Tackling carbon emissions
Aotearoa, we have a problem
Between us — you buying fuel, us selling it — we emit around nine million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year. That’s about 9% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s total emissions. And those emissions are contributing to the escalating impacts of climate change.
Yep, we’re giving nature some serious gas.
So what's the answer?
The solution to all the excess carbon is pretty straightforward: we need to reduce how much fossil fuel we use.
We know that’s hard – we’re selling the stuff. None of us is perfect, but we all need to try. The moment to start is now. And we can help.
The first step you can take is understanding your personal transport emissions. Then you can make the choice to offset.
Z App can help
When you use Carbon Count in Z App, you can see the carbon emissions of each fill and choose to offset them through local permanent forests.
Or you can manually enter litres from any fuel retailer and choose to offset them – it's an industry issue, after all.
What exactly is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is the act of compensating for the emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent released into the atmosphere.
The aim is to balance the amount of emissions going into the atmosphere by sucking some of them up, primarily through forestry.
Put simply: the more trees that are planted and protected, the more carbon that's absorbed from the atmosphere.
Offsetting shouldn't be considered a licence to emit – oh no – but it's a way of reducing the impact of emissions that people can't currently reduce. Read more about the good that comes from planting native trees.
The details on what your offsetting does
Turning on the carbon sinks
As humans gobble through the earth’s resources, we release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, warming the planet and harming our environment at a rate that is not sustainable.
A good way to reduce some of that excess is through carbon sinks, which store carbon for indefinite periods of time.
The beauty of permanent forests
Permanent forests create carbon sinks, which are like the lungs of the planet – they suck in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Without them, humans simply would not exist. The more permanent forests we protect and regenerate, the more carbon we trap, rather than release into the atmosphere.
We choose to partner with Permanent Forests NZ because they were established under the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative Scheme (PFSI) – the 'gold standard' in carbon forestry. Their forests are legally protected by a covenant and have broader biodiversity benefits.
Your money is supporting the very best chance we have to 'suck up' carbon on land and protect Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique environment.
Z and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
Carbon Count is completely separate from the ETS. Payments that we receive through Carbon Count do not go towards our compliance costs.
We've decided to offer voluntary offsets because they go further to addressing our emissions problem than the ETS.
More steps for cutting carbon emissions
Cutting back on using a petrol or diesel vehicle is obviously a big way to cut your emissions. Driving more efficiently can reduce your fuel use and your carbon impact too.
There are also things you can think about around the home – like heating and food waste. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has a great resource at Gen Less to help you out or check out their driving tool.
More info
Z's emissions are documented in our Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report.
We've made our website greener to reduce our carbon footprint
The internet uses a lot of energy – more than Aotearoa New Zealand does in a year. By making our website faster to load and easier to use, we can help lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
It might not seem like much, but small actions make a big difference. Find out more about our commitment to sustainability.