Iwi Partnerships
We’re always looking for ways to build stronger and authentic relationships with communities, and that defines how we work with iwi and hapū. Meaningful engagement with whānau, hapū and business is a commitment to the prosperity of Māori communities—is essential to our promise to design with community in mind.
We have a deep understanding of our nation’s responsibilities to Māori as a Tiriti partner and guide our clients based on the Te Tiriti o Waitangi engagement principles of partnership, participation, protection, recognition of cultural values, and mana enhancing processes. Our experts understand the complexities and responsibilities under the Resource Management Act, 1991 as it relates to Māori and their relationship as it relates to their whenua, kāinga ancestral lands, water, sites, wāhi tapu, and all their taonga and natural resources.
Stantec is firmly aligned to Te Aranga Māori urban design principles founded on core Māori cultural values. There are seven principles that aim to enhance iwi and hapū presence, visibility, and participation in the design and planning of the physical environment—working in harmony with the natural environment, tangata whenua, and their cultural customs. While ensuring that the mauri, mana, and wairua of the land and water are protected, the restorative design methodology gives our designers greater awareness of the social, cultural, environmental, and economic outcomes in the built environment.
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with Māori
For Māori, discharging human waste into fresh or sea water is abhorrent. Our team aimed for a wastewater treatment method that was both technically sound and culturally respectful for the Hastings Wastewater Treatment Plant. To secure a new permit, the Council had to find a treatment process that Ngāti Kahungunu could accept. Read MoreAddressing the skills gap through diversity
HERA’s (Heavy Engineering Research Association) podcast, Stirring the Pot, reconnected with senior mechanical engineer and Māori advisor Byron Konia four years after their last podcast discussion. Byron shares what he’s been up to since graduating in 2019, and how he thinks the engineering environment has changed to better attract and retain tangata whenua. Read MoreThe Resource Management Act protecting Māori interests
Directive environmental protection policy requirements, the use of effects management hierarchies, and giving effect to Te Mana o Te Wai are expanding the need for detailed and carefully managed alternative assessment processes under the Resource Management Act 1991. Te Mana o Te Wai means to put the health and wellbeing of freshwater first. Read MoreNgā Mātāpono | Stantec Values
Manaakitanga
People are at the heart of everything we do. We care for the wellbeing and safety of others, including our colleagues, families, communities, and our environment that supports us.
Kaitiakitanga
Integrity guides us in what we do. As guardians for future generations and the environment, we are accountable to our communities—we seek to strengthen them and our environment, to give strength and resilience to whatever the future may hold.
Whanaungatanga
We welcome everyone’s contribution and diverse perspectives to create extraordinary outcomes. We celebrate our interconnectedness to one another, our surroundings, and our entire ecology—it sustains us, and we will sustain it. We build and nurture these relationships through shared experiences and working together.
Kia tū Rangatira
We strive for holistic achievement, growth, and the sustainability of our people and the communities we work for.
Eruera Lee-Morgan, Pou Ārahi Māori Cultural Leader
My success and strength are not mine alone but that of the collective.
Byron Konia , Senior Mechanical Engineer/Māori Advisor
As a Māori advisor and mechanical engineer, I enjoy bringing my culture and technical knowledge to water projects.
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