Josephine Rawstorne
on unlocking circularity
Sustainability, to Josephine Rawstorne, is all about action — deliberate, persistent, and impactful. As Sustainability & ESG Lead at BMS, she lives by Jane Goodall’s warning that “the greatest danger to our future is apathy.” Her guiding question: “What change can I make? What action can I take?” fuels everything she does.
Her passion took shape during her Master’s in Sustainable Business Practice, where ideas like gamifying sustainability and viewing waste as a resource sparked her imagination. But it was the six-month zero waste lifestyle challenge she took on during Plastic Free July in 2017 — inspired by Lauren Singer of Trash is for Tossers — that cemented her commitment to making sustainability practical and personal.
Josephine knows the real challenge lies in weaving sustainability into the fabric of business strategy, rather than treating it as an add-on. She’s especially focused on IT Asset Decommissioning (ITAD), an often overlooked but crucial part of the circular economy. “Redundant IT assets aren’t just e-waste,” she explains, “they hold untapped value, and businesses can extend their life while benefiting financially.”
Grounded in te ao Māori principles, Josephine sees whakapapa as the foundation for kaitiakitanga — a call to actively care for the environment through circular economy thinking. When engaging stakeholders in ESG conversations, her approach is clear and straightforward: explain the what, why, and how.
She believes Aotearoa’s unique strength lies in embracing Indigenous values and recognising that small-scale innovation — especially from entrepreneurs and SMEs — is both beautiful and powerful. Supporting these change-makers is key to embedding sustainability throughout corporate New Zealand.
Books like Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart, Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, and The Drawdown continue to shape her hopeful, practical outlook.
Her call to action is simple but profound: “Stop and think — how was this made? Where will it end up? How can I be part of the solution, not the problem?” Oh, and one friendly plea: please stop microwaving your food in plastic!
Through her work, Josephine is planting a seed for the future — educating young people to see waste as a resource and to live with kindness towards both people and planet.
BLOOMING Sustainability Questionnaire
Name: Josephine Rawstorne
Company & Title: Sustainability & ESG Lead at BMS
Website & LinkedIn Profile: https://www.bms-it.co.nz/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephinerawstorne/
* Guiding Values | Kaupapa
If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?
Action. Action. Action.
A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:
This quote from Jane Goodall, “The greatest danger to our future is apathy”, fuels my personal motto of, ‘What change can I make, what action can I take!’
If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?
Use business as a force for good and don’t give up even when at times it feels like you’re just cherry picking the good news story. Always ask questions, don’t expect to know all the answers.
* Leading Change | Arataki
A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:
My Masters in Sustainable Business Practice. I wrote pages and pages on gamifying sustainability, waste as a resource and how to get the Kardashians speaking about sustainability! Another moment that shaped my path as a waste minimisation expert was during Plastic Free July in 2017. I set myself the zero waste challenge, one small jar for a month’s landfill waste, I then embarked on a 6-month zero waste lifestyle. This movement was inspired by Lauren Singer from Trash is for Tossers. You should try it for one month!
What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?
Embedding sustainability into corporate strategies, making it part of the strategic conversation, not just an add on to a role or a nice to have.
An area you need more support with:
Furthering conversations with businesses about the importance of upstream and end of life management of IT fleets. Redundant IT assets are not just e-waste, they hold value, their life can be extended, and businesses can receive a financial return from this value. I feel there is plenty of support for the e-waste sector because it’s tangible, but the ITAD sector is not understood (this stands for IT Asset Decommissioning). The principles of an ITAD have circular economy principles of remarketing at its core, an ITAD is a key contributor to the circular economy.
An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:
Circular economy thinking according to te ao Māori, whakapapa gives rise to kaitiakitanga and our responsibility to actively care for our environment.
Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:
Explaining the what, why & how!
What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?
Te ao Māori principles towards sustainability and realising that small is beautiful & powerful. I think we could be leaders in so many areas of sustainability; we need to keep the entrepreneurs and SME’s thriving and embedding sustainability into our corporate strategies.
* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki
Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability:
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart, Let my People Go Surfing by Yvonne Chouinadrd (one of my idols!) and The Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed To Reverse Global Warming (now, that’s a title!).
Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:
Personally, Any ITAD conference. We all own some kind of device but how many of us know what happens to these devices at the end of their life. I also keep up to date with events hosted by The Sustainable Business Network and The Sustainable Business Council, their newsletters are informative and give a good global view on sustainability events and topics.
A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:
Circularity! Waste is a tangible problem and one we can control and reduce.
If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?
Education from a young age on waste as a resource and how to be a decent human to others and the planet!
The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:
Julia Jackson, GM Purpose & Comms at Kiwibank. Julia has been a dear friend since we met at The Sustainable Business Network during 2015. We’ve laughed and cried together but more importantly we’ve talked for hours about the importance of corporate sustainability and not giving up the fight!
* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:
Stop and think for a second. How was this made, where will it end up, how can I be part of the solution, not the problem. Oh and PLEASE stop microwaving your food in plastic!! Sorry, that’s two!