OUR BOARD
Introducing our board members...
FISHER WANG
ROTORUA LAKES COUNCIL
Chair
Fisher is a current two-term elected Councillor on Rotorua Lakes Council and Deputy Chair of the Infrastructure & Environment Committee. He is passionate about sustainability and has championed introducing Food and Organic waste collection to households across the Rotorua District.
Caring about philanthropy and community funding, he is also a Trustee on the Rotorua Trust, holding the spokesperson role for Vibrancy - encompassing arts, culture and sports, and supports sustainable initiatives that improve environmental outcomes.
JUSTIN HUTTON
RIVER RATS
Deputy Chair
Immediate Past Chair Justin has owned River Rats Raft & Kayak for over 23 years and they have been Charter members for over 20 years.
Justin says that they make their living from showing off the amazing natural environment in Rotorua so he felt that there was an obligation to have as little impact on it as possible and that’s what prompted them to join all those years ago.
Helping others on a journey to be more sustainable is a great way to give back to the area he is passionate about.
PAM MCGRATH
BURIED VILLAGE OF TE WAIROA
Treasurer
We need to ensure our businesses, environments, and our community are protected now and for generations to come. I’ve been involved since the beginning of the Charter and I still believe working together helps us combine our energy and resources towards the shared goal of sustainability.
CARL BENNETT
MILLENNIUM HOTEL ROTORUA
Board Member
Carl is the Operations Manager at the Millennium Hotel Rotorua (who are one of the founding members of the Rotorua Sustainable Charter). He is committed to integrating sustainable practices into business operations.
BRYCE HEARD
BRYCE HEARD BUSINESS CONSULTANTS
Board Member
Bryce is a semi-retired farmer and business consultant. He has an extensive business background running several large companies in the primary sector. He says it is everyone’s duty to do everything within our power, to rectify the mess that we 8.2 billion humans have created, for subsequent generations to contend with.
ANDREW JENSEN
SKYLINE ROTORUA
Secretary
Andrew Jensen is the General Manager of Skyline Rotorua having been appointed in July 2017.
Andrew has been a central player in the property’s significant growth and development over this time and is also a Skyline-appointed Director on the Mountain bike Events Board – the not-for-profit company that runs the global mountain biking event Crankworx.
ASHLEY AITKEN
ROTORUANZ
Board Member
Ashley is the Commercial Partnerships Manager at RotoruaNZ. With a background in tourism and marketing, she is committed to driving environmentally responsible business practices with her organisation.
Passionate about sustainable tourism and corporate sustainability, she joined the board in 2024 to support the charter’s mission of making Rotorua the most sustainable destination in the southern hemisphere.
LYN MANER
RED SPOT
Board Member
Lyn Maner is the account manager at Redspot. She has more than 25 years of professional experience in communications, relationship-building, and content creation. Redspot is Rotorua’s premier creative agency and specialises in working with businesses to build their brand story and strategy through graphic design, web development, communications and digital marketing.
Lyn is keen to inform and inspire more individuals and businesses to embrace sustainability for the long-term benefit of our environment and society.
APR Consultants Ltd was involved in the inception of the Charter in Rotorua and have worked as a major sponsor since. For more than 20 years APR has managed the Rotorua Sustainable Charter through the role of the Sustainability Advisor. In the past 10 years, APR has also taken over the role of Charter Administration.
DERYCK SHAW
APR CONSULTANTS
Back in the mid to late 1990s Rotorua was on a journey to encapsulate the characteristics that underpinned Rotorua as a destination. A key part of this was about an intergenerational perspective on its values which led to the tagline “Rotorua – feel the spirit”. This was about being authentic and looking at our commitments to district residents and visitors on a sustainable basis. Three of us came together driven by the enthusiasm of the late Harvey James to develop an ongoing sustainable framework for Rotorua.
This was a flax roots initiative that was about businesses committing to a trajectory of adopting sustainable programmes around their business whether it was around reducing energy consumption, reducing waste, recycling, supporting community initiatives or increasing fuel economy for a fleet. This was also around businesses having greater connections with their communities and also about the bottom line for businesses, as many local business have found that by adopting more sustainable practices can improve business efficiency and lead to improved business performance. This ongoing journey has been a key part of Deryck’s long involvement with the Charter and ensuring that Rotorua businesses can get timely information and advice around sustainable practice through our great Charter team.
Overall this has meant that businesses adopting more sustainable practices has been good for the environment, good for our community and has enhanced Rotorua’s brand reputation as a destination.