Enviro-Mark Solutions celebrates “biggest carbon losers” at 2019 Awards breakfast

Combined CO₂ savings of finalists equivalent to taking 23,000 cars off the roads

Auckland, 8 August: Enviro-Mark Solutions has announced the winners of its 2019 Awards, which recognise organisations that have achieved outstanding reductions in carbon emissions in recent years using the carboNZero^CertTM and CEMARS^® programmes, as well as exceptional environmental performance through the Enviro-Mark^® programme.

The winning organisations from the major award categories have each reduced their carbon footprint by at least 30% on their base year figures, with two organisations reducing their carbon footprint by more than 75% compared to base year.

To qualify for the Excellence in Climate Action awards in the Large, Medium and Small categories, organisations must be carboNZero or CEMARS certified for at least three years and have achieved a minimum of 20% absolute reduction in carbon emissions.  More than 131 certified companies were eligible for contention in the awards.

Enviro-Mark Solutions Chief Executive, Dr Ann Smith said that the combined carbon reductions of the finalists in these categories are equivalent to taking more than 23,000 medium-sized cars off the roads for a year.

“These awards are a celebration of climate action success and of creative, genuine and dedicated methods of cutting carbon emissions,” said Dr. Smith.

“The winning organisations are leading the way in creating a better, healthier environment for all Kiwis. We are delighted to celebrate their impact and achievements in reducing New Zealand’s carbon footprint.”

The 2019 Enviro-Mark Solutions Excellence Award winners are:

• Excellence in Climate Action - Small Organisation
  Winner: Soar Printing Limited
  Reduced its footprint by 32% on base year through investing in an energy efficient printing press machine that creates less waste, and partnering with other carbon neutral companies. 

• Excellence in Climate Action - Medium Organisation
  Winner: Kapiti Coast District Council
  Reduced its footprint by 76% on base year by changing the Paraparaumu Wastewater Treatment plant fuel source from a diesel-powered boiler to wood chips. 

• Excellence in Climate Action - Large Organisation
  Winner: Auckland District Health Board
  Reduced its footprint by 28% on base year through multiple initiatives run by a ‘green team’ and strong buy-in from senior leadership; the ADHB has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
  Replacement of standard lighting units and lamps to more energy efficient LED lighting reduced energy by approximately 64,000 kWh. New PC Sleep software on almost 4,000 computers, resulting in energy savings of approximately 554,000 kWh per annum.

• Excellence in Climate Action (product carbon footprinting)
  Winner: Snowberry New Zealand Limited
  Reduced its footprint by 79% on base year by reducing the number of ingredients in their products, growing many of product ingredients instead of importing them, and ensuring every product is certified carboNZero.

• Excellence in Environmental Management
  Winner: Booker Spalding
  Booker Spalding began its environmental sustainability journey more than 15 years ago and worked its way up to a Enviro-Mark Diamond-level certification. Now the team has a smooth functioning, mature environmental management system that has shown continuous improvement over the years. In their latest reporting cycle, Booker Spalding redirected 94% of its waste to recycling, reduced electricity consumption by 6% and reduced petrol use by 6% compared to the previous year.

Since its inception in 2001, Enviro-Mark Solutions’ members globally have achieved combined reductions of more than eight million tCO₂e – the equivalent of the emissions of more than 387,000 New Zealand households for a year.

“We all recognise that climate action is urgent and the task is becoming harder as global emissions continue to rise,” said Dr Ann Smith. “The winners and finalists are committed to sustainability for the long-term and provide excellent examples of business and environmental benefits that can be achieved.”

The Excellence Awards were presented this morning at a breakfast event at the SO/ hotel in Auckland.

Ful list of this years’ award categories and nominees:

Excellence in Climate Action - Small Organisation

• WINNER Soar Printing Company
• Hall McMaster and Associates
• Low Impact
• Lowndes
• Otamatea Kauri and Pioneer Museum Trust

  Criteria: With a carbon footprint of less than 200 tCO2e, the organisations must be certified for at least 3 years and have achieved a minimum of 20% absolute reduction in carbon emissions. From there, performance is judged based on actual tonnes reduced.

Excellence in Climate Action - Medium Organisation

• WINNER Kapiti Coast District Council
• Auckland War Memorial Museum
• Brother International (NZ)
• Curious Limited
• Tahbilk Winery (a division of Tahbilk Pty Limited)

  Criteria: With a carbon footprint between 200-5000 tCO2e, the organisations must be certified for at least 3 years and have achieved a minimum of 20% absolute reduction in carbon emissions. From there, performance is judged based on actual tonnes reduced

Excellence in Climate Action - Large Organisation

• WINNER Auckland District Health Board
• Antarctica New Zealand
• Auckland International Airport
• Canterbury District Health Board

  Criteria: With a carbon footprint higher than 5000 tCO2e, the organisations must be certified for at least 3 years and have achieved a minimum of 20% absolute reduction in carbon emissions. From there, performance is judged based on actual tonnes reduced

Excellence in Climate Action - Product Carbon Footprint

• WINNER Snowberry New Zealand Limited
• Tahbilk Winery (a divison of Tahbilk Pty Limited)
• Urgent Couriers Limited
• Yealands Estate Wines Limited

  Criteria: The products must be certified for at least 3 years and achieve any level of reduction (product carbon intensity). Winners will be based on actual reductions to their product carbon intensity (kgCO2e/unit of product).

Excellence in Environmental Management

• WINNER Booker Spalding
• Dexion New Zealand
• Fonterra Brands
• Logan Brown

  Criteria: Based on the recommendations from our expert Technical Team. Organisations in this category must be certified for at least 3 years and hold a minimum of Gold level Enviro-Mark certification.