carboNZnewz Issue 6, June 2009
In this issue:
What does JAS-ANZ accreditation really mean for businesses?
Those of you who regularly read our website and news announcements would have noticed that recently the carboNZeroCert TM programme achieved JAS-ANZ accreditation – which is why we have a few more logos on our website’s home page.
So, you may ask, who is JAZ-ANZ and what does it mean for me? Both are really good questions and to answer let me start at the beginning.
A few years ago, when we were developing our three-year strategic business plan, we set ourselves the goal of becoming one of the top three GHG certification schemes in the world. Our guiding principles were focused on encouraging reduction of emissions to the atmosphere through the provision of practical business solutions built on credible science. We needed to make sure that all our clients’ carbon claims would be able to stand up to the utmost scrutiny here in NewZealand and in fact in any other territory – this last point being of greatest concern to our exporters.
With the team’s more than 15 years’ experience in carbon measurement and management, we also recognised that as the carbon market began to gain traction we would see the emergence of carbon cowboys and chequebook certification providers. Unlike certification standards and approved providers for car warrants, sadly the “carbon space” is still very much an unregulated Wild West when it comes to certification and there is a real continuum of offering out there in the market.
At one end of the scale you can have the “Mum & Dad” outfits operating from home or entrepreneurs with a penchant for slapping sustainability logos on anything and everything they can get their hands on without much regard for what claims are actually being made. At the other end of the scale you have accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies whose certification decisions are of the highest order and thus mutually recognised by governments across international borders and using international standards.
Thankfully, the folks at the International Standards Organisation (ISO) also recognised the very real need to set a new standard for those who wanted to provide GHG verification and certification services and established the ISO14065 standard. Becoming an accredited Conformity Assessment Body under ISO14065 was the way to go as it’s a clear point of differentiation and a way to underwrite the investment of our clients who have achieved carboNZero and CEMARS certification.
In this part of the world international accreditation is made by the Joint Accreditation System – Australia and NewZealand (JAS-ANZ), which is an international accreditation body established by a treaty between the NewZealand and Australian governments and linked through the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), which promotes mutual acceptance of certification to common international standards. Their head office is in Canberra, with a satellite office in Wellington to ensure close co-ordination between governments and their respective departments.
The process of achieving accreditation is without doubt one of the most robust and challenging procedures any organisation would care to undertake, but it has to be, given the exalted standards that have to be met and maintained.
JAS-ANZ accreditation means the carboNZero programme offers a framework for businesses here and overseas to measure and report their carbon footprint with confidence and credibility as it has been verified against a global standard and is accepted in 50 major world economies. (Just to give you some idea of scale, the European Union, which comprises 26 countries, counts as just one of these economies!). Those of you who are exporting or reporting your carbon claims to offshore entities will see the value of this straight away.
Our recent JAS-ANZ accreditation is a critical part of Landcare Research’s plans to ensure the carboNZero programme has the highest level of credibility and integrity. This has essentially elevated the carboNZero programme and CEMARS brands to a globally elite status and has very much drawn a line in the sand between ourselves and other operators who do not and most likely never will have accreditation.
I am also pleased to advise that this accreditation represents a number of significant milestones for the programme and for NewZealand in general. Namely, Landcare Research’s carboNZero programme is the:
- World’s First Accredited GHG Certification Scheme
- First Crown Research Institute (CRI) to achieve accredited Conformity Assessment Body status
- Only Accredited ISO14065 GHG verifier outside of the United States
I’m sure you will agree all of the above are huge milestones and a real credit to the programme. Once again this is a fine example of how a New Zealand company can punch above its weight on the global stage and provide everyone a certification service that is truly a world best and that we can all be proud of.
Mike Tournier
Business Manager
carboNZero programme
Debunking climate change and certification myths
This month I want to focus on the need to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the moral and ethical imperative for credible GHG certification programmes to collaborate in achieving a common aim. Such schemes should not be competing. There is far more work to be done than any one organisation can deliver. What we need is a way to mutually recognise each other’s programmes and work together to maximise the real reductions in GHG emissions to the atmosphere. It is a global problem that needs solutions that are globally recognised. ISO 14065, the international standard for accrediting verifiers and certifiers of GHG assertions, provides a suitable framework for mutual recognition and collaboration across all geographical jurisdictions.
Myth 1: New Zealand’s footprint is too small for emissions reductions to make a difference
During 2008, the New Zealand Institute published a paper advocating that New Zealand be a fast follower rather than a leader in climate change action. This assertion is based on the premise that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New Zealand will be costly to business and make no difference to the atmosphere because New Zealand’s footprint is so small on the global scale – New Zealand’s GHG inventory is around 0.3% of global emissions.
Contrary to that position, New Zealand businesses want to take climate change action and they want to do it robustly so that their actions make a difference. By working in partnership with early adopters of the carboNZero programme, Landcare Research has developed a world class certification scheme that has the potential to reduce emissions by more than New Zealand’s deficit for the Kyoto Protocol commitment period. In turn, carboNZero certified clients are inspiring their customers, competitors and supply chains across the world to take similar action thus multiplying the potential environmental benefits many times over.
If we all say it’s someone else’s problem, we will never make the difference. I can see no reason why every single business in this country would not make a commitment to being carbon neutral. It might take some longer than others, but whether or not you think it’s good for New Zealand’s reputation, and in my view it absolutely is, then I think it is simply the only ethical course of action.
Mark Henderson, Managing Director, Snowberry
Myth 2: Reducing GHG emissions is a cost to the business
There is no quick fix solution, no silver bullet, to reduce GHG emissions. However, many of your emissions sources result from business activities that are a cost to the business. Managing those activities to reduce emissions will, in many cases, result in cost savings and other business benefits.
Many of our carboNZero certified clients are reporting significant cost savings and business benefits with pay-back periods of months rather than years. The number of CEMARS and carboNZero certified clients is now sufficiently large for us to assess the economic and environmental benefits of the programme. We will be reporting these results, developing benchmarking metrics for our programme and our clients and challenging other GHG programmes to disclose comparable data.
All the time and money put into being the first Hamilton-based company to receive the carboNZero accreditation has paid off and our green practices will eventually save the company $40,000 a year. It also gives the company a unique advantage in an increasingly competitive market.
Paul Forward, Managing Director, Calder and Lawson House of Travel
Myth 3: GHG measurement and certification requirements are too stringent
The scale of change required to achieve global reductions in GHG emissions will attract players who genuinely want to make a difference and those who see the opportunity to make a quick buck. To make a real difference to the atmosphere, we need to reach a tipping point where the majority of businesses are engaged in climate change action as ‘business as usual’. The business community needs to have confidence that the agents of change and the solutions offered are credible and will make a genuine difference. Businesses also want to compete on a level playing field. Standards help to provide a level playing field and, in turn, certification provides assurance that those standards are being met.
Dismissing the need for standards undermines the commitments being made by businesses to reduce their emissions and creates financial and reputational risk. Rough estimates of your GHG emissions make it difficult for you to demonstrate your emissions trends and justify investment in emissions reduction initiatives. Your customers and shareholders expect your carbon claims to be genuine and credible. Claims found to be misleading may breach the Fair Trading Act and lead to financial penalties. This in turn may scare other businesses away from taking action and threaten consumer confidence.
On the other hand, verifiers who relentlessly pursue every last gram of carbon are equally unhelpful. A good certification scheme will provide guidelines for verifiers that offer a pragmatic approach while providing a suitable level of assurance.
We encourage all businesses to undertake their own due diligence and check credentials before engaging a GHG certifier:
- What standards will be used for your certification?
- Does your certification include an independent audit?
- Under what authority is the certifier operating?
- Who has accredited the certifier?
- Under what international standard is the certifier accredited?
A recent report found corporate emissions data to be incomplete and of variable quality. There were staggering inconsistencies in calculation and verification. Some 34 different guides and protocols for GHG emissions inventory preparation were used by the FTSE 500 companies reporting in to the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Ethical Corporation Institute, Corporate GHG Emissions Reporting 2008
While global GHG emissions continue to rise, it is in all our interests that as many businesses as possible take action to reduce their GHG emissions and that these actions are recognised and rewarded by regulators and markets. The negotiating text for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year, emphasises the importance of measurement, reporting and verification to confirm that commitments, actions and emissions reductions have taken place.
There is a moral and ethical imperative for organisations providing credible GHG certification services to work together to ensure that the efforts of certified businesses to reduce their GHG emissions are making a difference. Accreditation is the process of qualifying and endorsing certifiers and provides a suitable framework for mutual recognition amongst GHG certification programmes. Accredited certifiers have a vested interest in ensuring that standards for GHG measurement, reporting and verification are consistently applied. This in turn creates a level playing field for competition amongst equally qualified certifiers which is an essential ingredient for driving costs down for businesses seeking certification.
Consistency and transparency are paramount for credibility of your carbon claims. CEMARS and carboNZero certification ensures that international GHG standards are applied consistently. It is a requirement of CEMARS and carboNZero certification that claims are transparent via publicly available disclosure pages.
We congratulate the organisations that have achieved carboNZero certification since our last newsletter:
Organisation/Product/Service Certification –
- Curious Ltd
- NZ Fresh Cuts Ltd
- Wellington Combined Taxis Ltd
- Transport Management Services Ltd (Fleetwise)
Event Certification –
- 4th Climate Change and Business Conference
- NewZealand Organisation for Quality 2008 Conference
- Seven Worlds Collide – Oxfam NewZealand
Small Enterprise Certification –
- Pure Coffee Ltd (trading as Celcius Coffee) – Small enterprise
- Freight on Board (NZ) Ltd – Small enterprise
- Hall McMaster & Associates Ltd – Small enterprise
- The Research Agency Ltd – Small enterprise
- Vertigo Design Ltd – Small enterprise
- Evolu NZ Ltd – Small enterprise
CEMARS Certification
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)
- Laing O'Rourke Ltd – UK
- MWH UK Ltd – UK
- The Outward Bound Trust – UK
And we are delighted to see the following companies recertified:
Organisation& Product Certification –
- Kaimira Ventures Ltd
- Endue Ltd (Snowberry)
- Huia Vineyards Ltd
SMALL enterprises taking BIG steps
“While SMEs regard survival as the most immediate challenge they face, sustainable business practices were regarded by most as important and something they will be working at over the upcoming years,” says Ideas Shop managing director and Sustainable Business Network Central Region Advisory Board member, Dan Ormond. The carboNZero programme encourages the implementation of sustainable practices as an effective way of overcoming the recession. Our small enterprise certification follows five simple steps to help SMEs achieve carbon neutral certification with credibility –
1 – Complete a data table and qualify for the small enterprise programme (one office and estimated annual emissions under 50 tonnes CO2e).
2 – Register with the programme and gain 12 months’ access to the small enterprise calculator to enter 12 months’ data into the calculator, e.g. gas, electricity, fuel use.
3 – Use the results from the calculator to complete the certification application form. This includes a GHG emissions inventory report, GHG management plan and template for your public disclosure page.
4 – Undergo external verification. An auditor visits your business and thoroughly checks your accounts and measurement process to ensure accuracy of data submitted.
5 – Submit your application for certification and receive a certificate and the carboNZero certification logo for use in marketing your achievement.
June has been a busy month with six organisations achieving small enterprise certification:
Celcius Coffee
An artisan coffee roasting company based in Lower Hutt. Celcius Coffee’s reputation has been heightened recently by triumphs at the NewZealand Coffee Awards and being named Regional Finalist in the 2008 Sustainable Business Awards and winner of the Hutt Business Excellence Sustainable Business Award for 2008. Celcius Coffee has been a participant of the carboNZero programme since 2007.
Evolu NZ Ltd
Natural balance for healthy skin is the ethos of the Evolu brand. As a strongly ethical company Evolu believes in balancing environment-conscious thinking with actions that are practical and measurable. Evolu is motivated by the mantra “act globally, think locally”, and seeks to make values-based choices that help make a contribution to addressing climate change. Evolu’s ongoing commitment is to apply the discipline of carboNZero certification to the areas of its business where further genuine differences can be made.
Freight on Board (NZ) Ltd
Freight on Board (NZ) Ltdis a 100% NewZealand owned customs broker and international freight forwarder based in Ellerslie, Auckland. As a company that looks to the future, we see the importance of taking note of our emissions and doing what we can to reduce them for the generations ahead.
Hall McMaster and Associates
HMA is a team of professional human service teachers and practitioners operating throughout NewZealand and Australia. We work as trainers, programme developers, supervisors and writers in the area of human service work. Our commitment to sustainable growth is a principle that sits behind our company’s aims of “working with passion and integrity to bring out the best in people”.
The Research Agency
The Research Agency is a full-service, award-winning market research consultancy built out of a passion for research that actually delivers growth to clients. We believe that climate change is a serious environmental issue and therefore we are committed to reducing our environmental impact.
Vertigo Design
Vertigo is a Wellington-based graphic design house with many years of successful graphic design to its credit. Vertigo’s body of work includes the design and production of numerous publications, branding and identities, Internet/Intranet sites and multimedia projects. Vertigo is committed on an environmental level by managing and reducing its GHG emissions.
The small enterprises going through the programme come from a variety of sectors and industries ranging from food and beverage, cosmetics, paint manufacturers, trusts and freight service to event organisers, transport sector, human service, marketing and graphics design services. All of the certified small enterprises and businesses still progressing through the programme have one thing in common: they all have pre-existing environmental values and or actions in place and their principles align well with the carboNZero programme. Our certified small enterprises acknowledge that their operation produces GHG emissions, however big or small these may be, and decide to take practicable actions to minimise their impact on the environment. Working with the carboNZero programme has allowed them to create a future-proofing strategy that results in the emergence of new ideas, for example identifying resource efficiency and cost reductions which, when acted upon, can create long-term benefits.
Congratulations once again to our certified small enterprises – keep up the great work!
The value of partnership
As the Northern Hemisphere enters it summer season, our international licensing partner (Achilles Information) is preparing to spread the CEMARS brand further across the UK into more of the thousands of suppliers that service their core clients who have undertaken CEMARS certification to date.
A business planning process has just been completed with Achilles to identify what the priorities are to focus on to ensure the CEMARS brand presence and client uptake into Achilles’ Carbon Reduction Programme can be further increased.
A key element of the partnership that the carboNZero programme has with Achilles involves Achilles gaining accredited status as a certifier from Landcare Research. The carboNZero programme's Professor Ann Smith will be visiting Achilles during July 2009 to review Achilles’ progress towards reaching accredited status as a certifier.
The early adopters of CEMARS in the UK are now recognising the value of certification and the peace of mind that it brings their business. The early-adopter focus has proven to be very effective as a marketing tactic to this segment. Those companies were clearly seeking market advantage and therefore are supportive towards developing new case studies and customer testimonial materials that will be used to generate further interest in the programme.
The value of CEMARS’ robust GHG measurement phase enabled United Utilities in the UK to revisit its earlier carbon footprint assessment of its business and ascertain that all the correct emission factors and GHG calculation methodologies were used in accordance with E-Manage. This ensures their subsequent CEMARS certification can stand up to any degree of challenge or scrutiny with the utmost confidence.
Supplier engagement events have been enthusiastically greeted in the UK with high levels of requests for quotes and positive feedback. This tactic looks set to remain a key step for the future because it is effective in generating enquiries, gaining more positive exposure and drawing direct support from existing clients; it is becoming a powerful endorsement of the programme in the absence of compliance legislation.
Quantitative milestones such as millions of tonnes of carbon certified and reduced will provide motivation for the industry to gauge and communicate the programme’s progress. Achilles have already secured several of the UK’s largest energy utility companies with CEMARS and are in the process now of ramping up their Carbon Reduction Programme both in the UK and in selected global markets.
Mark Klouwens
carboNZero programme
International Business Development Manager
Changes bring fresh benefits for events considering carboNZero certification
If you are congregating a number of people for an event, you are increasing greenhouse gases (GHG) as people fly and drive to the event. And, while they are at the event, attendees will consume electricity and produce enormous amounts of waste. The good news is that event organisers can take responsibility by measuring, reducing and offsetting the GHG emissions associated with the event. The process has now been made even easier with recent improvements to the carboNZero event certification programme.
Sam Bridgman, carboNZero programme Sustainability Advisor, says the changes make achieving full certification more affordable and within reach of all events regardless of their size.
The key changes include:
- The participant event (small event) option is now incorporated into the certification programme
- Renewed emphasis on the importance of reduction activities
- New and clearer requirements in terms of offsetting remaining greenhouse gas emissions
- Modification of the third-party verification process
- All events will gain access to the carboNZero certification mark for advertising purposes
The changes mean that all events – irrespective of size – will now have the opportunity to achieve full certification. This offers a number of key benefits, including reducing and offsetting your event’s carbon footprint, increasing the marketing value and creating a point of difference, demonstrating proactive leadership, adding credibility to the event and avoiding accusations of “Greenwash”.
A number of upcoming events have already committed to the carboNZero programme in the second half of 2009 and the programme is again working with CINZ (Conventions and Incentives NewZealand) to help measure and reduce the GHG emissions from its annual industry showcase – MEETINGS 2009.
A key part of the programme requires all events to put in place methods to reduce their own emissions. “I am continually surprised at the unique and inventive ideas and actions that event organisers are putting in place to reduce the environmental impact of their events. It is great to see this industry get onboard and make a difference,” says Sam.
Up coming events
Climate Change and Business Conference
24–26 August 2009, Melbourne
The organisers of the 5th Australia-NewZealand Climate Change and Business Conference are making the 2009 conference carboNZero certified. This means that they will measure, manage and offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the conference and exhibition organisation and implementation. After the event, an audit will be performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure the conference has met the carboNZero programme requirements.
Key 2009 conference programme themes
- Policy developments in the lead-up to Copenhagen
- Prospering in the low carbon economy
- Financing the transition to reduced emissions including insights into the carbon markets
- Impacts of the global recession on climate change policy and markets
www.climateandbusiness.com/index.cfm
CINZ MEETINGS
21–23 July 2009
CINZ has formed a strategic alliance with the carboNZero programme to further educate the industry and our members on the benefits of measuring, reducing and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This year the carboNZero programme will be assisting us to measure and reduce the GHG emissions from MEETINGS 2009. We will use this measurement to compare with the 2008 event and as a benchmark for other CINZ events including the annual conference. We will continue to look at ways we can reduce emissions from future events and take leadership in best practice for our industry. To identify ways you can reduce your own environmental impact visit the carboNZero stand 465 or their website – www.carbonzero.co.nz
Bizzone Expo 2009 – Drive your business forward
This year, the carboNZero programme once again will be exhibiting at the Bizzone™ Business Expo (formerly Small Business Expo) in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Organised by Sarah Trotman Ltd, the Bizzone™ Business Expo is the largest business-to-business marketplace held for business owners and influencers, attracting over 13,000 attendees and more than 400 quality exhibitors. As part of their overall journey towards a sustainable business model, the Bizzone Business Expo will again achieve carboNZero certification. Expert speakers, mentors and services are available at the Business Expos to provide realistic steps for attendees to integrate sustainable strategies into their normal business practices.
The Auckland Expo was held on 26–28 May at the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, and it was a great success. We had a whole new design for our exhibition stand that focused on credibility of certification programmes and the risk of greenwash, which aligns well with this year’s expo theme – “Smart marketing”. We also presented at the National Bank’s Seminar Series, speaking about the what and how of “Credible Green Marketing”.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the Auckland Expo as it not only enabled us to seek out new customers, but also gave us the opportunity to meet some of our existing clients, whom we only know by phone and email, face to face. During the three days at the expo, we were able to collect first-hand information on what the public, our clients and potential clients are thinking – which will allow us to better develop our services. One interesting discovery we made was that due to the current economic climate, not surprisingly, many organisations are putting “investments on sustainability on hold and plan to revisit later when they can loosen their belt buckle”, However, when speaking to our clients or organisations with existing sustainability plans, we found that it was because they had sustainability initiatives and actions (such as the carboNZero certification) in place that they are surviving well in the current economic environment. They are not being affected as much as their non-sustainable counterpart. There are three reasons for this: (1) they are operating sustainably and efficiently and therefore minimising operational costs; (2) their customers value their sustainable actions and remain loyal; and (3) new customers are choosing carefully when making purchasing decisions, i.e. where they spend their money, and they often opt for a business that would give them added values.
The next show is on 22–24 July at Wellington TSB Arena, Queen's Wharf. The Christchurch show is in the Christchurch Convention Centre on 5–7 August. We look forward to seeing you there. The entry fee to the expos is $20, or alternatively, you can register for a free exhibition pass here www.bizzone.com/guestof/carbonzero
Being green leads to high growth
The carboNZero programme won the High Growth sector award at the Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards. These awards were founded by business support specialist Sarah Trotman of fast50 company Bizzone, and are sponsored by Vero, the National Business Review and BDO Spicers. The awards are a key event of the Bizzone Business Expo, NewZealand’s largest event for business. The Supreme Award was presented by Prime Minister Hon. John Key to the Ministry of Economic Development for its Insolvency & Trustee Service.
The carboNZero programme is now a dedicated Strategic Business Unit of Landcare Research, with staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The programme has received numerous high profile awards from both sustainability and business peers. Internationally, it has been successfully licensing in the UK with its partner Achilles Information, whose client base of over 32,000 companies across 24 countries is increasing the carboNZero programme’s market reach.
One of the key missions of the carboNZero programme is to provide a service that enables NewZealand export businesses to create market advantage for export goods and services through the certification of carbon footprints down the supply chain. The carboNZero programme has set itself the aspirational goal of reducing global emissions by NewZealand’s deficit of 45.5 millions tonnes by 2012.
Excellence in business is more important than anything else, Roger Bell, Chief Executive of Vero Insurance, the Foundation Sponsor of the awards, says. “The point of these awards is that our winners don’t end up just being excellent on one aspect of business – it goes right across the business – across leadership, strategy, people, processes and the results from all of those things. So it’s not just narrowly defined.”
Double Gold for Kaimira Estate riesling at San Francisco International Wine Competition
Premium Nelson producer and carboNZero certified winery Kaimira Estate has been awarded a Double Gold medal for its 2008 riesling and Silver for its 2008 sauvignon blanc at the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition, the largest wine competition in America.
Ian Miller, Director of Kaimira Estate, said: “These results are a real thrill and a tribute to the efforts of our entire team. The fact that the wines are also accredited under the Sustainable Winegrowing NewZealand and carboNZero programme puts the icing on the cake for us.”
Annelies Goemaere info@KaimiraWines.com
Creativity with sustainability
The carboNZero programme continually reinforces the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. The carboNZero team would like to encourage all businesses to get creative with their reduction initiatives. Here is a unique example in the media (17 Jun 2009) that caught our eye:
Kiwi winery trots out one-horse power tractor
A leading NewZealand winery has taken an out-of-the-ordinary approach to increasing its biodynamic efforts with the employment of a 22-year-old horse named Stewart. At the Seresin Estate in the Marlborough wine-growing region, Stewart tows the sprayer that spreads a natural concoction of seaweed and manure instead of chemicals on the vines.
While replacing a tractor with a horse may seem like a backward step, Seresin Estate viticulturalist Colin Ross says the power of one horse can accomplish the same work as an 80-horsepower tractor. "Use of horses results in less compaction of the soils in the vineyard, we emit less carbon and the horses can live off our own homegrown fuels such as grass and oats. We are also providing a home for retired trotters that would otherwise be culled," Ross said.
For the full article please go to: www.newzealand.com/travel/media/press-releases/2009/6/sustainability_seresin-trots-out-horse-tractor_press-release.cfm
For more information or to submit information for consideration for the next newsletter please contact Kathryn Hailes, carboNZero programme Marketing and Communications Manager carbonzero@landcareresearch.co.nz, free phone 0800 CNZERO (0800 269376), or view our website: www.carbonzero.co.nz
