Catapult takes sustainability seriously. We have been a member of the Sustainable Business Council (SBC) since 2014. SBC’s purpose is to mobilise New Zealand’s most ambitious businesses to build a thriving and sustainable future for all.
Catapult defines sustainability as thriving people, planet and profits.
Catapult’s strategy integrates sustainability in the following ways:
- Climate Positive Business Operations: Catapult is proud to be certified Climate Positive Business Operations with Ekos for the period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025. This means we measure our full operational carbon footprint annually and offset 120% of our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions with certified forest carbon credits. For 2024/25, our total gross emissions were 3.03 tCO₂e (market-based) across all mandatory Scope 1, 2 and 3 categories in our reporting boundary, including business travel, home office energy use, natural gas, staff working from home, and fuel- and energy-related emissions. Our footprint comprised: Scope 1 0.31 tCO2e, Scope 2 0.02 tCO2e, Scope 3 2.69 tCO2e. We offset these emissions by purchasing and retiring 4 NZUs—equivalent to 120% of our footprint—sourced from the Jacks Valley Carbon Project in Aotearoa New Zealand. These restorative forest projects deliver climate resilience, erosion control, biodiversity protection, waterway protection, and community economic development.
- Our Purpose and Vision: Sustainability is inherent in our purpose, ‘Unleashing brilliance for a flourishing Aotearoa’, and our vision ‘to grow the performance and wellbeing of Aotearoa by unleashing leadership capability and confidence’.
- Our People: Our tribe are at our centre. We are proud to have retention way above industry average with only 12% turnover in the last three years. We support our team to reach their personal and professional goals through our ‘Consultant Care’ programme. Our people love our family-friendly approach, flexible working, ongoing development, and access to challenging and rewarding work.
- Strategic Relationships: We believe in collaboration as only through relationships can we make the difference we are out to make. Catapult has key strategic relationships with:
- The Sustainable Business Council (SBC): Catapult has been a member since 2014 and runs the Sustainability Leadership Programme in partnership with SBC (see more below).
- The Climate Leaders Coalition: Catapult became a signatory in 2024. This CEO-led community of organisations is leading the response to climate change through collective, transparent and meaningful action on mitigation and adaptation
- Global Women: Catapult’s Co-CEO Andrea Thompson is a member and advocates for gender equity.
- Services: We have integrated sustainability into core services, including:
- Sustainability Leadership Programme: Participants work on a real sustainability challenge and report that the programme gives them confidence, connections, capabilities, and courage to make a significant impact.
- Facilitating strategy: when facilitating strategy with clients we intentionally bring the wider context including social and environmental challenges into the room. Clients often re-purpose and craft a strategy to create system value.
- Not-For-Profit Scholarships: Catapult offers scholarships to the not for profit sector on the Sustainability Leadership Programme.
- B-Corp Certification: B-corp certification measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact. Catapult became a certified B-corp in 2022. We were recertified in 2025 with a score of 126.4, 32% higher than the Australasian average of 96, and in the top 5% of b-corps globally.
- Processes: Our approach is to ‘do more with less’. We have, for example, moved from printed workbooks to editable pdfs in many leadership development programmes.
- Home Offices: Our team has greened their home offices, recycle everything possible, and most compost.
- Mind the Gap: Catapult was one of the first companies to report our pay gap.
- Supply Chain: Sustainability is a key filter in our choice of suppliers. Annually we ask to see supplier sustainability policies and suggest improvements in a relational approach.
In 2025 we:
- Developed 30 sustainability leaders through the Sustainability Leadership Programme.
- Gave six scholarships to not-for-profit leaders on the Sustainability Leadership Programme.
- Were recertified as a Climate Positive Business Operation by Ekos.
- Were recertified as a B-Corp with a score of 126.4 – placing us in the top 5% of b-corps globally.