Signatory News

Sustainable building advocates want the construction industry to be given a clear signal to reduce its carbon emissions.

Waste Management NZ welcomes the Interim Climate Change Commission’s call today for more electrification of New Zealand’s road fleet in reducing carbon emissions.

Managing Director Tom Nickels said the report was a reminder of the environmental benefits of EVs, with the company having started its shift to EV waste collection trucks three years ago.

Sistema Plastics Ltd has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by achieving Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme (CEMARS®) certification.

CEMARS certification is a recognised greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and reduction scheme administered by Enviro-Mark Solutions (a subsidiary of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research). It is the first of a two-step process towards achieving carboNZeroCertTM certification in New Zealand.

Give us hope. Show more solutions – and less doom and gloom.
When we asked Stuff readers about media coverage of climate change, the chorus of voices implored us to help them see a path to a viable future.

In June, we surveyed our audience as part of our ongoing Quick! Save the Planet project and received a stunning 15,248 responses.

Brands, businesses, and brilliant Kiwi minds are putting the world first, leading the way to a zero-carbon emissions economy by 2050 with some truly innovative and bold ideas.

Meridian Energy’s CE Neal Barclay says he strongly supports the Interim Climate Change Panel’s (ICCC) Accelerated Electrification recommendations to the Government.

“The ICCC recommendations show us we can take action now and it won’t cost us the earth,” says Neal. “Accelerating the electrification of transport and process heat is one of the smartest ways New Zealand can actively and significantly reduce emissions and improve the competitiveness of New Zealand business in a global context.”

Vector has today welcomed the ICCC’s report on Accelerated Electrification.

Vector agrees that accelerating the electrification of transport and process heat will play a major role in reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Initiatives to reduce carbon emissions will impact the whole energy supply chain, and Vector supports an approach that considers the whole energy system.

DB Breweries is planning to switch its brewery at Timaru onto wood chip by the end of next year as part a plan to halve the group’s emissions by 2030.

The firm, owned by Heineken, operates six breweries around the country. But DB Draught’s plant at Timaru is the biggest user of coal-fired steam and thus the single-biggest contributor to the group’s emissions.

DB Breweries has today announced its ambition to halve its carbon emissions by 2030.

The announcement coincides with the launch of DB Breweries’ 2018 Sustainability Report and carbon reduction roadmap, which outlines plans for further action and radical reform by the business on climate change.

The Auckland Council’s latest annual Green Bond offer has raised $150 million.

Council Finance and Performance Committee chairman Ross Clow says it’s a good result.

“There is a growing appetite for green investment – according to Moody’s Investor Service, the Green Bond market is tipped to hit $200 billion (USD) this year – so it makes sense for us to use the opportunity to support our sustainable development targets and goals,” Clow says.

This year is shaping up to be a banner one for New Zealand’s response to climate change. The Zero Carbon Bill is before Parliament, the Emissions Trading Scheme is to be reformed by the end of 2019, and the Budget earmarked additional funding for climate mitigation steps.

Industry is stepping up too. This week marks one year since the formation of the Climate Leaders Coalition, a group now numbering more than 100 leading NZ companies representing more than half of NZ’s carbon emissions. These firms have committed to measure, report on and reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Air New Zealand, for example, has improved the fuel efficiency of its fleet by 21 percent since 2009, saving them both money and emissions. Toyota, Fuji Xerox, Fonterra, Sky City and The Warehouse Group are among many others.

The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face, and we need to get moving on action now.

New Zealand has some of the lowest carbon electricity generation in the world. More than 80 per cent of generated power comes from non-fossil fuel sources, like hydro, geothermal and wind.

That energy mix makes our country an ideal place to introduce electric vehicles and bring down our carbon emissions.

And given that transportation accounts for 17 per cent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, moving to electric vehicles is a great opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint.