Environment Canterbury The more we understand societal impact on the environment the greater the apparent need for rules, regulation, and interventions to manage this impact to some form of “acceptable” level, a level that’s more often politically or economically acceptable than it is environmentally or culturally. The Essential Freshwater package introduced by government in 2019 appeared to swing the pendulum back into the “environmentally acceptable” space with limits and approaches more consistent with environmental health than economic health. Alongside this package we’ve had the Climate Change (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act, the three waters (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater) reform is ongoing, and we know there will be reform of the resource management system at some point soon. Add to this new National Policy Statements on highly productive land and indigenous biodiversity, environmental standards on greenhouse gas emissions, and amendments to the air quality standards you’d be forgiven if you were struggling to keep track of everything that was happening. And this is only some of the change happening in the environmental management space and only at a national level!