve learned something new every time, without fail, and been able to improve our practices back home accordingly.

A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention: 

I have to give a shoutout to the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code, a framework to help investors use their influence to help the companies they own navigate critical ESG opportunities. Crucially, this is to maximise long term value, but this goes hand in hand with environmental and social sustainability because these pose some of the greatest risks to investment management today. Stewardship is an area where NZ is playing catch up globally, after it took off post GFC as a way for investors to better manage risks. NZ’s Code launched in 2022 and has contributed to major changes in the way investments are managed in NZ. There’s more work to do, however, and we hope to see private markets increase their adoption of stewardship to improve risk management, particularly post investment, in the future.

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The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:

Te Puoho Katene, Shruthi Vijayakumar

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* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:

Set an afternoon aside to research big picture global trends. Quality of life. Climate change. Rates of democracy. You’ll find to find a lot of interesting and great news in there. A new malaria vaccine has saved 5 million lives in 12 months, for example. And a lot to be worried about too. Come up with an idea of what you think our world will be like in 10 years. What do you think of that? How will that affect your work? The lives of your children? And, most importantly, what can you do now to change that trajectory? We all influence so much more than we think. We often just don’t make the space to think about our levers and how to best use them.