Annex 1: Related central government initiatives that support household sustainability

Support, Assistance and Incentives

EnergyWise Homes: interest-free loans scheme for energy efficiency installations in the home

Middle to high income households – about 100,000 energy efficiency upgrades and 30,000 clean heating upgrades over 15 years

EnergyWise Homes: grants for energy efficiency and clean heating retrofits

Low income households – 12,000 homes per annum retrofitted through Energy Wise Home Grants, and 1,000 new Warm Homes clean heating retrofits per annum

Subsidies for insulation of private rental properties: 55% subsidy on a full house retrofit of insulation and other energy efficiency measures

Subsidies are available to members of the New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation

Housing New Zealand Corporation energy efficiency and healthy homes programme

State house tenants – all pre-1977 properties are being progressively checked and refitted where necessary

Solar Water Heating Programme: grants and loans to cover some installation costs

Households with high hot water usage, new home builders, building industry, property developers

Draft New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEECS): proposal to develop incentives to withdraw energy-wasting appliances and to increase uptake of highly efficient appliances

Manufacturers, importers and purchasers of new appliances

Walking School Buses: support and resources to help get a walking school bus underway

Families with children at school, local government

Investigation of differential registration fees based on vehicle emissions

Households with vehicles

Information and Advice

4 Million Careful Owners website: information on reducing household rubbish (including composting and recycling), tips and hints on how individuals can make a difference on climate change, and links to freshwater resources

All households

Department of Building and Housing’s upcoming Energy Efficiency Consumer Awareness Campaign

All households

EnergyWise website: easy steps on saving energy, energy savings calculator, more comprehensive advice

All households

Information and Advice

EnergyWise Homes package: develop new public awareness and information activities and website portal (information on benefits of energy efficiency and ‘what to do’ advice)

All households – including information for households to identify what changes might best suit their needs

Smarter Homes: sustainable residential building and renovation website

Home builders and renovators, building industry, suppliers

Fuel$aver, Choke the Smoke, and ‘Low Carb Diet’ websites/campaigns: information on lowering fuel consumption, reducing carbon emissions from vehicles, choosing a fuel efficient car, and reducing pollution

Households with vehicles

Home Energy Rating Scheme: accredited assessment of a home’s energy efficiency

The main target for the scheme is houses on the market

Education for Sustainability programme: environmental education support for teachers and school children

Schools, teachers, households with children at school

Infrastructure and Regulation

Changes to the Building Code: tougher insulation requirements (including double glazing in most areas), easier to install solar water heating – further requirements to follow

New homes – 30% energy reductions to achieve

healthy average indoor-air temperatures, reduction in installation costs for solar water heating

Draft NZEECS: new or more stringent Minimum Energy Performance Standards for classes of products, reduced standby power usage in new appliances

Manufacturers, importers and purchasers of new appliances

Biofuels sales requirement – 3.4 percent of the total fuel sold by oil companies must be biofuel by 2012

Households with vehicles

Increased investment in public transport

Urban households

Minimum exhaust emission standards for imported used vehicles

Vehicle buyers and dealers

Urban Design Protocol: voluntary commitment to specific urban design initiatives by signatory organisations

Central and local government, the property sector, design professionals, professional institutes and other groups

Network of public recycling facilities

People in cities and tourist destinations, international visitors

Capability Building

EnergyWise Homes: quality assurance, training and accreditation

Suppliers and installers of energy efficient products

EnergyWise Homes: support for councils to implement new legislation such as the revised Building Code and to promote energy efficiency

Local government, home builders and local communities

Solar Water Heating Programme: contestable innovation fund to support innovative projects that will lead to a significant increase in the use of solar energy for water heating

Solar water heating industry, developers of related new technologies, building sector, property developers