Show Notes
What if success in business meant leaving the world betterthan you found it? For Dave Rouse, that question has shaped every chapter ofhis entrepreneurial journey. From growing up off-grid in the Waitākere bush toleading CarbonClick, one of New Zealand’s pioneering climate-tech companies,Dave has spent his career proving that profit and purpose can grow together. As Co-Founder and CEO of CarbonClick, he helps businessesand individuals take measurable climate action through simple, transparentsolutions. With experience across aviation, marine conservation, andentrepreneurship, Dave has built and exited over a dozen ventures. Each guidedby a single principle: better business creates a better planet. In this conversation, Dave shares how he built teams drivenby purpose, turned sustainability into smart strategy, and why “good, often”beats chasing perfection. He also opens up about leadership, balance, and whatit really takes to build companies that care. About Dave Rouse Dave Rouse is the Co-Founder and CEO of CarbonClick, a NewZealand-based company helping organisations and consumers measure, reduce, andoffset their carbon emissions. As a philanthropic entrepreneur, he co-founded SeaCleaners,which has removed over 200 shipping containers’ worth of plastic from theocean, and has represented New Zealand as a delegate at the last five UNClimate Conferences (COP). With expertise in climate science, ecosystems, andsustainable business, Dave believes that the simpler and more transparentclimate action becomes, the faster we can change course. Dave Shares his personal story on: • How to make sustainability profitable • Why purpose-driven leadership attracts stronger teams • How “good, often” leadership outperforms perfectionism • The triple-bottom-line model that drives long-term growth • Practical ways to turn efficiency into environmentalimpact If you believe business can be a force for good and forgrowth this episode is for you. Timestamps (0:00) Welcome and Dave’s purpose for buildingbetter businesses (1:30) The birth of CarbonClick and the profit-with-purposemodel (3:00) Surviving COVID and leading through uncertainty (3:45) Growing up off-grid: the roots of sustainability (6:35) Two worlds, two mentors (nature and business) (10:40) Meditation, focus, and leading with calm (12:24) Balancing family, business, and impact (15:00) Early leadership lessons from entrepreneurship (17:20) Profit-sharing and motivating purpose-driven teams (20:50) Hiring for skill, teaching sustainability (24:45) Turning efficiency into environmental strategy (27:30) “Good, often” is why progress beats perfection Learn more about Dave and his work • CarbonClick: https://www.carbonclick.com • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daverousenz/ Learn more about Azoora and her work • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azooraali/ • Website: https://www.accountingandtax.co.nz/ Listen toCare Beyond Profits on Spotify and YouTube. If Dave’s story inspired you, please like, share, andsubscribe for more conversations on purpose, values, and impact. Together, let’s grow a movement of leaders who care beyondprofits. #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #TripleBottomLine#ProfitWithPurpose #Sustainability
More from Care Beyond Profits
Lani Evans, founder of Fundsorter and former CEO of Thank You Payroll, shares how AI is transforming grant writing and charity funding for New Zealand's not-for-profits, plus the story of a social enterprise she helped gift to a charity.
Diana arrived with years of leadership behind her. Her first job in New Zealand was vacuuming a casino floor.
Mike Casey, cherry orchardist and CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, shares how electrification, solar and climate action turned his New Zealand business profitable.
"My daughter was young when I had one of my cancer diagnoses… her little life literally fell apart."
Paul Button, CEO of Rotorua Canopy Tours, shares conservation tourism, regenerative business, and purpose-driven leadership in this Care Beyond Profits podcast on sustainability and ecotourism."Humans...All we crave for is just connection."From a whitewater kayaker chasing rivers across North Canterbury, Canada and Central America, to running one of New Zealand's most awarded ecotourism businesses, Paul Button's story is one of adventure, environmental conviction, and people-first leadership.As CEO of the Rotorua Canopy Tours Group, Paul leads a zipline and treetop experience set inside an 11,000-year-old native forest, alongside the Canopy Conservation Trust that funds its restoration work.In this conversation, Paul shares how a tourism business became a conservation engine: 12 years of native forest restoration, 700 self-resetting predator traps, a B Corp certification (the first in Rotorua), and a soil-carbon breakthrough that suggests a predator-free New Zealand could one day be carbon neutral. Throughout the episode, Paul returns to a simple idea, that the staff are the stars of the show, and that connection, not infrastructure, is what people truly remember.About Paul ButtonPaul Button is the Chief Executive Officer of Rotorua Canopy Tours Group, leading Rotorua Canopy Tours, widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s premier nature-based tourism experiences.His career began as a young kayaker on wild rivers, sparking a lifelong connection to adventure and the natural world. From guiding on the Kaituna River to leading teams internationally, Paul has built his career around creating meaningful, high-quality experiences that connect people to place.Since returning to Aotearoa in 2017, Paul has focused on innovation and regenerative tourism, restoring native forests, inspiring visitors, and demonstrating that business can be a force for good. He also oversees supporting businesses in Queenstown, including Million Dollar Cruise and Canyon Explorers.Outside of work, Paul is a hands-on dad who stays active through CrossFit, mountain biking, and endurance runningIn This Episode / Chapters00:00 New Zealand's carbon-neutral hypothesis00:07 Introducing Paul Button & Canopy Tours01:07 The importance of consistency in leadership13:29 Why people are the real product in tourism17:59 Partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC)20:20 The Canopy Conservation Trust funding model24:22 Why conservation budgets should never be cut25:18 B Corp certification and holistic business32:38 Setting ethical boundaries with clients40:13 The 40% carbon ground composition discovery41:16 Predator-free forests as a carbon solution41:53 International research partnership & future scalingLearn more about Paul and Rotorua Canopy Tours Rotorua Canopy Tours: https://www.canopytours.co.nz/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-button-93241b187/