Kāpiti Coast District Council, a local government district 50 kilometres north of Wellington, ranks number one on Toitū’s list of top 10 carbon reducer for 2020.
In its 2019 to 2020 annual plan, the report shows that the council has reduced -55,979 metric tonnes or an average reduction of 26%.
“Toitū” is a Māori word that means enduring, untouched, kept pure and protected. It is also a government-owned carbon reduction certification provider in New Zealand, helping businesses, councils, and organisations reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable.
According to the Kāpiti Coast District Council annual plan, the council has declared a climate change emergency on 27 May 2019.
Following this announcement, the council has created a new Sustainability and Resilience team that oversees its climate change adaptation and mitigation plans and pursued a goal to be carbon neutral by 2025.
Setting a reduction target of 80% by the year 2021/22 from its baseline year of 2009/10, the council signed up with Toitū Envirocare’s Carbon Reduce scheme to help them reach their emissions target. In their first year of audit, since partnering with Toitū, the council achieved a 77% emissions reduction from its 2009/10 emissions.
Kāpiti Coast District Council emissions reduction initiatives
The council has engaged in a number of emissions reduction activities which includes:
- waste minimisation through increased composting,
- installing solar PVs to power their wastewater treatment plant,
- improving its energy efficiency of the council’s swimming pool space and water heating,
- uptake of more EVs for council use, installing EV charging stations, and
- upgrading all their streetlights to LED.
The council has also mainstreamed climate change into their planning. They plan to reduce emissions from direct activities and through sustainable procurement practices to reduce indirect emissions.
The council has also partnered with NIWA and the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) for the most current and robust climate projections to assist with its climate adaptation and mitigation plans.
Kāpiti Coast District Council’s sustainability and carbon reduction achievements are examples of good local government leadership that other councils and businesses can follow.
Click the pdf below to know more about Kāpiti Coast District Council’s sustainability initiatives and carbon reduction target and initiatives.
NOTE: the PDF is a segment, page 26-29, of the council’s Annual Report for 2019 to 2020.
PHOTO CREDIT: Raumati Beach by PhillipC – https://www.flickr.com/photos/flissphil/455031910/sizes/l/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9433011
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