Bay of Plenty Business News Year Book 2023

TOI MOANA BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Why we’re taking bold action
on climate change
WEATHER, OR
WHETHER,
YOU LIKE it or
not – when
it rains it
pours. When
facing a
cost-of-living crisis and the uncertainty
that comes with a national election, it can
be tempting to push efforts to reduce
carbon to back of mind. If the recent wet
weather has taught us anything, it’s that
climate change isn’t going away, and we
need to act.
The Regional Council has recognised the
urgency in addressing this global challenge
at the local level and is progressing a
number of projects and initiatives to tackle
climate change head on.
The numbers
The Bay of Plenty Carbon Footprint
Report tells us that from 2015/16 to
2020/21 our overall emissions increased
by 12%, especially in areas like transport
and energy.
One of the most direct ways for business
to decrease emissions is to switch to
clean energy sources, and this is what’s
FIONA MCTAVISH, CEO TOI MOANA
BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL
driving the Bay of Plenty Regional Energy
Transition Accelerator (RETA) programme.
The RETA programme involves working
with medium and large energy users,
as well as those who supply energy, to
reduce the carbon footprint of industrial
processes.
Blue carbon creating a win-win
Saltmarshes provide an important
habitat for wildlife, and may also have
many positive co-benefits for climate
change. ’Blue carbon’ projects focus on
restoring coastal ecosystems and are
one of the most promising opportunities
for re-establishing the earth’s carbon
balance. We have two blue carbon
projects underway, quantifying carbon
stored in saltmarsh sediment and
mapping potential locations for saltmarsh
restoration projects.
Starting adaptation conversations
We’re helping a number of proactive
communities facilitate challenging
conversations around adaptation. We’ve
set up a seed fund to support this work
and already seven communities have
taken up the challenge, from marae to
surf clubs.
Individually and collectively
It’s not just big business that needs to
make changes. As individuals, we make
choices every day that contribute to
overall carbon emissions. To help people
get started on their own carbon emission
reduction journey, we’ve teamed up with
local councils to launch a carbon footprint
calculator called FutureFit. Check out
www.futurefit.nz
Walking the talk
As an organisation we’re also on our own
mission to be net carbon zero by 2050. To
help get us there, we’re aiming to reduce
our overall emissions by 5% each year.
We’ve been measuring our emissions
since 2019 and this year were on track to
beat this target, but the heavy rain saw us
deploy a number of emergency flood
pumps impacting our overall emissions.
You can learn more about the Bay
of Plenty’s carbon footprint, Climate
Change Projections and Impacts
report by NIWA, Regional Risk
Assessment and funds available for
community adaptation planning at
www.boprc.govt.nz/climate-change
0800 884 880
WWW.BOPRC.GOVT.NZ
24 | YEAR BOOK 2023