Report of the Ministry for the Environment

1 Overview

2 Statement of Service Performance for the Year Ended 30 June 2008

3 Financial Statements for the Ministry for the Environment

4 Non-Departmental Statement and Schedules for the Year Ended 30 June 2008

5 Strengthening our Capability

6 Development Goals for the State Services

7 Environmental Report

8 Management of the Ministry

9 Contact Information

7. Environmental Report

Overview

The Ministry’s environmental policy statement commits us to continually improving our operational environmental performance. The Ministry’s focus is on using energy and materials efficiently, minimising waste and emissions, and purchasing more sustainable goods and services. We demonstrate our commitment to operating sustainably by taking leading roles in both the Govt3 and Carbon Neutral Public Service programmes. We monitor our progress and publish the results each year in this report.

The Ministry’s head office, Environment House, is located close to public transport and to other government agencies where staff are likely to attend most meetings. Environment House is fitted with energy efficient lighting, motion sensors, and a sophisticated building management system, which led to it being considered a highly energy efficient office building in New Zealand (June 2006). Staff are encouraged to minimise energy use, for example using the stairs rather than the lifts, walking or cycling to meetings around the city, and turning off computers when not in use. Intercity travel is also minimised through the use of a dedicated video conferencing facility commissioned in May 2008.

The Ministry has recycling systems in place on each floor for paper, glass, cans, plastic and food waste. The Ministry purchases environmentally friendly products wherever possible, for example cleaning products that carry an Environmental Choice eco-label, Fair Trade coffee, and recycled paper for photocopiers and printers.

Internal targets for each indicator have been set to meet specific targets outlined in the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy 2007. In keeping with the targets in the strategy, the Ministry focuses on improving its performance against the set of sustainability indicators on a per FTE basis. The FTE figure used in this report for 2005/06 is 245.1; 2006/07 are 265.9 and 2007/08 is 281.6.

The statistical information presented in this section of the Annual Report differs from that presented in previous Annual Reports due to the use of a revised statistical methodology. The methodology used this year is consistent with that used in the Carbon Neutral Public Service Programme. For this reason, data for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 years has been recalculated to allow comparability with this year’s data.

The Ministry’s environmental performance for 2007/08 is measured using the following indicators: office paper consumed; waste produced, and energy consumed (including transport energy). The indicators used in this report are consistent with those of the Govt3 Programme and the Carbon Neutral Public Service Programme, which the Ministry for the Environment administers. The Ministry’s carbon footprint is also reported on.

The Ministry’s environmental performance is expressed throughout this section both as overall totals and totals per full-time equivalent staff member (FTE).¹⁶

Highlights and Areas for Improvement

The 2007/08 financial year yielded significant improvements across the Ministry’s set of sustainability indicators, showing positive improvement in air travel, distance travelled by ground transport, waste, and paper consumption.

The major outcomes of this year’s environmental performance compared with that of 2006/07 include:

• waste to landfill per full-time equivalent staff member has decreased by 38 percent

• distance travelled by ground transport per full-time equivalent staff member (including Ministry fleet vehicles, taxis and rental cars) decreased by 20 percent

• domestic air travel per full-time equivalent staff member decreased by 6 percent

• international air travel per full-time equivalent staff member decreased by 31 percent

• paper consumption per full-time equivalent staff member decreased by 12 percent

• electricity consumption per full-time equivalent staff member increased 7 percent

• CO₂ equivalent emissions per full-time equivalent staff member decreased by 23 percent.

Air travel and electricity consumption continue to contribute significantly to the Ministry’s carbon footprint, and remain the areas on which to focus improvements for 2008/09.

Waste

Figure 1: Ministry for the Environment total waste

The Ministry for the Environment continues to achieve significant reductions in its waste to landfill through continued use of the Govt3 recycling system, and through ongoing staff awareness campaigns.

The highlights for 2007/08 were a reduction in total waste sent to landfill of 34 percent to 1.6 tonnes in 2007/08, which equates to a reduction in waste to landfill per FTE of 38 percent. On a per FTE basis, the Ministry sent 6 kilograms of waste to landfill in 2007/08.

Total waste for the Ministry is estimated to have increased by 1 percent in 2007/08, and total waste per FTE is estimated to have decreased by 4 percent. The increase in total waste is due mainly to a 19 percent increase in paper waste. The majority of the Ministry’s waste (82 percent) was paper sent to recycling.

Table 1: Benchmarking our performance: Waste per FTE

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06
Waste to landfill per FTE (kg)	6	9	17
Total waste per FTE (kg)	134	140	180

Key targets and commitments for 2007/08	Progress at 30 June 2008
Waste to landfill per FTE of less than 18 kg per year	Achieved – 6 kg per FTE

Energy

Figure 2: Ministry for the Environment total electricity consumption

 

The Ministry has three offices located in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Energy consumption at the Ministry’s Wellington office (Environment House) accounts for 90 percent of the Ministry’s total energy consumption and was therefore the focus of energy reduction initiatives for 2007/08.

The Ministry consumed 801,844 kWh of electricity in 2007/08, a 14 percent increase from 2006/07 (705,606 kWh). On a per FTE basis, the Ministry consumed 2,847 kWh of electricity, a 7 percent increase from 2006/07 (2,654 kWh per FTE). The majority of this increase was due to a fault with the building management system in the Ministry’s Wellington office in February 2008. Mitigating actions were the introduction of real-time reporting capability for electricity consumption and the appointment of an energy auditor to monitor and optimise the Ministry’s electricity consumption.

Table 2: Benchmarking our performance: Energy consumption per FTE

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06
Electricity consumption per FTE (kWh)	2,847	2,654	2,591

Key targets and commitments for 2007/08	Progress at 30 June 2008
5% reduction in electricity consumption per FTE Maintain energy consumption at the Ministry’s Wellington office below 120 kWh/m2	Not achieved – 7% increase in electricity consumption per FTE Recorded energy consumption of 131 kWh/m2

Business Travel

Figure 3: Ministry for the Environment travel analysis

 

Table 3: Benchmarking our performance: Business travel per FTE

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06
Domestic air travel per FTE (km)	6,176	6,568	7,371
International air travel per FTE (km)	9,533	13,852	5,727
Ground travel per FTE (km)	391	487	520

Key targets and commitments for 2007/08	Progress at 30 June 2008
Reduction in domestic air travel of 6 percent per FTE Reduction in international air travel of 6 percent per FTE Reduction in distance travelled by ground transport of 6 percent per FTE	Achieved a reduction in domestic air travel of 6 percent per FTE Achieved a reduction in international air travel per FTE of 31 percent Achieved a reduction in distance travelled by ground transport of 20 percent per FTE

Staff travelled 110,082 km in the three Ministry hybrid cars, taxis and rental cars, a 15 percent decrease from 2006/07 (129,523 km). On a per FTE basis this equates to 391 km, a 20 percent decrease from 2006/07 (487 km per FTE).

Employees who pay for a taxi personally and are reimbursed are not included in this figure. The Ministry has recently taken steps to help reduce taxi usage by making bus tickets available for travel across town and through the availability of two bicycles and safety equipment for staff use.

Ministry staff flew 1,739,216 km domestically in 2007/08, a 0.4 percent decrease from 2006/07 (1,746,548 km). Per FTE this equates to 6,176 domestic kilometres, a 6 percent decrease from 2006/07 (6,568 km flown per FTE).

Ministry staff flew 2,684,545 km internationally in 2007/08, a 27 percent decrease from 2006/07 (3,683,176 km). Per FTE this equates to 9,533 international kilometres, a 31 percent decrease from 2006/07 (13,852 km flown per FTE).

The Ministry plays a key role in representing New Zealand interests in international climate change and environmental negotiations. Ministry staff are also involved in negotiations for environmental provisions in free trade agreements and in implementing these agreements. International engagement also provides opportunities for New Zealand to influence the policies and practices of other countries, and to learn from their experience so we can adopt international best practices. The Ministry’s commitments to international work programmes are growing, potentially increasing the need for international travel. Because of the nature of engagement in international situations, video conferencing is not always a suitable substitute for attendance at international meetings.

Materials Consumed

Office paper

The Ministry consumed 9.5 tonnes of A4 copier paper in 2007/08, an 8 percent decrease from 2006/07 (10.3 tonnes of copier paper). Per FTE the Ministry consumed 14 reams of copier paper, a 12 percent decrease from 2006/07 (15 reams per FTE).

This decrease in office paper comes despite the development of several large publications in the Ministry, such as the Environment New Zealand 2007 State of the Environment report. Publications such as this require copies of chapters to be printed for review by many people to ensure accuracy. The Ministry continues to work to reduce office paper consumption through paper saving measures such as defaulting computers to printing duplex rather than single-sided.

Over 99 percent of office paper reams consumed in 2007/08 contained more than 50 percent recycled content, consistent with results in 2006/07. Of the 99 percent, 96 percent had 100 percent recycled content and 4 percent had 50 percent recycled content. Over 99 percent of paper consumed was chlorine free.

Table 4: Benchmarking our performance: Paper consumption per FTE

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06
Reams of copier paper per FTE (number)	14	15	14

Carbon Footprint

Figure 4: Ministry for the Environment CO₂ equivalent emissions

Note Emission factors are updated each year, and will slightly affect the reported tonnage of CO₂-e emissions. At the time of publication, the emission factors for 2007/08 were unavailable. The Ministry has used 2006/07 emission factors in calculating the carbon dioxide emissions for 2007/08.

The Ministry’s carbon footprint is made up of emissions from energy consumption, domestic and international air travel, staff travel in taxis, rental cars and fleet vehicles, and waste to landfill as noted in the legend in figure three.

The Ministry generated a minimum¹⁷ of 746 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂)-equivalent emissions in 2007/08, an 18 percent decrease in total emissions from 2006/07 (912 tonnes). The Ministry’s CO₂ equivalent emissions were 2.6 tonnes per FTE, a 23 percent decrease per FTE from 2006/07 (3.4 tonnes per FTE). This decrease is largely due to a reduction in international air travel and a reduction in staff vehicle use in 2007/08.

Table 5: Benchmarking our performance: CO₂ equivalent emissions per FTE

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06
CO2-equivalent emissions per FTE (tonnes)	2.6	3.4	2.7

Key targets and commitments for 2007/08	Progress at 30 June 2007
Reduction in total CO2 emissions of 6% per FTE	Achieved a reduction in total CO2 emissions of 23 percent per FTE

In summary, the Ministry can be proud of its environmental performance in a number of areas. The 18 percent reduction in total emissions for 2007/08 indicates the Ministry is continuing to make positive improvements across all areas of the business. Policies continue to be developed and implemented to help to further raise staff awareness of areas for improvement. A focus on reducing our energy consumption and domestic and international air travel will help reduce the Ministry’s carbon footprint in line with our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2012. Attention will be given to these indicators to achieve a further 10 percent reduction per FTE in 2008/09.

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