The Nature & Business Symposium 2026 is a one-day Sustainable Business Network conference on 5 August 2026 at the Hyundai Akarana Marine Centre, Auckland, strengthening business and community action for nature.
The Nature & Business Symposium 2026 is a one-day conference, with an online attendance option, that brings New Zealand's business, community and finance sectors together to strengthen action for nature in Aotearoa. It runs from 9am to 5pm on Wednesday 5 August 2026 at the Hyundai Akarana Marine Centre on Auckland's Tamaki Drive. Returning after a sold-out 2025 edition, the 2026 programme is framed around helping organisations take action, make connections and grow stronger partnerships for nature.
The Symposium is organised by the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), a long-standing Auckland-based membership organisation that supports New Zealand businesses on sustainability, with a member base spanning corporates, SMEs and community groups. SBN lists the event on its own site and manages registration through Humanitix.
The day is aimed at businesses, community groups, tangata whenua, landowners, NGOs, government, philanthropy groups and finance experts, mixing curious newcomers with committed practitioners. Key topics include understanding nature and business, the business case for nature, growing resilience with nature, financing nature action, planning for nature and climate action, harnessing nature tech and innovation, and unlocking nature market opportunities. The format is deliberately participatory, with frequent audience interaction and smaller group discussions rather than lecture-style sessions. An optional half-day field trip on 4 August visits a regeneration project in South Auckland led by community nature group Te Pu-a-Nga Maara, with optional welcome drinks the same afternoon at SBN's downtown event space.
The conference is held at the Hyundai Akarana Marine Centre, 8/10 Tamaki Drive, Orakei — a waterfront venue on Auckland's Tamaki Drive with a harbour outlook and on-site event space, well suited to a single-track conference with breakout discussion. Its eastern-bays location sits a short drive from the Auckland CBD and is served by the Tamaki Drive waterfront route.
For the New Zealand business-events sector, the Symposium is a recurring, sold-out fixture on the Auckland calendar, drawing a cross-sector professional audience into a waterfront venue and anchoring a multi-day format — field trip plus networking — that extends delegate dwell time in the city.
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