News Direct: Media releases
Travel costs show need for planning, say Greens
22 Jul 2011
The ever-increasing rise in travel costs, detailed in this week's Consumer Price Index release, highlights the need for better public transport strategies, the Green Party says.
BNZ wins praise for office fit-out
22 Jul 2011
BNZ has received New Zealand’s first 6 Green Star Office Interiors 2009 rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council for the fit-out of BNZ Harbour Quays in Wellington.
Emperor penguins face grim future
1 Jul 2011
While the prognosis improves for Happy Feet (the emperor penguin found in New Zealand) his species is at grave risk of extinction from climate change by the end of the century, the Environment and Conservation Organisations says.
Jet Park hotel wins top enviro award
1 Jul 2011
The family-owned and operated Jet Park Hotel & Conference Centre at Auckland airport has been awarded an Enviro Gold Award.
'Closed' mine to produce coal for local sale
24 Jun 2011
Solid Energy is starting a small-scale mining operation at its Ohai opencast mine following the discovery of saleable coal during rehabilitation of the site.
Groups act to clean up Manawatu River
24 Jun 2011
An action plan to clean up the Manawatu River was unveiled this week.
Winemaker wins praise for carbon stand
17 Jun 2011
Hunter's Wines has achieved the international Cemars certification for its reduced carbon footprint.
Cuevas scrubs up Clean Planet
17 Jun 2011
A small company in Mangere Bridge has caught the eye of ex-Ecostore CEO and internationally qualified business leader Mitch Cuevas.
Unitec launches sustainability strategy
3 Jun 2011
Unitec will launch its environmental sustainability strategy and a $100,000 sustainability fund for staff and students.
Greens hail success of Warm Up NZ
13 May 2011
The success of the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme is an example of smart, green economics at work, the Green Party says.
NZ fails to deal with lethal insecticide
13 May 2011
The lethal insecticide implicated in the recent Thailand tourist deaths was scheduled for “priority reassessment” in New Zealand before 2008, but is still in widespread use, the Greens say.
Honda puts its money where its trees are
6 May 2011
Honda staff and customers get together again on May 19 at Whakanewha Regional Park on Waiheke Island with another tree-planting to enhance the vegetation already established at the park through Honda TreeFund native tree plantings over the past seven years.
Ag bags join move to recycling
29 Apr 2011
Agricultural feed manufacturer Fiber Fresh Feeds Ltd has taken a further step towards being 100 per cent clean-and-green by becoming the first stock feed company able to recycle its bags using the Agrecovery Wrap recycling programme.
Most Kiwis want renewables over fossil fuels
21 Apr 2011
Most New Zealanders do not support the Government’s strategy of prioritising more exploration and mining for fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas to sell off-shore, says WWF.
BP tried cover-up, says Greenpeace
21 Apr 2011
Greenpeace has released a report detailing how BP tried to hide the true impacts of the biggest oil disaster in American history.
Auckland boosts home insulation
15 Apr 2011
Auckland City Council is to launch a programme that will allow ratepayers to access the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart funding for home insulation and heating, and pay the difference over time through their rates bill.
Smith runs out of water excuses, say Greens
15 Apr 2011
With the release of the final report of the Land and Water Forum, the minister for the environment has now run out of excuses for delaying and pulling the teeth from rules to clean up our rivers and lakes, the Green Party says.
Tasman eyes turn to energy efficiency
15 Apr 2011
Australia and New Zealand are to collaborate on energy efficiency measure for households and businesses.
EECA welcomes renewable energy stance
15 Apr 2011
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has welcomed the release of the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation.
Search on for winning concrete ideas
15 Apr 2011
Entries for this year's Concrete3 Sustainability Awards are open.
Methyl bromide use seen as foolhardy
8 Apr 2011
News that the hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic has increased to unprecedented levels highlights the urgent need for New Zealand to phase out use of the highly potent ozone depleting fumigant methyl bromide, says the Green Party.
National standards smooth way
1 Apr 2011
Australian company EnviroDevelopment has released its first set of national certification standards.
Green champions get help
1 Apr 2011
Australia’s fastest growing green development rating system, EnviroDevelopment, has unveiled a new initiative – EnviroDevelopment Professional – designed to provide business development opportunities for green champions.
Recycling drive targets schools
25 Mar 2011
Technology finance specialist Equico launched its Equico-Eco initiative at Richmond Road Primary School in Auckland this week, marking the start of a campaign to improve the sustainability of New Zealand's schools.
Shopping centre plans to celebrate
18 Mar 2011
As part of its long-term sustainable retail plan, Tauranga's Bayfair Shopping Centre is taking part in one of the world’s largest climate change initiatives – Earth Hour 2011.
Winemaker urges Earth Hour action
18 Mar 2011
A carbon-neutral winemaker is urging New Zealand to say cheers to Mother Earth this Earth Hour.
EPA appointments under fire
11 Mar 2011
The former interests of members appointed to the Establishment Board for the Environmental Protection Agency make them unsuitable candidates for the job, the Green Party says.
Welcome to the Year of the Forest
11 Mar 2011
The 2011 International Year of Forests was launched this week at Parliament by Forestry Minister David Carter and Woodco chair Doug Ducker.
Heat Smart warms up Auckland homes
25 Feb 2011
Nearly 19,000 homes in Auckland are warmer and drier homes in thanks to the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme, says Maungakiekie MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.
Aluminium's the word, says industry
25 Feb 2011
The international aluminium industry is promoting its environmental advantages.
Wind farm adds power to the economy
11 Feb 2011
The new Te Uku wind farm showcases the benefits of wind energy to the New Zealand economy, according to Fraser Clark, chief executive of the Wind Energy Association.
New process turns old plastic into road cones
11 Feb 2011
Road cones will soon be made in New Zealand using waste plastic, Environment Minister Nick Smith announced yesterday.
NZ winning war on dioxin emissions
11 Feb 2011
A report by the Environment Ministry on dioxin emissions shows New Zealand is making significant progress in reducing our exposure to these toxic chemicals, Environment Minister Nick Smith says.
Partnership boosts rural enviro services
11 Feb 2011
The Agrecovery rural recycling programme, and assurance services provider AsureQuality have entered into a partnership aimed at reinforcing and promoting environmental best-practice to New Zealand’s farmers and growers.
Which climate science does Smith accept?
28 Jan 2011
The Climate Science Coalition wants Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith to amplify his statement to the New Zealand Herald’s Brian Fallow last Saturday: “We accept the science” relating to global warming and the forthcoming review later this year of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Nestle gets into schools' good books
28 Jan 2011
Schools in South Auckland and a Wanganui school are more environmentally conscious and sustainable thanks to the eighth year of the Nestlé Community Environment Programme.
Blame Brownlee for blackouts, says Labour
21 Jan 2011
If New Zealanders are asked over the next few years to reduce power use or face blackouts, the responsibility will fall squarely on Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee, says Labour's Associate Energy spokesperson Chris Hipkins.
RMA reforms deliver first major consent ahead of time, says Smith
23 Dec 2010
Environment Minister Nick Smith is welcoming the decision to grant consents for Contact Energy’s $1 billion Tauhara II 250 MW geothermal power station in Taupo – the first project processed under the national consenting process of the reformed Resource Management Act.
Underground gas storage gets go-ahead
17 Dec 2010
An Origin/Contact Energy consortium has been granted permission to proceed to fully commissioning the Ahuroa underground gas storage facility near Stratford in Taranaki
Black Robin earns a feather in its cap
17 Dec 2010
A small Auckland-based strategy and design agency with a strong environmental commitment is the first business in its sector to achieve CarboNZero small-enterprise certification.
Emissions testing the key, say motor traders
17 Dec 2010
The Motor Trade Association says a recent study by the NZ Transport Agency into air pollution overlooks at least one simple step that could be taken to reduce the level of contaminant in the air.
NZ wave-power machine wins award
17 Dec 2010
A New Zealand-developed and designed wave-power device has been awarded Statement of Design Feasibility certification by an international certification agency, Det Norske Veritas.
Farmers can check effluent systems
17 Dec 2010
Dairy farmers in the Rotorua lakes catchments can now find out how well their effluent management system is working.
Lanzatech hits the hot 50
10 Dec 2010
Energy technology company LanzaTech (http://www.lanzatech.co.nz/) has climbed higher in the world ranking of the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy”.
Wind group: Court gives nod to wind farms
3 Dec 2010
The Environment Court’s approval of Contact Energy’s proposed Waitahora wind farm recognises that well-designed wind farms are entirely appropriate in windy, elevated farmland, says the Wind Energy Association.
Nova Energy buys EGas customers
3 Dec 2010
Nova Energy has purchased the customer database fromliquidated energy company EGas.
Can we have a word, say kids at Cancun
3 Dec 2010
The Cancun climate change negotiations are being stormed by hundreds of young people calling for fair, ambitious and legally binding intergovernmental action on climate change - and our own New Zealand Youth Delegation is right in the midst of it.
Climate change talks must deliver - Oxfam
3 Dec 2010
Negotiators must begin UN climate talks with far more urgency and resolve following a year of weather-related disasters, record temperatures, flooding and rising sea levels, international agency Oxfam says.
Water use key to crop sustainability
19 Nov 2010
Research under way into the relationship between carbon content and water retention has the potential to increase New Zealand's crop sustainability.
Green homes good investment, says Harcourts
19 Nov 2010
Eco-friendly homes are the way of the future, says real estate firm Harcourts.
Growth, energy and climate in focus at Trans-Tasman bilateral talks
Fri 5 Sep 2025
Trans-Tasman climate cooperation was one of the themes at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, with senior government officials and business leaders from both sides of the ditch meeting in Canberra this week.
Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade
Wed 3 Sep 2025
Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
Fri 5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
Thu 4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
XRB consults on delaying climate reporting requirements
Thu 4 Sep 2025
The External Reporting Board is proposing a further two years relief for companies to adopt anticipated financial impacts reporting and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting and assurance.
