Te Puoho Katene
on self-development as the foundation for lasting impact
For Te Puoho Katene, sustainability is about resilience - the kind that springs back stronger after being tested. His vision is shaped by the whakataukī of his Ngāti Whātua ancestors: “Me whakapakari ki te hui o te kawariki” - leave me, and I will spring forth again, like the Kawariki (swamp buttercup). “Sustainability, for me, is under constant pressure from short-termism, capitalism, and anthropocentric thinking,” he says. “Our responsibility to the planet doesn’t change, so we must nurture it with aroha, whakapapa, and resilience.”
That resilience has been a guiding force throughout his career. A pivotal moment came during his time as a Ministerial Private Secretary in the Beehive. Surrounded by people striving to improve Aotearoa, Te Puoho was struck by the slow pace of change and realised that truly transformative outcomes must grow from within communities themselves.
Now, as CEO of Tapuwae Roa, he’s working to ensure that social, economic, and environmental prosperity are not seen as trade-offs, but as mutually reinforcing goals. Drawing on an Indigenous worldview, he sees whakapapa — our shared genealogy with each other, the land, and the natural world — as the lens that transforms sustainability from a zero-sum game into a positive-sum vision.
Te Puoho believes Aotearoa’s superpower lies in the values we share: environmental stewardship, social equity, and collective prosperity. The challenge, he says, is to embed those values into the country’s design — in business, policy, and how we present ourselves to the world.
He celebrates events like Matariki as moments where those values are visible and lived. “It’s a chance to embrace Aotearoa as our tūrangawaewae — a place where we can stand tall — and reflect together on our past, present, and future.” He’s equally passionate about grassroots innovation, from climate tech entrepreneurs to environmental restoration projects. One initiative close to home is Tangaroa Ararau, a Sustainable Seas project led by his wife, Beth Tupara-Katene, reimagining how oceans are governed in Aotearoa and now shared with Indigenous communities worldwide.
At Tapuwae Roa, he’s planting seeds of change by funding a climate change curriculum for all kura kaupapa Māori, equipping future leaders with both cultural identity and practical tools for kaitiakitanga. His advice to emerging changemakers is as much about self-development as it is about impact: “Before rushing to help your cause, become what your cause needs. Invest in yourself. There’s no faking expertise and acumen.”
His call to action is simple but bold: believe in your own power to make meaningful change. “Our achievements are only constrained by our aspirations. In a country often held back by tall poppy syndrome, daring to dream big is a radical act.”
BLOOMING Sustainability Questionnaire
Name: Te Puoho Katene
Company & Title: CEO, Tapuwae Roa
Website & LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tpkatene/
* Guiding Values | Kaupapa
If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?
I would refer to a whakataukī held strongly by my mother’s people of Ngāti Whātua.
A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:
Me whakapakari ki te hui o te kawariki. Leave me and I will spring forth again, like the Kawariki (swamp buttercup).
This saying reminds us to be resilient in the face of adversity, like the Kawariki which, after being trampled, springs forth again in greater numbers. Sustainability, for me, is under constant pressure by the tides of modernity, particularly short termism, capitalism and anthropocentric mentalities. But the needs of our planet are unflinching, as is our responsibility to it. Being resolute in the face of these pressures, nurturing it with aroha and the whakapapa we share with our environs, requires resilience, like the Kawariki.
Our environment is the muse for so many salient wisdoms that guide me. My favourite whakataukī guides my personal and professional vision – money is like a kumara; its true value lies in its ability to sustain people.
If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?
A great piece of advice I received was that, before rushing off to help your cause, become what your cause needs. You are not yet what you need to be to accomplish your greatest dreams. So invest in yourself through education and experience; there is no faking expertise and acumen.
* Leading Change | Arataki
A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:
I spent two years as a Ministerial Private Secretary in the Beehive. Interacting with lawmakers, members of parliament, bureaucrats and interest groups, it dawned on me that while everyone in that place was working to make Aotearoa better (in their own estimation), the rate of change didn’t have the urgency I felt was necessary to transform our communities for prosperous, sustainable futures. And if truly transformative outcomes for our communities is our aspiration, those must be organic to, and grown from, those communities.
What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?
If truly transformative outcomes for our communities is our aspiration, those must be organic to, and grown from, those communities.
This rings true whether the problems are social, economic or environmental. And in the spaces I find myself, one of the difficulties is moving the conversation from a zero-sum approach. That sustainable futures are not at the expense of economic growth but rather protects our interests in a rapidly changing risk environment.
An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:
In indigenous spaces we do this through whakapapa – familial, shared connections not just with those in our communities, but also the environment we inhabit, and the natural resources we depend on. This common thread of genealogy changes the lens from a zero-sum to a positive sum; that the environment thriving goes hand in hand with how we consider prosperity.
What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?
That, I think, is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for Aotearoa. The importance of environmental stewardship, social equity and collective prosperity are values that extend beyond indigenous paradigms; more and more we’re seeing them reflected in how we do business both domestically and internationally. But it is not yet evenly distributed. Our challenge is to make impact a systemic design feature of our country’s future, and to reflect these shared values and principles in how we present ourselves to the world.
* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki
Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:
When I see the growing numbers of New Zealanders celebrating Matariki, I am sanguine that we are moving towards a shared vision of our country’s future. We spend so much of our time trying to emulate other systems overseas, it is a nice balance to embrace Aotearoa as our tūrangawaewae, our place where we can stand tall. I would encourage everyone to attend their local community event, where can collectively share our reflections, our gratitude and our aspirations for the future.
A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:
I love seeing that sense of collective aspiration carried into sustainability kaupapa both locally and globally. One I will shamelessly plug is Tangaroa Ararau, the Sustainable Seas research project led by my wife, Beth Tupara-Katene, reimagining how our oceans are governed in Aotearoa. Since completing the project last year, she has shared the approach with indigenous peoples across the world, and presented its findings at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France. For more information, check out https://uhitai.org/
If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?
Seeing flaxroots projects that promote both purpose and prosperity give me hope. Whether it is in environmental restoration, climatetech entrepreneurs pushing boundaries, or climate education for our tamariki. At Tapuwae Roa we’re proudly funding the development of a climate change curriculum for all kura kaupapa Māori, in the hopes that through their identity and sense of kaitiakitanga, our future leaders are equipped with all the tools they need to make meaningful contributions to the wellbeing of our taiao.
* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:
For me the greatest way to accelerate your impact is to willingly step into your role as a changemaker. Our achievements are only constrained by our aspirations; by dreaming bigger, we give ourselves permission to achieve them. In a country crippled by tall poppy syndrome, believing in our own power to make meaningful change is a brave act.