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What is MfE doing? – sustainability initiatives

The Ministry's Annual Report contains information about its work to improve its sustainability.

Walking the talk to sustainability booklet provides an introduction to the Govt3 programme.

So what is the Ministry for the Environment doing itself to 'walk the sustainability talk'?

This page contains information about the Ministry's own steps towards sustainable operation.

The Ministry's procurement strategy and policy

The Ministry has reviewed and rewritten its procurement framework to ensure that sustainability is a key part of all our buying decisions.

Our new sustainable headquarters

In June 2005, the Ministry moved to a new headquarters building in central Wellington near Parliament.  Key sustainability features of the building include:

  • Installation of a state of the art air-conditioning system that utilises heat transfer and the latest low impact refrigerants.
  • Use of environmental choice certified paints and carpets.
  • Installation of occupancy sensors on lights in the corridors and bathrooms, and low energy appliances.
  • Installation of showers, lockers and bike racks to encourage and support staff cycling and running.

The building uses 113 kWh/m2 compared to 269kWh/m2 for the average office building.

Ministry Waste Management Practices

The Ministry's Environmental Policy Statement states that the Ministry will strive to "proactively manage waste and divert recyclables from our waste stream".

The Ministry's Wellington and Christchurch offices have access to recycling facilities for paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, toner cartridges and food waste.  The Wellington office has installed integrated recycling facilities on all floors for food, paper and non-recyclable waste.  The food waste is taken to the Living Earth Compost facility at the Southern Landfill in Wellington. In the smaller Christchurch office, the food waste is collected and taken home for a staff member's compost heap.

  • New signage on all the recycling bins
    Recycling and waste bins are located in a central area on each floor of the Ministry's offices. Clear signage (from Recycling Operators of New Zealand) makes the area tidy and easy to use. New posters explain what waste is put where and reasons why you should recycle.
  • Removal of desk-side rubbish bins
    The standard office rubbish bins, that usually sit under or next to people's desks, were replaced with small desk top containers which staff themselves empty into central bins.  With a recycling system that also takes compostables, staff are finding that they rarely need to empty their small container.

To roll out these initiatives, a presentation was made at the Ministry's staff meeting, and staff on each floor were visited to explain what it all meant.

These initiatives have resulted in a huge reduction in the amount of waste that the Ministry sends to landfill. While a typical office sends between 40 and 100 kilograms of material to landfill a person per year, the Ministry has reduced the amount to about 11 kg a person per year.

Figure: Ministry for the Environment office waste

See figure at its full size (including text description).

If you are interested in setting up recycling systems in your place of work, see our publication A guide to office recycling systems, or email govt3@mfe.govt.nz.

Ministry energy efficient transport

The Ministry's Environmental Policy Statement states that the Ministry will strive to "favour the purchasing of more sustainable goods and services".

In April 2004, the Ministry took the opportunity to review its current vehicle fleet, and to consider the use of hybrid vehicles. Investigations into cost, performance, staff comfort and practicality were undertaken. It was decided to lease two hybrid vehicles. The Ministry's assessment is that the hybrid vehicles will be economically and environmentally more effective than a conventional car.

For further information email govt3@mfe.govt.nz.

The Ministry's office energy management

The Ministry's Environmental Policy Statement states that the Ministry will strive to "use energy efficiently".

As part of the EnergyWise government programme, the Ministry, in partnership with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), is committed to demonstrating government leadership in responsible energy management throughout its operations.

The Ministry has conducted an energy audit of its operations. In 2004/05 the Ministry generated 473.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, a 26 percent decrease on 2003/04.

For further information email govt3@mfe.govt.nz.

The Ministry's office consumables and equipment

The Ministry has ensured that:

  • 98 percent of its publications use chlorine free paper;
  • 65 percent of paper content was recycled;
  • Printers and photocopiers have duplexing ability and computers are set to default doubled-sided printing; and
  • Usage of reams of copier paper has declined from 13.1 to 12.3 reams of copier paper per staff per annum.

If you are interested in setting up recycling systems in your place of work, see our publication A guide to office recycling systems, or email govt3@mfe.govt.nz.