News

Among the world’s biggest consumer companies, Europe’s Unilever NV, L’Oreal SA and Danone are best prepared for the effects of climate change relative to their peers, according to a report from the nonprofit CDP.

Climate change has already affected how electricity gets delivered to customers, and it’s only going to get more challenging. Vector’s Chief Networks Officer Andre Botha outlines what the lines company is doing to respond.

We’re the largest company in New Zealand – and only the third major retailer globally – to be carbon neutral. We’re doing this because we care about the health of our people, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the planet.

We are committed to this journey. Our target is to reduce emissions by 32 percent by 2030 (from our 2015 base level). This is in keeping with the target of staying within 2⁰C of warming, based on pre-industrial levels, set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A regenerating native bush block owned by former Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown is not only providing biodiversity and a haven for birds, it’s also generating income in the form of carbon credits.

For the fifth year in a row, ecostore has come out on top of the unprompted list of sustainable brands in New Zealand. The Colmar Brunton Better Futures report, released yesterday evening, asked New Zealanders which brands were leaders in sustainability and ecostore was again mentioned unprompted by those surveyed as being leaders in sustainability. Furthermore, when prompted, eighty-three percent of those surveyed named ecostore as a leading sustainable brand in New Zealand.

Use of renewable resources, care for the environment through business practice, and a focus on quality natural ingredients were among the reasons people thought of brands as sustainability leaders.

SKYCITY Entertainment Group has revealed its climate change strategy that will see the company’s New Zealand sites carbon neutral by the end of this year, with Adelaide following next year. SKYCITY will be among the first major New Zealand companies to go carbon neutral with its plan to set up a green fund, paid for via an internal carbon levy on all its emissions.

Toyota has a global vision of future ‘eco-cars’ which have no negative environmental effects and help the transition to a low carbon society.

Transport is New Zealand’s second largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and we rank fifth highest among OECD member countries per capita. New Zealand’s vehicle fleet is among the oldest in the developed world, and one of the least fuel efficient.

Auckland energy company Vector and Dutch start-up Chargetrip have teamed up to ease ‘range and charge anxiety’ among New Zealand’s rapidly growing number of electric vehicle (EV) users.

Range anxiety is a term often used to describe the stress EV users experience when their destination is or could be further than their car battery’s range, and they fear they could end up stranded on the side of the road. Charge anxiety is caused by the uncertainty of waiting lines at charge stations. Both are considered major barriers keeping people from switching to electric driving.

There’s an old TED Talk from 2010 about how to start a movement, illustrated by a video of a “lone nut” dancing at a music festival. It stuck with me, not just because of the lone nut’s unique sense of rhythm, but because it’s much the same way I view the movement of business leaders taking voluntary action on climate change.

Sustainability-focused PR agency, Wright Communications, has joined the Climate Leaders Coalition as part of its on-going commitment to sustainability and reducing climate change.

Managing Director Nikki Wright said as well as ensuring the agency was committed to reducing its own carbon footprint, its overarching business purpose is to encourage and empower its clients to become better corporate citizens.

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.

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.