Royal Society celebrates CarboNZero Certification on World Environment Day

Leading climate and Antarctic scientists will join the Royal Society of New Zealand staff in Wellington tomorrow morning to celebrate the organisation’s carboNZero certification. CarboNZero is a Landcare Research programme, which involves the evaluation and audit of an organisation’s carbon emissions, a plan to manage and reduce them, and at the end of the year, a payment to offset remaining unavoidable emissions. It has been adopted internationally.

Manager of the Programme, Dr Ann Smith from Landcare Research, said, “carboNZero certification is a strategic business tool to assist companies in the promotion of their carbon credentials in a manner that will withstand the intense scrutiny that both our domestic and international markets demand. We are delighted that the Royal Society of New Zealand has recognised the importance of certification to ensure that their claim of carbon neutrality has credibility and integrity.”

Some 20 other organisations have achieved carboNZero certification including Trade Me and The New Zealand Wine Company, maker of Grove Mill and Sanctuary wines.

The Royal Society is keen to take a lead in reducing emissions in order to focus attention on the ultimate goal of sustainability. A key part of the Royal Society’s emissions management plan is the recent installation of a high definition video conferencing facility to replace some air travel and associated carbon costs - taxis and hotels for example. It will have the incidental benefit of reducing operating costs and the productive time lost in transit.

Antarctic scientist, Professor Peter Barrett (2006 Wellingtonian of the Year), who was one of the first to alert New Zealanders to the ominous signs of climate change in Antarctica, said, “We must work towards a sustainable way of life, and that includes dealing with carbon-driven climate change. We need to get on now with changes in our lifestyles and our ways of doing business. Author of “Heat”, UK journalist George Monbiot, talked with a live audience via video link in the recent NZ Post Writers and Readers Week in Wellington, making his presence felt as if he were among us. I support the Royal Society’s promotion of this greatly improved technology.”

The Royal Society’s celebration on 5 June will feature the World Premiere of “Lessons from a Melting Icecap”, a documentary on climate change effects in Greenland, produced by young filmmaker Jinty McTavish. She was part of the Royal Society’s expedition there last year, with three students from Otago Girls High who won the Freemasons BIG Science Adventures DVD competition.

Barret & Renwick

Dr James Renwick (NIWA climate scientist and Royal Society Council Member) and Professor Peter Barrett (VUW) in front of the Royal Society’s carboNZero billboard in Thorndon

For further information, contact Glenda.lewis@rsnz.org 04 470 5758 or 027 210 0997.

More about carboNZero…

The carboNZero programme is an internationally recognised greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management and reduction certification scheme for organisations, products, services and events, offering optional mitigation strategies through the provision of credible and verified offsets. Credibility and integrity are paramount to the carboNZero programme and its clients. The carboNZero programme has emerged from over ten years of research in GHGs and carbon monitoring at Landcare Research. CarboNZero certification is awarded only after independent verification of the Measure, Manage (reduce) and Mitigate (offset) steps by authorised auditors. Ethical and technical oversight is provided by an Independent Advisory Panel.