This year our business turns 40, so it is natural that we take some time to reflect on our journey to date, and where we think we might be heading.  One of the things I am particularly proud of at the moment is the increasing attention we're paying to measuring and reducing our environmental footprint.  Running a business in a competitive market requires that many things are done well, and so we are always working hard at our 'business-as-usual' routine services, as well as a portfolio of projects aimed at expanding and improving our business.  As for any business, our key people generally have very little discretionary time, and there is always a list of things to do.  Spending time on environmental sustainability initiatives therefore requires deliberate thought and effort - time that needs to be carved out in an environment where time is of the essence.  I'm proud of the approach we're taking here - we're going well beyond what we are required to do, because we know it's the right thing to do.  Of course, there is so much more that we could be doing, and would like to be doing, but of course that is the reality of running a business.  What we are doing is substantive, and is making a difference.  We take our strategic plans very seriously, and reducing our environmental footprint is a part of our strategic plan, so we will continue spending time and effort on this in the years to come.  Attaining the Toitu "Carbon Reduce" certification is one way that we can create independent assurance for our customers that we are doing this well, and create transparency around our level of aspiration and impact.

Another area that I'm delighted by, as a 40 year old business, is that our development teams are still delivering a steady flow of new services, to allow us to continually to expand our offerings.  In this article alone, we highlight three new services that have been recently rolled out - earthworm abundance in agricultural soils using eDNA, three food-borne pathogen types from a single environmental swab, and gluten testing in our Christchurch lab.  The test for earthworm eDNA is one that we are particularly proud of - this is an innovative new test that has been two years in the making and is probably the only test of its kind in the world.  The development has been driven by the growing interest in soil health, and the ongoing aspiration to be managing agricultural systems sustainably.

At age 40, with no a mid-life crisis in sight, we are still employing cutting-edge technology to deliver world-class analytical services to our NZ customers, and in a way that minimises our environmental impact.  What a wonderful journey it continues to be!