Signatory News

Electric vehicle leaders, Meridian Energy, are proud to have been approved for co-funding through the Government’s Low Emissions Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand.

Meridian’s Chief Customer Officer, Julian Smith says that the company is thrilled to receive support from the fund, which will enable more people to experience the benefits of electric vehicles which helps our country to combat climate change.

Ports of Auckland is delighted to learn today that it has been approved for part-funding for the purchase of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from the Government’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund (LEVCF), administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Ports of Auckland, along with its project partners Auckland Transport, Auckland Council and KiwiRail will procure a hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) bus and three HFC cars as part of its wider project to build a hydrogen fuel production plant. The fund will be providing 14% of the estimated cost of these vehicles.

Air New Zealand is the first airline in the world to scoop two awards at the Air Transport World Airline Industry Awards. The awards, which are considered the ‘Oscars of the airline industry’, will be presented in New York in March.

Air New Zealand has been crowned ATW Eco Airline of the Year and won the Passenger Experience Achievement award for recent upgrades to its Economy Skycouch seats.

The Eco-Airline of the Year award recognises Air New Zealand’s portfolio of sustainability work. This includes the airline’s commitment to reducing waste through its Project Green initiative, engagement with and support for regional New Zealand communities and reducing carbon emissions both within the airline’s own operations and encouraging travellers to do the same through its voluntary carbon offsetting programme, FlyNeutral.

It’s easy to get distracted by the politics of climate change.
For business, the best approach is to push past the emotion and join the rest of the world – or at least most of it – in assessing both the business risks and opportunities, a key expert says.

” Focus on [climate] as a business risk and a business opportunity because this is where people will make money or lose money over the next 20 to 30 years.”

What is the Industrial Re-revolution?
Industry has progressed us forward as humans but the implications for the environment have been detrimental at best. The idea of the Industrial Re-revolution is to acknowledge the fact that industry is necessary for the way the economy works in the human world but to explore new ways of making it work that do not cause harm and, in fact, drive positive change for the Earth. In order to meet the carbon emission targets needed to combat catastrophic climate change, the corporate sector must change the way it works. A key way for corporations to ensure they stay within carbon emission targets is through the use of organisations such as thinkstep, which helps to assess a company’s environmental footprint and set a clear pathway for sustainable growth with a reduced impact on the Earth.

Beyond the obvious ethical reasons for working to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, here are some powerful arguments for why businesses should set science-based targets.

For some businesses, especially small businesses, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to reducing your emissions. That’s why members of the Climate Leaders Coalition have pulled together 10 top tips of practical things businesses can be doing right now to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

OPINION: There are those who see business as responsible for climate change.I don’t see a lot of point in arguing about that, there is not the time. We have already wasted too much time arguing about whether human activity as a whole is responsible. I take a simple view. It is beyond time for humanity to react to the negative consequences of climate change. Since much of what we do which impacts that change is conducted through the businesses we often work in it seems a good if not exclusive spot to take action.

Auckland’s ambitious targets and leadership on tackling climate change have earned C40 Innovator City status from the global C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The C40 Innovator City status acknowledges Auckland’s innovation and initiatives to lower the city’s carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Commercial building specialists are eyeing the Government’s new $100 million “green” investment fund to help upcycle New Zealand’s old buildings. Engineering consultants Beca said there was a huge opportunity to improve New Zealand’s building stock, now believed to be belching out 20 per cent of New Zealand’s carbon pollution.

Vector has today released a how-to guide to make it easier for tenants and residents of business, commercial and apartment buildings to switch to electric vehicles (EVs).

Vector’s ‘Connecting Electric Vehicle Chargers’ guide offers best-practice advice for installing EV chargers – including ensuring chargers are compatible with a wide range of EVs now and into the future.

Countdown, in partnership with WEL Networks, has installed three charging sites at five of its Waikato supermarkets – a first for the retailer. Electric vehicle (EV) users can charge their cars for free at either Countdown Hamilton, Countdown Bridge Street, Countdown Claudelands, Countdown St James or Countdown Huntly.