BNZ is carbon neutral

We have fulfilled our commitment to become carbon neutral.

What carbon neutral means

In our daily operations we generate a range of green house gases (GHGs). These are largely due to energy consumed in buildings and emissions from activities like business travel and disposal of waste to landfill. These and other source emissions make up our carbon footprint.

Carbon neutral is when something has net-zero GHG emissions. For BNZ, this means reducing emissions from our business operations and purchasing carbon offsets to balance out remaining unavoidable emissions.

What BNZ has done to become carbon neutral

BNZ has built a sustainable carbon neutrality culture through three years of staff and planning initiatives and aims to continue to improve the energy efficiency of its operations beyond this milestone today.

We have taken steps to reduce our emissions by measures which include:

  • Energy efficiency projects (heating, cooling and light adjustments) across our property portfolio;
  • Major refurbishments at offices buildings such as Harbour Quays, Quay Park and 80 Queen St
  • Embarking on a sustainable renovation programme of our store and partners network
  • Around 65% of electricity used at BNZ is produced from renewable sources including wind and geothermal
  • Offsetting unavoidable emissions
  • Creating a carbon neutral culture among our people, with behaviour change initiatives helping to reduce waste and increase sustainable practices.

BNZ's other environmental initiatives

As well as our carbon neutral commitment, we are proud to support:

BNZ Save the Kiwi - For nearly two decades, BNZ has been a passionate supporter in the kiwi’s fight for survival. The BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust is a partnership between the Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird and BNZ.

The BNZ Kauri Forest -In June 2008 we launched the BNZ Kauri Forest, in conjunction with the Kauri 2000 Trust. We have promised to plant 100 kauri seedlings for every Kauri bond issue we arrange. Located on the Coromandel Peninsula, our forest is expected to grow at a rate of 1000 new trees every year.

Volunteering - our employee volunteering programmes, such as Closed for Good, help local community groups throughout the country

 Why our offsets this year are generated overseas

Offset projects in New Zealand were not available to us because they are not classed as “additional”, and additionality is a key requirement for our offsets to be be considered credible.  Once New Zealand ratified the Kyoto Protocol and committed to a binding national target for its GHG emissions, voluntary activity undertaken within New Zealand is not classed as additional.

We hope to be able to purchase New Zealand offsets in the future. Eligible offsets would be from technologies considered outside our Kyoto footprint (such as forest management, revegetation and soil carbon) so long as the methodology for calculating the emissions reductions has been approved by the New Zealand Government.

Is BNZ becoming carbon neutral just a case of simply buying offset credits?

No. We deliberately waited three years before buying offsets to ensure our in-house focus had identified opportunities to reduce our emissions and to build the expertise in our Group’s Environmental Finance team regarding the voluntary carbon market.

Our offset projects have been selected so that they not only reduce GHG in the environment but also assist local communities in developing countries.

They increase employment opportunities, make the environment safer and often have a unique local community factor – eg one project has built a children’s centre.  Another has given money to a local school for renovations.

What Standards our offsets are accredited to

BNZ’s offsets are accredited to either the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard.