The Tadpole Story
Sustainable transformation
Tadpole – How it all started
As it is with many great ideas, the Tadpole concept originated from two Kiwi blokes chatting over a beer.
The conversation began with their work lives. It didn’t take long for the experienced businessman and leading technical expert to realise that they also had shared values, as well as a desire to transform businesses, provide exceptional service and develop long-lasting relationships.
They were also aligned on the topic of sustainability. They agreed that acting sustainably not only provides businesses with a competitive advantage and makes the world a better place to live, in but is quickly becoming an essential business practice, demanded by customers, suppliers, board members and employees.
Despite already running two successful businesses, Siempre and Catalyst® Ltd, the prospect of combining their skills to help Kiwi businesses thrive through sustainable transformation, was too enticing… and so Tadpole was hatched.
Our People
Our highly experienced team are approachable, speak in plain language and offer a unique blend of commercial acumen and technical expertise. We’re a passionate bunch, who have been through the process of demystifying sustainability ourselves.
We understand people and what motivates them. Plus, our customers tell us we are easy to work with and make the process simple to understand.
Allan Birch BSc (Computer Science & Chemistry), Post Grad Diploma Marketing
Strategy Director
Wannabe musician, golfer, sustainability innovator, business builder and strategy guy.
Allan has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior executive across a range of industries. He is passionate about helping people and businesses succeed and has a strong and consistent record of results.
Allan combines his skills in leadership, strategy, communication and business acumen with his endless energy to help others make their businesses more sustainable. That means growing and protecting economic prosperity, engaging, rewarding and developing people, and reducing waste to lower environmental impact. Allan specialises in helping clients build and execute sustainability strategies to deliver long term value for stakeholders.
Examples of Allan’s wide skill set include strategy business plan development and execution, stakeholder and employee engagement, framework development, storytelling and collaborative approaches to delivering sustained value.
Wymond Symes MSc
Technical Director
Search and Rescue volunteer, chief science geek and carbon footprinting authority.
One of New Zealand’s leading technical experts, Wymond has been sharing his expertise as an innovation and sustainability consultant for almost two decades. He has helped a wide range of businesses and organisations build value through research, development, and the implementation of sustainable business practices.
Wymond specialises in sustainability reporting and environmental foot printing. He is passionate about helping organisations understand and measure their carbon footprint and build in-house capability for the management and mitigation of GHG emissions.
Wymond enjoys working with companies that are aware of the impact their activities and products have on the environment and are looking to minimise the impact where possible.
Wymond’s areas of expertise include sustainability reporting, carbon footprinting, life cycle assessment and life cycle thinking, project management and product development.
Jon Adams BA Hons (History), MSc (Supply Chain)
Delivery Director
Unlikely marathon runner, secret blog writer, and collaborative and influential 'get stuff done' implementer.
Tadpole lead in delivery of initiatives and change programmes. Jon is a strong believer in keeping things simple and collaborating widely, as this enables teams to be motivated and inspired to achieve. Jon also leads Tadpole’s approach in the governance and social pillars.
Becoming CEO of a leading New Zealand Logistics business awoke Jon’s passion for Sustainability, and soon he was leading industry-wide collaboration initiatives and successfully working with government, as well as building and implementing an aggressive but practical decarbonisation plan.
With 30 years' experience in successfully leading change in a variety of functions and businesses across different continents, Jon is now a proud kiwi citizen. He loves helping large and small businesses across Australia and New Zealand to tackle the significant challenges we have ahead of us.
Claire Sanders BBUS – Marketing & Management
Head of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement
Theatre fan, yoga lover, business storyteller and experienced marcomms whiz.
Claire is Tadpole’s communications lead, helping the business with its internal requirements, as well as supporting clients with stakeholder engagement and storytelling throughout their sustainability journey.
Claire is an experienced marketing and communications specialist with a broad skill set - the result of several decades working in New Zealand and the United Kingdom in companies ranging from small businesses to multi-national organisations. She has experience in both the private and public sector, in marketing, public relations, internal communications, digital marketing and customer communications.
Possessing excellent communication skills, Claire is fun to engage with and easy to relate to. She is passionate about providing creative solutions and sharing inspirational business stories.
Este Burnett B.Sc, PGDipBus (1st class honours)
Sustainability Analyst
Garden enthusiast, lifestyle block owner, biologist, project manager and analytics pro.
Este comes from a background in molecular biology before getting involved in the fields of business and sustainability. She supports Tadpole’s clients with their carbon footprint measurements. Behind the scenes Este supports the Tadpole team’s Materiality work and manages the flow of all their projects. Her meticulous attention to detail and analytical skills contribute to the team's success.
Este obtained her BSC degree from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and she has a Postgraduate Diploma in Business from Massey University (1st class honours). Her postgraduate study included life cycle assessments (LCA), sustainability frameworks and implementation.
Aylette Marsh BA (English & Writing Studies)
Sustainability Specialist
Houseplant hoarder, true crime junkie, wordsmith and sustainability professional.
Aylette provides invaluable support to Tadpole, conducting research as it relates to developments in reporting, industry action and trends across the wider sustainability landscape. She delivers thorough assessments, reporting and recommendations to clients embarking on their sustainability journey. Aylette also produces marketing and content development both within the business and externally for clients.
With a background in business improvement and marketing, Aylette has had exposure to multiple aspects of a business and understands the unique demands of integrating sustainability strategies across an organisation.
Being a stickler for the finer details and a process enthusiast, Aylette supports Tadpole to be a step ahead and produce quality outputs.
Jack Laing BSc Environmental Science
Senior Climate Change and Sustainability Advisor
Fly fisher, amateur cook, passionate decarboniser and sustainability activator.
Jack brings his strong technical background in climate change and sustainability to Tadpole, specialising in emissions reporting and reduction strategies across various sectors, including transport, retail, the primary sector, fashion, and B2B businesses. Jack works collaboratively with our clients and excels in creating solutions that benefit both the business and the environment, ensuring sustainable practices that are economically viable and environmentally impactful.
Affiliations
To further enhance our service offerings Tadpole has chosen to be associated with the following organisations.
