Archived publication
This publication is no longer current or has been superseded.
Our environmental footprint
Compared with many other government agencies, the Ministry for the Environment is relatively small. Our direct impacts (for example, on the environment) are in keeping with our size. However, we recognise that the Government’s main adviser on the environment has a responsibility to ‘walk the talk’. We have therefore included a relatively detailed review of our environmental impacts in our main report. A summary is provided below.
Our key resource flows
The following figure highlights our key material and energy resource flows and impacts.
See figure at its full size (including text description).Our environmental policies and systems
Although a number of informal practices exist, we currently have neither an overarching environmental policy nor an environmental management system in place for monitoring and reporting on our office-based activities. For some significant contracts, suppliers have been required to provide details of their products and organisation’s environmental performance, for consideration along with price and quality information.
Key commitments and targets
- Overarching environmental policy, and policies for purchasing, waste and energy to be published and embedded by June 2003.
- Drive responsible procurement for all of government.
Materials
Publications
During 2001/02 we printed 126 different brochures, booklets, handbooks, information cards, posters, etc., some of which were new publications and some reprints. We estimate that these publications weighed 22.5 tonnes in total – equivalent to about 383 trees. Our policy is that 100% of paper stock should be chlorine-free, preferably with a minimum of 25% recycled content, subject to performance and cost considerations.
We estimate that 88% by number and 86% by weight of the publications were chlorine-free, and that the recycled paper content of all publications was 56% by weight. (The paper policy’s requirement to consider performance and price alongside environmental considerations, means we do not expect to have 100% of publications chlorine-free).
We will be looking at ways to reduce the amount of paper used in publishing by considering alternative methods of publishing and reducing the number of publications produced.
Office paper
In the reporting period we used approximately 6.7 tonnes of A4/A3 copier and headed paper, equivalent to 19 reams per staff member. This represents a 14% reduction in total tonnage, or a 24% reduction in reams per staff member from 2000/01. Our paper policy was not operational for our purchases of office paper in the reporting period. None of the paper we used in the period had recycled content and the chlorine-free status was not monitored.
Benchmarking our performance
| Actual 2001/02 | Benchmark* | |
|---|---|---|
| Reams of copier paper per FTE (number) | 19 | 11 |
* In the absence of benchmarks from another policy orientated government agency, we have included a benchmark from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (www.landcareresearch.co.nz).
Key commitments and targets
- Investigate alternatives to printing large numbers of publications as a way of achieving our overall objectives.
- Review and update our paper purchasing policy, including the issues around recycled content.
- A 10% reduction in reams of paper used to 17 reams per staff member.
Waste
See figure at its full size (including text description).Waste audits of all of our premises indicate that we generated around 30.7 tonnes of solid waste (220 kg per staff member) in the last year. Of our total waste stream, 61% constituted paper that we recycled and 24% was made up of other recyclables (glass, metals, etc.). Of the remaining 15% (approximately 4 tonnes) that went to landfill, 33% could have been recycled under our existing procedures. Although this percentage reduced between the January and June 2002 waste audits, we still need to promote our own internal recycling practices.
Benchmarking our performance
| Actual 2001/02 | Benchmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Office solid waste benchmark per staff member* (kg/FTE) | 220 | 200 |
* Benchmarks for waste generation and levels of recycling by a standard office-based organisation in New Zealand are not currently available. The good practice benchmark quoted is from the UK Environmental Agency. See UK Environment Agency, Green Officiency Guide, 2000 (www.envirowise.gov.uk).
Key commitments and targets
- Initiate whole-of-government pilot schemes for in-house waste minimisation programmes, and promote their success.
- Reduce waste per staff member per year by 10%.
Energy
During 2001/02 we used 260,517 kWh of electricity and had an overall energy usage index of 64 kWh/m2 of total office space. This represents a 2% reduction in total and a 10% reduction per m2 on 2000/01 (266,496 kWh and 71 kWh/m2). The reduction was in our Grand Annexe and regional offices, and has resulted from improved staff habits following awareness schemes introduced during the winter 2001 power shortages.
Benchmarking our performance
| Energy usage index | Actual 2001/02 | Benchmark* |
|---|---|---|
| Offices - tenant electricity only (kWh/m2) | 58 | 60 |
| Offices - with heating and air conditioning (kWh/m2) | 113 | 200 |
* Per Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
All our offices performed below or close to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s (EECA) Energy Guzzler low-usage office benchmark.
Key commitments and targets
- Participate in the EECA Energy-wise government programme.
- Maintain our offices’ energy performance close to the EECA low-usage benchmark.
- EECA Energy-wise government agreement to be signed by June 2003.
Transport
See figure at its full size (including text description).Travelling is important in enabling us to fulfil our mission. In 2001/02 we flew 900,443 kilometres and drove 65,918 kilometres on Ministry business in New Zealand. Senior staff also flew a total of 1,191,455 kilometres on long-haul international flights representing New Zealand concerns at various conferences. Air travel was significantly lower than in 2000/01, mainly due to less travelling by the Climate Change and Environmental Reporting groups.
Our performance over time
| 2001/02 | 2000/01 | |
|---|---|---|
| Air travel – domestic (km per FTE) | 6,499 | 9,367 |
| Air travel – international (km per FTE) | 8,600 | 12,326 |
| Car travel – own and hire (km per FTE) | 476 | 525 |
Key commitments and targets
- Consult staff on the appropriateness of a voluntary survey of commuting methods.
- Monitor our travel to understand and report back on the reasons for any fluctuation from 2001/02 levels.
Carbon footprint
See figure at its full size (including text description).Our direct use of fuel in our cars plus our indirect use of electricity in our offices and fuel used in air travel contribute to our CO2 footprint. We calculate that we generated 352.1 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions in 2001/02. Due to lower air travel this was a 19% reduction on our 2000/01 footprint (433.1 tonnes). Our footprint reduced from 3.5 to 2.5 tonnes per staff member.
We have robust travel guidelines in place, but believe that a reduction in travel and emissions may not be sustainable or warranted in 2002/03, given our continuing growth and need to engage with our stakeholders.
Key commitments and targets
- Monitor our CO2 emissions to understand and report back on the reasons for any fluctuation from 2001/02 levels.
Key performance highlights
[To see data normalised for the ‘average’ staff member, refer to the ‘Summary staff profile’ on page 28.]
| Our environmental footprint | 2001/02 | 2000/01 |
|---|---|---|
| Weight of publications (tonnes) | 22.5 | - |
| % publications chlorine-free [Defined as elemental chlorine-free (ECF) or totally chlorine-free (TCF).] (by weight) | 86% | - |
| % publications recycled content (by weight) | 56% | - |
| Office paper used (A4 and headed) (tonnes) | 6.7 | 7.8 |
| Estimated total waste (tonnes) | 30.7 | - |
| % waste recycled (by weight) | 85% | - |
| Direct energy consumed (GJ) | 1,060 | 1,097 |
| Air travel – domestic (‘000 km) | 900 | 1,149 |
| Air travel – international (‘000 km) | 1,191 | 1,512 |
| Carbon dioxide equivalents emitted (tonnes) | 352 | 433 |
