Webcast

1

CPD

Chapter Zero Toolkit – What really matters?

Five practical steps for boards navigating climate and nature.

Speaker(s)
Brian Wood , Kate Beaumont-Smith, Jeff Grant , Judene Edgar
Date
12:30pm — 1:30pm, 13 October 2026
Venue
Online
Location
Online
Price members
$0.00 incl GST
Price non-members
$60.00 incl GST

This webinar is free for Chapter Zero NZ Supporters. When booking the event please enter the code SUPPORTEROCT26. It is free to become a Supporter, join now.

This webinar will be recorded and shared in a follow-up email. If you can’t attend live, please register and we’ll send you the recording after the event.

Overview

Boards are having to make calls about rising insurance costs, vulnerable assets, changing customer and market expectations, and whether today’s investment decisions will still make sense in five, 10 or 20 years. The challenge is knowing what is material for your organisation, what needs board attention now, and what can wait.

Join Chapter Zero New Zealand for the launch of the Board Toolkit: Integrating climate and nature into boardroom decisions. The Toolkit sets out a practical five-step approach to help boards work through those questions: understand where the organisation is exposed, decide what is material, bring those issues into strategy and investment decisions, clarify who is accountable, and keep reviewing what has changed and build capability over time.

This webinar will focus on how these discussions and decisions are actually playing out in practice. We’ll draw on examples from New Zealand organisations to explore how boards are deciding what deserves attention, testing assumptions and working through trade-offs around risk, resilience, investment and longer-term direction.

This session is for directors who want a clear and practical way to work out what matters for their organisation and what that means for decisions at the board table.

Brian Wood

DistFInstD

Brian Wood is an experienced executive, director and governance leader whose career has spanned public service, local government and the private sector. He has led significant organisational change throughout his career, including the establishment of Dunedin City Holdings Ltd and its subsidiary companies, where he chaired the committees responsible for creating the group's nine companies.

Following a period as Chief Executive of Southland District Council, Brian joined MWH (now Stantec) as New Zealand Country Manager, growing the business from 330 to 800 staff before being appointed Managing Director Asia Pacific, with responsibility for 1,500 employees and revenues of more than US$200 million.

Since transitioning to a governance career in 2008, Brian has served on numerous listed, private and local government boards across New Zealand and Australia. A Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors, he is recognised for his expertise in infrastructure, strategic leadership, major project delivery, risk oversight and shareholder engagement.

Kate Beaumont-Smith 

MInstD

Kate Beaumont-Smith is a Ruralco director, qualified lawyer and dairy farmer based in Mid Canterbury. Together with her husband, she operates a contract-milking business and brings practical farming and business experience to her governance roles. Kate is also Treasurer of the Turner Syndrome Association of New Zealand and several local community organisations. Through these roles, she seeks to strengthen governance and financial systems. She is passionate about practical, community-focused governance and ensuring rural perspectives are represented in decision-making.

Jeff Grant

MInstD

Jeff has been in governance roles full-time for 24 years with previous roles including a Director for SBS Bank, Finance Now, PF2050, Southern Institute of Technology and Chairman of Mt Linton Station, OSPRI Ltd, AgResearch, and Milford Sound Tourism.  In July 2018, Jeff was seconded to the New Zealand meat industry for two years and was based at NZ House in London to oversee the Brexit EU28 and UK Free Trade Agreement process on behalf of NZ Red Meat Industry.  For eight years until 2018, Jeff was the Independent Chair of Southland Shared Services. Jeff is an External Appointee at Invercargill City Council, responsible for guiding the organisation through its response to a recent Government Review. He holds directorships at Lakeland Wanaka, Great South, and Thriving Southland and is a member of the Institute of Directors.

Judene Edgar (Facilitator)

CMInstD

Judene is a Principal Governance Adviser with the Institute of Directors’ Governance Leadership Centre and Chapter Zero NZ lead providing best practice advice, guidance and advocacy for directors. She is also chair of the Nelson Historic Theatre Trust, deputy chair of the Rātā Foundation, and a trustee for the Network Tasman Trust.

Prior to joining the IoD she ran her own consultancy for over 20 years, specialising in governance, policy, strategy and communications working across a wide range of sectors, including housing, health, solid waste, aviation, energy, not-for-profit and infrastructure. 

Judene was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance, local government and the community in the 2026 New Year Honours. She was a local government elected member for 12 years and a director on a range of private and public entity boards. She has a background in behavioural science and communications and is a Chartered Member of the IoD. 

Chapter zero logo

Chapter Zero New Zealand is the IoD’s governance forum for climate and nature, and part of a global network supporting directors and boards to strengthen informed decision-making. We equip directors with the skills, tools, processes and information they need to guide their organisations through the decisions arising from climate- and nature-related risks, opportunities, impacts and dependencies. To join the Chapter Zero New Zealand Shared Interest Group, sign up here.

Additional information

Should you have any dietary, mobility, cultural or other requirements, you can let us know on the registration form.

By registering for this event you are confirming that you agree to adhere to our event terms and conditions.

Branch event cancellation policy

Regrettably, registration fees cannot be refunded when cancellations are received within two working days prior to any branch event.  See our standard terms and conditions for more information.

Contact

Carla Britz
National Event Executive
+64 27 223 2802
Carla.Britz@iod.org.nz

Our sponsors

The Auckland branch acknowledges the generous support of

A S B

 

 

 

Book this event

  • Online

    date
    13 Oct 2026

    Members — $0.00

    Non-members — $60.00