The South Island Regional Transport Committee engaged Auxilium to develop, coordinate and facilitate an on-line South Island Freight Summit. Originally planned as an in-person event, the shift to an online format was due to COVID-19 restrictions in NZ. The summit aimed to develop a shared understanding of key issues and opportunities in the freight sector. It focused on ports (sea & land), international shipping, rail, coastal shipping and road transport, excluding airfreight and last-mile small truck delivery. Key topics for discussion included decarbonisation, international competition, resilience and maintaining affordable freight services, ensuring a collaborative approach to addressing the sector’s challenges and future opportunities.

The challenge was to develop and facilitate an interactive and engaging summit. This was accomplished by creating a highly interactive setting online with speaker presentations, breakout sessions, use of collaborative online tools (i.e. Mentimeter) and panel sessions.

The summit had over 65 attendees from Mayors, CEs, GMs, to management and operational staff in attendance. Feedback on the workshop design and delivery was very positive, and the outcomes gained from the summit provide valuable insight into the South Island Regional Councils work on improving freight movement and identifying key strategic initiatives.

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