ENERGY

Mitigate or adapt? With climate change it’s both

If you’re dealing with the aftermath of the weather events, as many are, we wish you well. Adapting to climate change. Since the disastrous weather earlier this year, it’s a term we’ve heard regularly in the mainstream media. What does adapting involve? Why does it matter? As a manufacturer, do you need to keep reducing (mitigating) climate change as well as adapting to it? (The answer to that last question: an emphatic yes!) This article explains why mitigating and adapting to climate change must go hand-in-hand for New Zealand manufacturers. But first, the science Let’s start with the global picture. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is adamant: a 1.5°C increase in global temperatures over pre-industrial levels will adversely affect the world’s climate. A 2°C increase will be more serious still. The cause of this warming? Greenhouse gases (GHGs). Zoom in to Aotearoa New Zealand. Scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and University of Waikato are convinced that Cyclone Gabrielle’s devastating rainfall is an example of climate change. The cause? Global warming, due to GHGs, increases air temperatures. Warmer air holds much more water vapour. When this vapour cools, it rains. Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema on unsplash. What does mitigating climate change involve? Think of mitigation as the fence at the top of the cliff. Mitigation is about addressing the causes of climate change by reducing the GHGs we emit. If you’re a manufacturer, it could involve reducing the carbon in your products or moving your factory to renewable electricity. To date, governments and businesses have focussed on mitigation – with good reason. We all benefit when we reduce climate change. What does adapting to climate change involve? If mitigation is the fence, adaptation is the ambulance. With a poorly maintained fence (an atmosphere damaged by […]

RS PRO launches energy efficiency products for NZ manufacturers

RS is again expanding its Australasian RS PRO range with the addition of products that deliver improved energy saving and efficiency. Due to the popularity of these products they are being fast-tracked to market and will launch in September. The product range is tailored to reduce energy consumption from building facilities and the production line, from solar panel solutions, smart lighting options and high-efficiency power supplies. “We’re helping our customers embrace energy efficiency with the RS Pro brand,” says Scott Philbrook, Managing Director RS ANZ. “Both production line and facilities products are part of this launch. From energy meters, power supplies and lighting right down to PPE and Tool Kits that deliver improved energy savings and efficiency are included.” Each RS PRO product is backed by the RS Seal of Approval, which represents industry standards for audit, inspection, test, and certification. This, combined with longer than average warranties reflects RS Components confidence in the quality and longevity of their products. According to Scott, the expansion in the range is meeting demand in the market for affordable options for engineers looking for a choice. “Every corner of the manufacturing environment is being pressured by energy costs and this is an opportunity for our customers to have variety in their product selection,” he explained. RS has supreme confidence in the RS PRO brand and has invested heavily in expanding these product ranges and anticipates a favourable response and uptake in both the Australian and New Zealand markets.

think step webinars

WEBINAR The EU, TCFD, and trade Thursday 28 October 2021, 3:00pm NZDT Hear from EU expert Caroline Lambert on what the European Union’s sustainable reporting requirements will mean and how they will impact non-financial reporting requirements in New Zealand in thinkstep-anz’s upcoming webinar. WEBINAR Planetary Accounting: Going beyond carbon Thursday 25 November 2021, 3:00pm NZDT How can we safely operate within the environmental limits without causing permanent harm to earth? In thinkstep-anz’s upcoming webinar, the Planetary Accounting Network Founding Director Kate Meyer and thinkstep-anz’s Technical Director Jeff Vickers will discuss how LCA and planetary accounting work together to minimise the causes of irreversible damage from our activities. www.thinkstep-anz.com

EECA building energy use picture amongst NZ food and beverage businesses

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is building a picture of energy use in the NZ Food and Beverage sector (not including dairy, meat and seafood). Importantly, the findings of this project will help EECA to design effective programmes to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation for the Food and Beverage sector. To participate in the study – a simple survey, which is due in by the end of October – should take 15-20 minutes and can be completed online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MTPVXPP

Feeling our way towards hydrogen

-Tina Schirr, Executive Director, BusinessNZ Energy Council Right now hydrogen is getting a lot of attention. Many countries are focusing on producing hydrogen for fuel, or procuring it, or planning for its future use. Hydrogen fuel is highly desirable – clean hydrogen produces none of the harmful emissions of other energy sources. So hydrogen is potentially a very good energy source for powering our post-carbon world. But there’s a catch – production of hydrogen is not economic at present and currently can’t be produced cost-effectively. As a result, countries are taking the initiative in different ways as they feel their way towards a hydrogen-powered future. Recently, the World Energy Council (WEC) released a report on hydrogen – Hydrogen on the Horizon: Ready, Almost Set, Go?: the BusinessNZ Energy Council, WEC’s representative in New Zealand, contributed to the report, along with 128 other countries. The report highlights the global activity that’s occurring in the development of hydrogen as a fuel source. A number of countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Americas are focusing on producing hydrogen. Others, in Asia and Europe, are more focused on procuring it. Their reasons for looking to hydrogen are varied – including its potential to diversify energy sources, decarbonise economies, allow for repurposing infrastructure, and to grow green jobs and green economies. Some countries – notably Germany, Japan, South Korea and Singapore – are partnering with others to ensure they can achieve global hydrogen supply chains and adequate supply once hydrogen becomes cost-effective to produce in significant quantities. New Zealand is becoming integrated into such partnerships, signing bilateral partnership agreements with Japan and Singapore and partnering with Germany on green hydrogen research projects. New Zealand is also among the countries that are seeking ways to produce hydrogen cost-effectively. Last week Contact Energy and […]

New government alliance to lead technology climate response

A cross-government partnership is on a mission to turn New Zealand into a centre of global CleanTech excellence, solving pressing environmental problems. Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge, Auckland Unlimited and UniServices have established the NZ CleanTech Mission partnership to convert local CleanTech into thriving and profitable businesses. The joint mission follows the freshly launched New Zealand Climate Tech for The World, a deep-dive report into NZ’s CleanTech opportunities, the most in-depth research to date in this area. Among the report’s key recommendations is to increase collaboration among government organisations. “We need to support climate innovation as a step towards achieving the national and global carbon targets, set by the Climate Commission. Through creating technologies to address these targets, New Zealand can also build a high-value export sector, and new employment opportunities,” says James Muir, CleanTech Lead at Callaghan Innovation. Solving commercialisation challenges The partnership statement outlines a number of key actions: Developing a five-year roadmap, supercharging local and international connections, scoping initiatives to boost commercialisation and, ultimately, a targeted approach to CleanTech clusters. “It’s not easy for innovators to navigate the challenging commercialisation stages of R&D and investment to translate their ideas into globally successful businesses. The New Zealand Climate Tech for The World report, for example, reveals that NZ? innovators are raising 95% less investment than other comparable small, advanced economies,” Mr Muir explains. “The NZ CleanTech Mission will ensure that CleanTech is flagged as a critical priority, on a nationwide and coordinated level. The aim is to ensure CleanTech innovators, whether out of businesses, labs or garages, have a responsive, connected, and easy-to-navigate ecosystem of support.” New Zealand’s CleanTech opportunities Callaghan Innovation’s recent review of NZ’s early- and growth-phase businesses identified up to 300 CleanTech innovators working on […]

Climate 101: Let’s talk about carbon

By Barbara Nebel, CEO of thinkstep-anz In the rising conversations around climate change and climate action, carbon is one of the most significant — and ambiguous — words that can be heard. More terms are quickly coming out of the woodwork — carbon offsets, scope 3 emissions, science-based targets — but what do they all mean? While the attention on climate action is encouraging, the buzz around climate terminology can become a little hard to follow. We break down some of the most common and confusing climate related terms to cut through the fog — starting with the puzzling carbon. Are carbon emissions the same as greenhouse gas emissions? Carbon can refer to many different things depending on the context. At its simplest and most accurate, carbon is a chemical element. Carbon combines with oxygen to make carbon dioxide (CO2) and combines with hydrogen to make methane (CH4) — both are greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming because they form a layer around the earth that acts like a glass house by trapping the heat from incoming sunshine. Since carbon is present in many greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, carbon and carbon emissions are used as blanket terms to talk about the different groups of greenhouse gases and their emissions. It doesn’t hurt that carbon also features noticeably less syllables. However, some of these gases such as nitrous oxide, refrigerant gases, and sulfur hexafluoride don’t have anything to do with carbon, but are still sometimes covered under the slightly liberally used term ‘carbon emissions’. This is not only because it’s just easier to use — the standard unit for measuring the impact of greenhouse gas emissions is carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). CO2e expresses the global warming potential of each greenhouse gas in terms of how much […]

We’re big coal users

-Editorial, March issue NZ Manufacturer Its common to sling the mud at Australia about its coal mines, reliance on coal and exports to South Asia nations. But it’s something else to realise that New Zealand has been importing coal at levels not seen in 14 years. million tonnes were imported into New Zealand last year, much higher than the combined total for 2018 and 2019. Why is this happening? Because the Government three years ago banned exploration for natural gas. We even had a climate – change emergency in December last year with coal imports 41 percent higher than in December 2019. Food for thought? The 2018 ban on companies exploring for natural gas has caused this spike. New Zealand’s manufacturing sector saw a slower rate of expansion during February, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for February was 53.4 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was down 4.6 points from January. PMI Time Series Table National Indicies Feb 2020 Oct 2020 Nov 2020 Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Feb 2021 BNZ – BusinessNZ PMI 54.1 52.2 54.9 48.3 58.0 53.4 Production 54.9 51.9 55.4 52.4 59.3 57.3 Employment 51.5 52.3 51.3 49.8 56.1 49.8 New Orders 56.2 53.2 56.7 50.5 62.8 56.2 Finished Stocks 53.5 49.3 59.5 45.3 52.9 51.2 Deliveries 53.6 49.1 51.6 45.0 48.8 47.6

Get your carbon diet on track: 5 steps to carbon reporting

– Barbara Nebel, CEO thinkstep-anz Is reducing your carbon emissions on your list of New Year’s resolutions? Want to put your business on a carbon diet, but not sure how? Whether you are new to carbon measurement or looking to make an ambitious pledge to further reduce your emissions, the following five steps offer inspiration for tackling your carbon in 2021. This can be taken as a step-by-step guide or a reference for your company’s next carbon initiative. The reality is that reducing your carbon emissions is no longer an option — it’s as essential to a healthy planet as good nutrition is to a healthy body. The 2015 Paris agreement united 195 of the world’s governments in committing to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. At thinkstep-anz, we believe the actions of businesses will be instrumental to achieving this goal. Keep in mind that the carbon strategy you choose will depend on your business goals and who you share your carbon reduction plan with. 1. Start with a no-frills approach If you are new to this, we recommend starting with a no-frills approach. Internal carbon reporting should be your first step. Focus on aligning the actions you take with your organisation’s values and be carbon conscious. At the early stages, there is no need to communicate externally, nor is it necessary to get your targets externally verified or reviewed. However, it is always a good idea to follow best practice and get guidance from internationally recognised standards. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) provides the most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards in the world. 2. Demonstrate best practice If you want to gain some recognition, stand out among your peers for your carbon reporting, or even fulfil a membership requirement, you will need to demonstrate best […]

Solar giant Q CELLS enters New Zealand market

Globally renowned solar technology leader and total energy solutions provider, Q CELLS, is entering the New Zealand energy market for the first time in response to local demand for its high-quality, affordable products. The move comes as New Zealand establishes itself as one of the most exciting emerging renewable power markets in the world, reflecting the country’s strong commitment to a more sustainable future. According to state-owned energy supplier Transpower, over the next five years to 2025 New Zealand’s solar market is expected to more than double, making up 0.5% of the Country’s total power output. With New Zealand’s commitment to being carbon-neutral by 2050, household solar power is expected to play a key role in helping the country achieve its ambitious target. Established in Germany in 1999, Q CELLS is amongst the oldest and most well-known solar manufacturers in the world. The company is internationally recognised as a key player in solar panel innovation that focuses on high-quality, and is expanding its business area into integrated energy solutions. Part of Hanwha Group, Fortune Global 500 Company and the 7th largest conglomerate in South Korea, Q CELLS maintains its Technology and Innovations Headquarters in Germany with manufacturing facilities operating in the USA, Korea, Malaysia, and China. The first New Zealand solar installer to join Q CELLS’ Q.Partner program, a preferred network of vetted and trained Q CELLS suppliers, and be officially recognised as a supplier of Q CELLS solutions is Think Solar, comprising Wanaka Solar, Queenstown Solar and Dunedin Solar. Q CELLS is a leading supplier for residential and commercial solar in Germany, the USA, South Korea and Japan, where it is trusted for the quality of its manufacturing and is renowned for its research and development expertise. Mr Bae said that the partnership with Think Solar reflected Q CELLS […]

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