Signatory News

Proud to represent New Zealand’s finest, Steinlager is committed to taking action against climate change and excited to become the country’s first large scale beer brand to be Toitū carbonzero certified.

To reach this significant milestone, every step in Steinlager’s product life cycle has seen emissions reduced or offset, from growing the hops and barley, making the beer at the brewery, to bottles, caps, packaging and transport, right down to the length of time the beer will spend in the consumer’s fridge.

Toitū Envirocare’s new Toitū carbon assess platform enables large enterprises to collate and track the combined carbon emissions of their New Zealand-based suppliers and gives small businesses an easy and affordable way to measure their carbon emissions and benchmark against similar organisations.

A survey of employees at Suncorp New Zealand, one of the country’s largest insurance companies, has revealed that community and connection (79%) and collaboration and problem solving (66%) are the main drivers for employees wanting to return to the office at least part time following a period of working at home due to Covid-19.

The first retirement village operator to be Toitū carbonzero certified, Summerset’s climate action story shows the organisation’s commitment to continually reducing their environmental impacts.

he retirement village operator started its journey by committing to the Toitū carbonreduce certification programme in 2018.

A Toitū carbonreduce certification means Summerset measured their emissions, set a reduction plan, and got third-party verified as per international best-practice. Though this was a great start, it was only the first step.

The programme was a way for Summerset to start monitoring its emissions, increase efficiency and reduce operational costs. The certification process helped bring focus to key insights like emissions from the use of fertilisers, waste per person and business travel – all seen as opportunities to be more efficient.

Summerset’s sustainability initiatives quickly gained traction and the organisation decided to further bolster its commitment by offsetting their carbon emissions, gaining them the Toitū carbonzero certification.

While the spotlight last week was on the climate change risk reporting announcement from the Government, there was another significant announcement that went overlooked in New Zealand, but will change how you set credible and meaningful net-zero targets. Barbara Nebel has the details.

Even in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, the list of companies, investors, universities, and cities leading the Race to Zero continues to grow. For some, this translates to setting ambitious carbon reduction targets, while others opt for a net-zero target. But how can a net-zero claim based on offsets move the needle on climate change? What criteria does it have to meet?

The updated Energy End Use Database estimates national energy consumption broken down by fuel type, sector, end use and technology. National data is available for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 calendar years.

The database allows researchers, policy makers and the business sector to explore how energy is used by fuel type, sector, end use and technology. EECA has revised and improved data for a number of sectors in the database, including residential, and a range of industrial sectors.

Suncorp New Zealand has been named as a finalist for the Sustainable Business Network’s Climate Action Leader Award for 2020, for its commitment to renewable energy generation and reducing emissions.

New Zealand companies aiming for 100% renewable energy can now use energy certificates to achieve their ambitions.

The global RE100 initiative now recognises the New Zealand Energy Certificate System (NZECS), meaning that New Zealand businesses can purchase energy certificates to meet their RE100 commitment of sourcing 100% renewable electricity.

Suncorp New Zealand is one New Zealand business that has adopted a Certified Renewable Energy product through Meridian Energy.

Leading agritech and herd improvement cooperative LIC has launched a new fund to support innovations with the potential to positively impact New Zealands valuable dairy sector. LIC has launched an early-stage investment fund, named the LIC AgCelerator

Electric truck, bus and bike projects are sharing in a $3.2 million government funding allocation.
The eighth round of the low emission vehicles contestable fund has been announced by energy and resources minister Dr Megan Woods with 24 successful applicants.

Recipients contribute a total $5m themselves under the fund administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Z Energy chief executive, and CLC convenor, Mike Bennetts – the first guest on Stuff’s One Hot Minute video and podcast series – sets a challenge for the next Government.

It was part of the company’s move to renewable energy and to reduce emissions as it worked towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Clemenger Group New Zealand, which includes Colenso BBDO and Porter Novelli, has been award a Toitū carbonreduce certification, awarded to those making a viable effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

The group went under an evaluation which showed where it sat in terms of its footprint, and provided active measures the group could take to reduce it.

Jim Gall, CEO, says this is the next best step to ensure they have not only their clients needs in mind, but the country’s as well.