Waikato Business News November/December 2022

14 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
Business analysis
is like photography
Tiaki – mighty local
business events sector
doing the mahi
Three greedy little pigs are amongst the helpers
assisting to make the business events sector in
the Waikato region more sustainable. True story.
Being a senior business
analyst is like
being an accomplished
photographer. You
get to see the big picture
and focus in on what really
matters.
I started working as a
business analyst in 2001,
documenting business
processes and software
through analysis of data.
I have 32 years of photography
experience and
elevated my photography
skillset to a professional
level 12 years ago.
Capturing the relevant
requirements for a software
development project
is like pointing the camera
to focus on the action of a
bird of prey approaching
its target. You treat your
interactions with wildlife
with healthy respect to get
the best results. I embrace
that same principle with my
clients.
Mother Nature gives
us two eyes, two ears, and
one mouth. To maximise
our life’s experience and to
interact well with others, we
should observe and listen
twice as much as we speak.
My observations of wildlife
confirm this. Animals only
make noise when it is necessary.
Hours of observation
of birds of prey flight
taught me to watch the
bird’s pectoral muscles and
not merely track the bird’s
TECH TALK
BY DAVE KOOKER
A business analyst at Waikato
software specialist Company-X
motion. Understanding the
bird’s pectoral muscle angle
tells me the bird’s intended
flight pattern, giving me
precious microseconds to
react and better track the
bird and, ultimately, taking
a better photograph.
The same behaviour is
applied to my clients and
how, as a business analyst,
I can ensure I understand
what they are really asking
for. Was the statement
they just made a basis for
their problem, a statement
of frustration about their
problem, a nice to have,
or something else? Understanding
the demeanour
of how the message is conveyed
to me gives a good
indication of what the client
is expecting. Business
requirements are drafted
at a level the client understands
then at a level the
developer understands.
The two versions convey
the same message.
A good wildlife photographer
projects trust. The
wild animal senses you
mean no harm and comes
closer. The same reassurance
is conveyed to the
client who feels assured
that the job that I perform
for them will be done with
due diligence and to their
satisfaction.
To maximise
our life’s
experience and
to interact well
with others, we
should observe
and listen twice
as much as we
speak
In photography I enjoy
framing the image and guiding
the viewer to see exactly
what I am trying to convey.
Several people could stand
at a waterfall and describe
it differently. When I point
my camera at the waterfall
and frame the picture
others see the same as me.
That is the power of photography.
Using that same
visual principle, I show my
clients what I have captured
from the documented
business requirements,
including illustrations. The
visual presentation provides
an excellent starting
point for the client. A visual
confirmation avoids customer
differences during
the lifecycle of the project.
It is a win-win for both the
customer and Company-X.
The pigs are part of the
sustainability programme
at the Accor Novotel and
Ibis Tainui hotels in Hamilton.
Owned by the hotels, they live
happily on a farm outside the
city and eagerly help out by
devouring food scraps.
I share this delightful story
with you for two reasons.
Firstly, it is a great practical
sustainability step by these
hotels, both major entities in the
Waikato business events sector,
to reduce food waste – and
it’s a way of keeping food out
of the landfill (food in landfills
generates greenhouse gases as it
decays).
Also, this seemingly minor
initiative truly represents what
many of us here in the Waikato
believe regenerative tourism is all
about, and that rather than having
a one-size-fits-all approach,
it’s the culmination of a number
of various sustainability initiatives,
however large or small, that
is having a positive impact on our
sector’s carbon footprint.
Businesses and individuals
across the tourism and business
events sectors are enthusiastically
embracing the Tiaki Promise,
a set of guiding principles for
the care and protection of people
and place.
They are putting their commitment
into action with initiatives
like installing solar panels
to generate electricity, eliminating
single-use plastic, recycling,
moving towards electric vehicles,
using environmentally friendly
products, including for cleaning
and garden maintenance, and
getting involved in community
projects to plant trees, trap predators
and weed-bust pest plants.
As we look back on a year that
has delivered us a mixed bag of
challenges and successes – and
look forward to a promising new
year – it’s important we celebrate
the Tiaki Promise being made by
some of the major players in our
business events sector, a sector
that continues to drive enormous
benefits for our region, both economically
and socially.
Of course, there are way too
many great initiatives to include
in this column, but the following
are some of the efforts that
have piqued our organisation’s
interest.
Along with the three little
pigs, the Novotel and Ibis Tainui
hotels are fierce about removing
as much plastic as possible.
In guest rooms the customary
small plastic bottles of toiletries
have been replaced with
larger refillable options. Single-use
plastic-encased amenities
(dental kit etc) are also now
plastic-free with eco-friendly
welcome gifts including shower
bombs and local chocolates.
Like many accommodation
providers, the hotels invite guests
to re-use their towels and linen,
rather than having them changed
daily, using the savings made to
help fund tree planting.
It’s about being plastic-free
in the restaurants too with the
little plastic containers of spreads
like butter, jams and peanut butter
replaced with jars for guests
to help themselves.
Menus hero local food products
and seasonal produce while
in the kitchens there are milk
kegs, saving the recycling of
about 90 plastic bottles a week.
The hotels also provide free
charging stations for electric
vehicles (EVs), donate products
they no longer use (towels,
sheets, etc) to charities and use
energy efficient lightbulbs.
Being sustainable is important
across Hamilton’s premier
event venues – Claudelands Conference
and Exhibition Centre
where there are honey-producing
beehives on the roof, at FMG
Stadium Waikato and Seddon
Park. All are managed by Hamilton
City Council’s H3 group.
Environmentally friendly
features were incorporated into
the design and construction of
the world-class Claudelands,
including recycling of rainwater
for toilet flushing, energy-efficient
building management
systems and the creation of an
onsite wetland for stormwater
management.
Recycling is a crucial part
of H3’s ongoing sustainability
commitment including recycling
plastic pallet wrap, as well
as e-waste (phones, computers,
and other office equipment) and
batteries.
EV charging stations are
being installed at Claudelands
while the venue’s catering partner,
Montana Food & Events,
also embraces sustainability
choosing compostable packaging
for food items and reducing food
waste.
Tiaki-minded event planners
and organisers are impressed
when they learn Montana’s
attention to reducing food waste
where leftover food that is consumable
goes to Kaivolution, the
Waikato food rescue charity supporting
needy families.
At HobbitonTM Movie Set
the commitment to sustainability
includes the continuing
restoration and protection of
this special environment that
attracts over half a million visitors
annually.
Maintaining diversity is a key
focus at this attraction which is
just as popular with business visitors
as it is with the leisure market.
Hobbiton’s gardeners have
planted some 3,000 native seedlings
around the movie set and
on surrounding farmland. The
gardens flourish with plants that
TELLING
WAIKATO’S STORY
BY NICOLA GREENWELL
General Manager, Hamilton
& Waikato Tourism
attract birdlife, bees, and butterflies
– all playing essential roles
in supporting the ecosystem.
Waste reduction is another
focus. An on-site waste facility
turns food and green waste in to
compost to be used on the gardens
along with the compostable
drink and food containers and
packaging Hobbiton has used
for a number of years – this eco
packaging has a carbon footprint
of up to 75 percent less than traditional
packaging.
Water management is a top
sustainability priority at the
internationally acclaimed Hamilton
Gardens, an attraction that
pleases both business and leisure
visitors with its stunning gardens
and event facilities.
The individual gardens are
watered early in the morning to
ensure watering efficiency while
extensive mulching minimises
evaporation, the high-quality
mulch being made on-site from
garden waste.
A new water management
system being developed includes
a retention pond, a wetland and
filter planting,
Owned and managed by
Hamilton City Council, Hamilton
Gardens recycles glass, plastic,
aluminium cans, paper/cardboard
and even the metal blades
from the lawn mowers, working
closely with the organisers of
events staged in the gardens to
ensure they are sustainable too.
Good progress is being made
to achieve the aim of being carbon
neutral by 2030, including
replacing petrol fuelled handheld
equipment with electric
devices and moving to EVs.
An important natural feature
of Hamilton Gardens, the Eco
Bank Bush, is one of the most
significant seed sources in the
Waikato. It is carefully maintained
with exotic plants eradicated
and fresh plantings of
local species grown in the on-site
nursery.
Being a significant part of
the Waikato River wildlife corridor
through the city, Hamilton
Gardens’ planting programmes
are also geared to provide food
sources for native species including
birds and the long-tailed bats
inhabiting trees in the gardens.
Our mighty Waikato business
events sector is willingly
and wonderfully doing the Tiaki
mahi.
Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te
tangata – when the land is well,
the people are well.