Tim Adriaansen
on Building the Transport Systems We Actually Need
Tim Adriaansen moves through the world differently to most people in his field. The Executive Director of All Aboard Aotearoa has traded flights for bicycles and sailboats wherever possible - not out of obligation, but because travel taught him something irreplaceable: what he's familiar with isn't necessarily how things have to be.
That restlessness for better systems is exactly what drives All Aboard Aotearoa, a for-purpose organisation committed to making it easy for everyone to get around in ways that support the health and wellbeing of people and our environment. It's a deceptively simple mission sitting on top of a deeply complex problem.
"The main challenge that I see in community advocacy is funding," Tim says. "I know of several organisations that managed to provide paid part-time work for one or two brilliant people, but they've been forced to let them go due to a lack of sustained funding." Meanwhile, he points out, the industries on the other side of the argument have budgets that dwarf anything the advocacy sector can muster. "The economic imbalance is overwhelming, and it turns up everywhere - from politics, to communications, to public investment."
It's asymmetric warfare, and Tim doesn't shy away from naming it as such. His response isn't to work harder within a broken system - it's to understand the system clearly enough to pick the right battles.
That long-game thinking is shaped in part by the concept of tāira te wā - waiting for the right time, the kind of long-term thinking embedded in kaitiakitanga. Tim holds this value deliberately. "The time-critical nature of climate breakdown creates urgency for action," he acknowledges, "but being successful in changing the systems which cause these wicked problems requires us to take a pause and understand that true progress, leadership, and knowledge cannot be forced."
His vision for sustainability reflects the same layered thinking. "True sustainability is more like a forest. It grows in layers. The big old trees protect the young, and to survive changes over time and span across every type of landscape, each plant has a niche to fill." It's a frame that resists the quick fix and honours interdependence - qualities not always celebrated in a sector often chasing impact metrics.
When it comes to what Aotearoa brings to the global sustainability conversation, Tim is clear: it starts with people. "An incredible foundation of Māoritanga and Te Ao Māori on top of which sits a diverse plethora of experiences, languages and ways of thinking. We've got the best of everything when it comes to strength and diversity of culture." Paired with landscapes that make the case for conservation better than any campaign, he sees Aotearoa as genuinely well-placed to lead - if the conditions are right.
His motto - culture eats policy for breakfast - tells you something about where he thinks the leverage is. Not in the next strategy document, but in shifting shared understanding. "Good communicators are hard to find, good storytellers even more so," he says. "We're constantly swimming against the stream in terms of growing a shared understanding of both the problems and the solutions."
The seed Tim wants to plant? Bike paths old men may never ride. "A society grows great when old men build bike paths on which they may never ride." It's a long-horizon commitment - and one he's clearly prepared to make.
Read Tim's Blooming Sustainability and be inspired.
BLOOMING Sustainability Questionnaire
Name: Tim Adriaansen (he/him)
Title & Company: Executive Director, All Aboard Aotearoa
Linkedin: www.allaboard.nz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-adriaansen-88920011b/
* Guiding Values | Kaupapa
If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?
I feel that true sustainability is more like a forest. It grows in layers. The big old trees protect the young, and to survive changes over time and span across every type of landscape, each plant has a niche to fill.
A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision
Culture eats policy for breakfast.
If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?
Look after yourself first, the people around you second, and try to save the world once those other things are in a good way. Don't pretend it's a balancing act between work and life, or passion and obligation - because it's not. Your well-being and your support network is a foundation which will determine your ability to succeed in everything else.
* Leading Change | Arataki
A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:
Travel has always been my greatest teacher. Seeing how other people live, and learning what works and what's good, has given me some of my greatest inspiration. I feel guilty every time I take a flight, so these days most of my travel is by bicycle and sailboat - but I still try to get across to new countries and cities every few years and remind myself that what I'm familiar with isn't necessarily the way things have to be.
What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?
The main challenge that I see in community advocacy is funding. I know of several organisations that managed to provide paid part-time work for one or two brilliant people, but they've been forced to let them go due to a lack of sustained funding. At the other end of the scale, the industries causing us problems turn over trillions of dollars a year and have limitless budgets for lobbying, marketing and think-tank policy writing. The economic imbalance is overwhelming, and it turns up everywhere - from politics, to communications, to public investment. If we want to make real change on this climate stuff, we need to shift how our economy operates so that the people working to solve our collective challenges aren't stuck in perpetual asymmetric warfare against the people causing the problems.
An area you need more support with:
The thing we need more support with is communications. Good communicators are hard to find, good storytellers even more so. In transport, there's a huge amount of misinformation floating around, much of it produced by our government and transport agencies themselves. We're constantly swimming against the stream in terms of growing a shared understanding of both the problems and the solutions.
An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:
Something I need to remember to practice every day is tāria te wā: Waiting for the right time or long-term thinking, especially when it comes to kaitiakitanga. The time-critical nature of climate breakdown creates urgency for action, but being successful in changing the systems which cause these wicked problems requires us to take a pause and understand that true progress, leadership, and knowledge cannot be forced. Knowledge of the problems makes us want to take bold action immediately, but an understanding of our people requires us to slow down and move forward only when everybody is ready.
Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:
Something I need to remember to practice every day is tāria te wā: Waiting for the right time or long-term thinking, especially when it comes to kaitiakitanga. The time-critical nature of climate breakdown creates urgency for action, but being successful in changing the systems which cause these wicked problems requires us to take a pause and understand that true progress, leadership, and knowledge cannot be forced. Knowledge of the problems makes us want to take bold action immediately, but an understanding of our people requires us to slow down and move forward only when everybody is ready.
What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?
Aotearoa has a few collective strengths that really bolster our ability to be a sustainability world-leader. The first is our people: An incredible foundation of Māoritanga and Te Ao Māori on top of which sits a diverse plethora of experiences, languages and ways of thinking. We've got the best of everything when it comes to strength and diversity of culture. The other thing we're blessed with is our incredible natural landscapes and wild places. Experiencing the beauty and wonder of Aotearoa's coasts, forests and mountains has got to be the most motivational sales pitch there is for looking after what we've got.
* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki
Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:
I'm going to do a bit of shameless self-promotion here. Later this year, All Aboard will be getting around the Motu to share knowledge and deliver workshops on creating a more sustainable transport future. The best way to find out when we've got an event near you is to sign up for our newsletter here.
A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:
There's so much good stuff happening in Aotearoa. I'd like to give a shout out to The Weekday Challenge, encouraging people to choose sustainable transport options more often; and The Climatics, who are using a different approach to address the funding challenges which climate advocates are up against.
If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?
I'm here to pick the big battles, that's what motivates me most. All Aboard Aotearoa is committed to making it easy to get around in ways that support the health and wellbeing of people and our environment, and that's a big-picture, long-term project. There's a popular proverb that says "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in". I don't think I'm old yet, but in transport, I like to say "A society grows great when old men build bike paths on which they may never ride".
The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:
I'm not sure who you've covered already, but I've been so well supported by so many people, it's impossible to choose. Recently I've caught up with Emily Mabin Sutton, Lydia Hascott, George Weeks, Sue Cardwell, Katie Mattera, David Hall, Alec Tang... The list is endless and all these people are amazing!
* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:
Get together with your friends and go for a bike ride. Or a walk or roll, if that's more your thing. Enjoy it, and take a moment to appreciate everything good in the place you are. In a sustainable future, simple, joyous activities like getting around in a healthy, satisfying way can be something we all do every day. Good for us, good for the planet, and something we can really look forward to in an uncertain and changing world.
