Talk sustainability
News and views on sustainability
Issue 2, September 2007
Sustainability is on the move. As this second issue of talk sustainability shows, many exciting new sustainability initiatives are springing up across the public and private sectors.
We are keen that talk sustainability keeps readers up to date with sustainability news and developments around New Zealand. Please send any feedback and story suggestions to talksustainability@mfe.govt.nz
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Kind regards
Lindsay Gow
Deputy Chief Executive
Ministry for the Environment
Taking a stand on
Household sustainability.
Home Show patrons get sustainability advice
Central and local government staff ran a prominently-placed household sustainability stand at the Auckland Home Show on 12-16 September, attended by 50,000 people. They provided advice on a range of sustainability actions, including energy-efficiency measures such as insulation and EnergyStar ratings, sustainable building and design, saving water and fuel, and reducing rubbish.
Emissions trading encourages sustainable households
The proposed emissions trading scheme will encourage sustainable household practices such as energy efficiency and conservation and greater use of public transport.
The proposed scheme, announced on 20 September, will help reduce emissions, encourage and support global action on climate change, and put New Zealand on a path to sustainability.
For households, the main impact will be increased petrol and electricity costs, although these will not be large. Once carbon is fully priced into the energy sector in 2010, the average household energy bill is expected to rise by around $7 a month.
The government is considering ways of compensating households for these costs, although householders will also be incentivised to cover the costs by reducing their energy use and becoming more sustainable.
Government decided to introduce an emissions trading scheme after consultation showed that businesses preferred this to other greenhouse gas reduction alternatives.
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise significantly if nothing is done. In the short term, an emissions trading scheme would slow the rate of emissions increase.
New Zealand’s forestry sector would receive incentives to plant trees equivalent to around $300 million over five years under the proposed scheme. Forestry would be the first sector to join the scheme, with others joining in phased stages, allowing time to work out the sector-specific details.
Foresters would begin monitoring and reporting emissions from 1 January 2008 until December 2009. The transport sector would join the scheme on 1 January 2009, followed by stationary energy (coal, gas and geothermal) and heavy industry on 1 January 2010. The agriculture and waste sectors would start on 1 January 2013.
The scheme’s trading units, known as New Zealand Units (NZUs), would be issued by the Crown. Businesses would take part in the scheme in three ways: being required to buy and give up NZUs to cover their own emissions obligations; being given free NZUs to cover their obligations, which they could on-sell; or by trading in NZUs, just as sharebrokers trade shares.
Kiwifruit pulp-based trays take out Packaging Awards
Supreme award winner: Maniaia Mist
kiwifruit packing tray
Thanks to some smart Kiwi ingenuity, pulped low-grade kiwifruit that would otherwise be thrown out is being turned into kiwifruit packing trays.
The trays (pictured), made by Northland-based Maniaia Mist Paper Solutions, have cleaned up at the 2007 Environmental Packaging Awards. They are 65% kiwifruit pulp and 35% unbleached paper pulp. No artificial additives are used, and the trays are fully biodegradable, compostable and recyclable.
Judges at the event, held on 31 August in Auckland and supported by the Environment Ministry, described the product as the “standout winner” among the 59 entries, commending the “considerable thought, research, design and innovation” that went into it.
Maniaia founding director Basil Bromley came up with the concept while working at a kiwifruit packhouse and seeing enormous quantities of second-grade kiwifruit being dumped in landfills.
Project Manager Jennifer Hoskings said that Basil designed the trays with the help of Fisher and Paykel Production Machinery Ltd, who supported him during his research and development.
“We’ve produced the first kiwifruit trays from kiwifruit waste and kraft [eucalyptus]. Both are from sustainable sources and are suitable for the organic export market,” Ms Hoskings said.
“We’re now looking for a strategic partner to take care of the manufacturing side of the business. This award will give Maniaia Mist credibility. The awards evening was so exciting and a night to remember,” she said.
Paul Curtis, of the Packaging Council of New Zealand, said the product was a “great innovation success story.” He noted the high standard and breadth of entries in the latest awards round.
Speaking at the ceremony, Acting Environment Minister David Parker said the awards, first presented in 1999, were “well ahead of their time in recognising and promoting environmental responsibility in packaging.”
Under the Packaging Accord, a voluntary partnership between industry and government, 57% of all packaging is now recycled, a rate that compares well to other countries.
Tom, 15, leads Napier sustainability forum
Napier teenager and environmentalist Tom Logan led 50 adults in a community forum on sustainable futures.
Tom, pictured, of William Colenso College, was MC at the forum, organised by the Ministry for the Environment and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The nationwide forum series, under the Environment Ministry’s Household Sustainability Programme, encourages people to identify barriers to sustainability and to consider how they can take action in their own communities. Tom was chosen to lead the Napier forum because of his interest in the environment and his leadership skills.
Trans-Tasman governments to shop sustainably
The New Zealand and Australian governments have agreed on a plan to make public sector organisations in both countries do their shopping sustainably.
On 14 September, Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel and her Australian federal, state and territory government counterparts signed the Australia and New Zealand Government Framework for Sustainable Procurement.
The Framework provides guiding principles and best-practice examples for public sector organisations. It will encourage experience-sharing between both countries.
Under New Zealand’s sustainable procurement project, led by the Ministry of Economic Development, the government will use the annual $6 billion purchasing power of public service departments to help drive the market for environmentally-friendly goods and services.
By directing this spending towards sustainable suppliers and products, the aim is to encourage suppliers to improve their practices and help New Zealand producers gain access to similar markets overseas.
Last month, new mandated standards, guidelines and targets were announced for environmentally sustainable government procurement. They will apply initially to the purchase and use of paper and timber products, light fittings, and travel arrangements.
To see the Framework, and other information on sustainable procurement, visit www.procurement.govt.nz
Micro-wind turbines trialled
A Swift micro-wind turbine.
New micro-wind turbines now being trialled in Auckland and Wellington may eventually enable individual households and businesses to generate some of their own energy needs.
Vector is setting up two small, virtually silent turbines on the roof of the Waitakere City Council building and in Waitangi Park in Wellington. The company plans to trial up to 10 micro-turbines at different sites in the two cities, with support from Wellington and Waitakere city councils.
The turbines, designed to be mounted on buildings, have five blades, weigh around 50kg, and are about two meters wide.
Vector Acting Chief Executive Simon Mackenzie said the Swift turbines were a great example of smart technology being used to meet changing energy needs.
“They impose very little visual or audio impact, operate within relatively mild winds, and with an output of 1.5kW could provide between 2000 and 3000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year,” he said.
“This equates to a quarter or more of the average New Zealand household’s annual electricity needs of around 8000 kilowatt hours - and it is delivered from an effective, clean and renewable energy source.
“This figure is based on the UK experience, and we need to determine performance levels here in New Zealand under very different conditions,” Mr Mackenzie said.
The turbines can connect directly to building wiring and operate alongside existing grid suppliers, reducing the owner’s energy bills.
People seeking information on the turbines can email microwind@vector.co.nz
The Outlook for Someday youth film challenge
Young New Zealanders are being challenged to become involved in the sustainability debate by making films about what their futures might look like.
The Outlook for Someday invites anyone up to age 20 to make a short film about their possible future. Project director David Jacobs said it was vital that young people became involved in communicating sustainability issues.
“We urgently need to have a national conversation around issues of sustainability and our approach to the planet,” David says. “This film challenge is an opportunity for young people to participate in that conversation.”
David is director of Connected Media, a charitable trust that promotes sustainability through media. Connected Media launched the competition in partnership with the Enviroschools Foundation and the Global Education Centre in association with Maori Television and TVNZ.
The project is supported by the Ministry for the Environment (as part of the household sustainability programme), the Ministry of Youth Development, the Ministry of Education, New Zealand on Air, Save the Children, The Body Shop, The Laptop Company and the Sustainable Business Network.
The competition offers enticing prizes for budding film-makers including a digital video camera, laptop computers and a five-day Introduction to Television Production course. TVNZ will screen the winning films on its new digital channel TVNZ 6 and there will be a documentary about the project on Maori Television. They will also be viewable on www.sustainability.govt.nz
Further information is available at The Outlook for Someday website http://www.theoutlookforsomeday.net
Sustaina-briefs
UK Climate Change expert to visit NZ
Leading British climate change scientist Sir David King will make a short visit to New Zealand in early October. Sir David, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, has described climate change as a greater threat to the world than terrorism. He will address an invited audience at Te Papa on the topic “Science and innovation as a driver of sustainability,” and meet with government ministers.
Sustainability ‘portlet’ live
The first stage of the household sustainability web portal, dubbed the “portlet”, went live on Tuesday 18 September. The portlet, at www.sustainability.govt.nz, provides basic information for household decision-makers on energy and water use, waste disposal, transport and building choices. It also features video clips from recent workshops, a weekly sustainability opinion poll, a 25 minute sustainability video, and a film competition challenging users to submit a short film on the theme “what's your sustainability?” The full sustainability portal, with much more interactive content, including an eco-calculator, will be launched later this year.
One in four understand ‘sustainability’
A recent survey shows that one in four New Zealanders have grasped what the word “sustainability” means. Around 25% of the 501 people polled offered a definition that included the idea of managing resources for future generations. “Overall there was only a limited understanding that sustainability relates to the economy and society in general and not just the environment and climate,” said Research New Zealand Director Emanuel Kalafatelis.
Sustainable tourism business guides
Eight new booklets will help tourism businesses take practical steps to make their businesses more sustainable. The booklets, launched on 29 August, cover areas such as energy efficiency, business management, waste minimisation, water conservation and sustainable design. The Project Manager for the guides, Beth Goodwin of the Tourism Ministry, said: “They are quite advanced – these are for people who have already changed their light bulbs.” The eight booklets cover different parts of the tourism industry, including accommodation, visitor attractions, transport operators, marine activities, freshwater activities, land activities at one location, land activities on the move, and food and wine. They are downloadable free from www.tourism.govt.nz/sustainability
Energy-saving bulbs popular
More than 1.3 million energy-saving light bulbs have been sold this year through an Electricity Commission-supported programme. The high quality, long life compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are available through retailers and local electricity companies. All meet a high quality standard set by the Commission specifically for New Zealand conditions. Following the Commission’s campaigns over several years, more than three million CFLs are now installed in NZ homes. CFLs reduce power bills, lessen the need for extra electricity generation, and could save up to 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the life of the bulbs.
Televisions top the pops
Televisions are our most popular appliance, with an average of two in every New Zealand house, according to a study on household energy use. The Household Energy Efficiency Project also found that 10% of homes have more than one hot water cylinder, and the number of lights in the houses surveyed ranged from seven to 143. The BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand) survey gathered data on residential use from 400 homes nationwide over a period of ten years.
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