Signatory News

OPINION: The work towards a low-emissions future for Aotearoa is accelerating and every person, business and sector will need to get themselves up to speed on how to reduce, contribute and report.

OPINION: Aotearoa needs to accelerate private investment and action on climate change. With clear pathways from government, the private sector has demonstrated it will follow.

Young or old, most people want a career path that will help, not harm, the planet. Olivia Wannan explores the industries that will – finally – make a dent in Aotearoa’s emissions.

Air New Zealand has outlined what it needs from zero emissions aircraft and is asking new generation aircraft companies to build and deliver one by as early as 2023.

This month the national carrier issued a zero emissions aircraft “product requirements document (PRD)” which outlines specifications and requirements for new generation aircraft.

Christchurch International Airport Limited (CIAL) has today successfully completed the re-financing of an existing debt facility with Westpac, at the same time converting it into its first sustainability linked loan.

If you’re serious about reducing your organisation’s carbon footprint, science is your friend. That’s because a verified science-based target (SBT) is the ‘gold standard’ way to reduce your carbon emissions. It’s measurable, credible, and public. And, based on the practical experience of New Zealand telecom provider Spark New Zealand who’ve recently set and verified an SBT, this type of target offers many other less tangible benefits too.

Z Energy (Z) welcomes today’s announcement from the Government that New Zealand’s Sustainable Biofuels Mandate will be in place by 1 April 2023.

“Biofuels are an important step on the journey to help New Zealand decarbonise the transport sector,” says Z Energy GM Transition Julian Hughes.

Firstgas Group and Ecogas are celebrating New Zealand’s first large-scale biogas to pipeline project that will transform kerbside waste into a valuable source of renewable gas for homes and businesses.
Once completed, the plant will supply the equivalent of 9,000 homes and businesses with biomethane, a type of renewable gas which is produced from organic waste like food scraps, agricultural and landfill waste. It is expected to eliminate more than 11,000 tonnes of CO2 per year; action that helps move New Zealand towards its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The COP26 Insights Report, produced by The Warehouse Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer and summit delegate, David Benattar, provides a broad view of the role of public policy, business, finance and technology to achieve Net Zero. It includes contributions by fellow Kiwi delegates and leaders in climate action.

Victoria University of Wellington is aiming to create one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable buildings.

Once complete, students will be able to wander around the leafy, wooden, three-storey Living Pā complex and watch monitors showing its energy and water consumption – a building “living” in real time.

Panels of glass will connect it to the university’s wharenui, Te Tumu Herenga Waka​, which has stood on Kelburn Parade for the past 35 years.

OPINION: I’ve lived in New Zealand for over four years, and in that time been struck by the ingenuity and tenacity of Kiwis: the number 8 wire mentality is truly unique.

And I believe it is this inimitable attitude that could, and should, see New Zealand become the Silicon Valley of innovation and progress in the low-carbon arena.