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Utilities company Watercare, charged with delivering a clean and sustainable water supply to 1.7 million Auckland residents, has ambitious decarbonisation targets. Watercare Head of Sustainability Chris Thurston says: “We have massive commitments to reduce embodied carbon by 40% by 2024, with a multimillion-dollar programme of work under way to upgrade existing infrastructure and build new.”

Road Science (a subsidiary of Downer New Zealand) has held an official opening event today for a large bitumen tank at the Port of Lyttleton, to bolster onshore storage and enable a secure supply for customers.

Fonterra supports He Waka Eke Noa’s recommended approach as an alternative to pricing agricultural emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme.

The partnership is recommending a farm level split-gas levy with built-in incentives to reduce emissions and sequester carbon, starting from 2025.

Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand’s largest meat processor and marketer, has inked the country’s biggest deal linking working capital with sustainability targets.

The Dunedin-based company signed a deal with a banking syndicate for $320 million of working capital which offers a lower interest rate in return for meeting sustainability targets.

The world’s first full sized ship-handling electric tug, named Sparky, has arrived at the Ports of Auckland.

Sparky arrived in the Waitematā Harbour early Tuesday morning escorted by Ports of Auckland’s current tugs and pilot boats.

Ports of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray says welcoming Sparky is an exciting day for everyone.

New Zealand Post’s group sustainability manager Dawn Baggaley has been in her role since 2012 and says attitudes have “absolutely” changed in that time. “We all need to make this change,” she says. “It’s everyone’s responsibility and we’re not going to make the change alone.” Baggaley says sustainability is “critical for businesses”.

Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala says he wants the brand to be a ‘market leader’; not only in terms of sales volume but also in terms of emissions reduction and mobility.

Toyota New Zealand is part of a new community car-leasing coalition called Waka Aronui. Launched in Favona, Auckland, the scheme allows 20 families to lease used hybrid Corolla wagons for a set fee of $95 per week.

BNZ aims to have a $10 billion sustainability financing portfolio by 2025.

Last month the bank launched an Agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) product available to all New Zealand farmers and growers.

New car buyers are rapidly driving up the sales of new EVs but for secondhand buyers the choice is limited. The used EV market is yet to benefit from a strong flow of surplus vehicles from company and Government fleets. But, as Mark Jennings writes, the tap will be progressively turned on

t’s never been more important for New Zealand businesses to step up and turn climate ambition into concrete climate action – by putting sustainability at the very core of their oganisational DNA.