Profit and purpose can go hand in hand - and a growing movement is proving it.

At the Towards A Purposeful Economy forum, held in Tauranga on August 20, attendees came from the community, businesses and local government.

Jo Wills, from Sustainability Options, said they explored how shifting mindsets and systems could create climate‑positive change.

The discussions also focused on building social equity and thriving communities.

Hosted by Sustainability Options, with support from Tauranga City Council and the Sustainable Business Network, the hui brought together change-makers to reimagine the role of business in tackling social and environmental challenges.

Inspiring presentations and workshops were among the highlights of the event, said Jo Wills, from Sustainability Options.

“A central message emerged: an economy can only exist within the health of the communities as well as natural resources and planetary boundaries that sustain it,” Wills said.

Event highlights were the inspiring keynote presentations and workshops.

One of the workshops was held by Gary Shaw on Inner Development Goals (IDGs) and how they can transform outdated, destructive systems.

Gareth Hughes and Sally Hett, from Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa, did a workshop on what a wellbeing economy looked like and how it was taking shape globally and nationally.

The event finished with a panel discussion.

FutureFit Business Benchmark’s Kat McDonald spoke about an open-source tool guiding businesses toward better decisions.

It finished with a panel discussion between the technical director of climate and resilience at Tonkin and Taylor, James Hughes; biotechnology entrepreneur, indigenous rights advocate, and Adjunct Research Fellow at Te Kotahi Research Institute, Manu Caddie; and director of Sustainability Options, Nik Gregg; all facilitated by Mindful Fashion chief executive Jacinta FitzGerald.