News

Sharp improvements in Auckland’s air quality due to big cuts in traffic volumes under Covid-19 restrictions are being seen as a pointer to a need for new thinking on climate change initiatives.

In some suburban areas, nitrogen oxide levels had fallen to almost zero in the first days of the coronavirus month-long lockdown.

While no one is wishing a prolonging of the restrictions, the ability to turn off transport-generated greenhouse gases is intriguing.

DETA’s Decarbonisation Webinar Series offers insight into carbon reductions across a range of sectors.

This first webinar provides a wide overview, and more sector-specific sessions can be found on DETA Consulting’s website.

Auckland Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee today voted unanimously to endorse, in principle, changes to the region’s response to climate change based on feedback from Aucklanders. A key change is a focus on three key elements to progress climate action -an overarching Tāmaki response and two core drivers for climate action- reducing our emissions and preparing for change.

New Zealand businesses have rushed to have their EV efforts profiled via the Gen Less EV Shout Outs initiative, which champions the use of EVs in business.

Businesses already own 23% of the nearly 20,000 registered EVs in New Zealand, and buy most of the new EVs.

So Gen Less launched EV Shout Outs, featured in EVtalk, to give organisations across the country an opportunity to ‘shout out’ about their EVs use online and on billboards across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Is it possible for a company to be a large, national corporation and carbon neutral at the same time?

The Warehouse Group is marking its first year as a carboNZero business, and says it’s about time other companies joined the movement.

The Chief Sustainability Officer, David Benattar spoke to The AM Show.

Businesses across the country are invited to ‘shout out’ about their EV use, in a bid to encourage more organisations to switch their fleets.

The newly launched EV Shout Outs is the latest project from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (EECA) Gen Less platform and celebrates businesses talking about their EV use on social media by giving them shout outs on prominent digital billboards in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and online.

The country’s largest retailer says it is “absolutely” prepared to drop suppliers if they don’t cut back on their carbon emissions.

It is nearly a year since The Warehouse Group went “carbon neutral” – that is, it has completely offset its carbon footprint by cutting back on its own emissions, tree planting and buying carbon credits.

In the last year, the company has managed to reduce its overall emissions by 4 per cent.

Foodstuffs is building the country’s largest solar panel farm to power its new North Island distribution centre.

The distribution centre, which will serve all Pak ‘n Save, New World and Four Square supermarkets in the North Island, will include the equivalent of 14 netball courts of solar panels.

The building is currently under construction near Auckland International Airport.

Westpac NZ and Contact Energy have entered into a $50 million, four-year sustainability-linked loan facility, the first such loan issued by Westpac NZ and one of the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Contact Energy will receive a discounted interest rate on the sustainability-linked loan if it meets ambitious targets linked to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating determined by the independent ratings agency RobecoSAM. Conversely, Contact will pay higher interest costs if it doesn’t meet the rating targets agreed with Westpac.

Creative solutions will be needed to reduce the carbon footprint of the New Zealand tourism sector by 2050, says thinkstep-anz following a comprehensive study done for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Tourism was responsible for 9% of New Zealand’s national emissions in 2017, and we outsource a further 6% of our domestic emissions to the world through the international flights taken to get here and in the production of the goods and services that tourists purchase while in New Zealand.

Over the last two months, a team of contractors and SkyCity staff have been busy changing the external lightbulbs on the Sky Tower to LED, supporting SkyCity’s climate change commitment to reduce carbon emissions from the Sky Towers lighting by 10%.

The new LED lights will turn on for the first time this Saturday 21st December, at 9.00pm, with a dynamic light show, all in time with a playlist featuring kiwi hits and festive tunes hosted by the Breeze radio station.

Auckland Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee Chair Richard Hills has welcomed Mayor Phil Goff’s proposal for the 2020-21 Annual Budget as an important step forward for the climate.

“I thank the Mayor for working with us and leading the way on climate change on his annual budget proposal. We have heard loud and clear our community wants us to act and to act faster,” says Cr Hills.