News Direct: Media releases
Warmer homes pay off, say Greens
1 Jun 2012
The Green Party says the insulation scheme it negotiated with National has produced more than a billion dollars in benefits for New Zealanders, according to new reports from the Ministry of Economic Development.
Wine maker chases green award
25 May 2012
Villa Maria Estate has been selected by the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment as a finalist in the 2012 Green Ribbon Awards, recognising its outstanding contributions to protecting New Zealand's environment.
Drug makers given green option
18 May 2012
Discoveries made during PhD studies by Victoria University graduate Dr Emma Dangerfield could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry by allowing drugs to be made in a more environmentally friendly way.
Warm homes green economics at work
18 May 2012
The Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme is a good example of smart, green economics at work, the Green Party says.
Miner to make hydo-electricity
4 May 2012
Solid Energy has received resource consents for a hydro-electricity generation scheme using water from its Stockton Mine in Buller.
Crusher rescues glass from landfill
4 May 2012
Kapiti Coast company Silaca is using waste glass previously bound for the landfill to make a variety of useful products.
Ministry welcomes fisheries decision
4 May 2012
The Ministry for Primary Industries is welcoming certification by the Marine Stewardship Council of southern blue whiting fisheries managed under the Quota Management System.
Science looks at new jobs for eggshells
27 Apr 2012
A university research project in Britain is looking at useful ways to recycle egg shells, with the potential of saving millions of dollars a year from an item that is usually disposed of in landfills.
E.R.I.C. is a cool e-waste guy
13 Apr 2012
RCN e-Cycle’s new e-waste robot now has a name, E.R.I.C. (e-waste recycling is cool).
Southern project on track with award
5 Apr 2012
The Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track has been awarded the Enviro Gold Award by Qualmark, recognising its high standards in environmental practices.
Businesses learn how to be eco smart
30 Mar 2012
Organisations wanting to improve their environmental credentials and their bottom line are lining up for the Eco Smart Business programme.
Honda drives planting programme
30 Mar 2012
Honda’s support of New Zealand's biodiversity takes another step forward this week with the achievement of a significant tree-planting milestone.
Sinbad sanctuary shows signs of success
23 Mar 2012
An award-winning environmental conservation project in a World Heritage Area is continuing to demonstrate "uplifting and positive" results half-way through the first stage of work.
Phone companies hit the highway
23 Mar 2012
Representatives of five telecommunications companies go into battle today to find out which is the most fuel-efficient.
Flood-hit town wins rebuild praise
23 Mar 2012
The team behind the rebuilding of the flood-damaged Grantham community in Queensland has received formal recognition for outstanding community design.
Luxury lodge wins environment award
9 Mar 2012
A luxury guest lodge housed in an historic homestead has won an Enviro silver award from Qualmark.
Government's mining plans worry Greens
9 Mar 2012
The Government's proposed changes to the Crown Minerals Act are concerning, the Green Party says.
Farming group welcomes water action
9 Mar 2012
Federated Farmers has joined other groups in welcoming the Government’s $8 million commitment on behalf of taxpayers to help to clean up fresh water bodies.
Resort restores environment
2 Mar 2012
An environmental protection and enhancement programme at one of New Zealand’s leading hotel, golf and spa resorts has seen the landscape restored as a haven for native bird and fish life.
Nats break mining promise, says Labour
2 Dec 2011
National's first post-election broken promise is an ominous sign for the future of our conservation estate, Labour's Environment spokesperson Charles Chauvel says.
Sustainability study hailed as success
2 Dec 2011
The director of a ground-breaking graduate programme in sustainable practice says the first year of the course has been a success.
Study shows inhibitor boosts pasture
25 Nov 2011
Farmers using urea treated with a urease inhibitor can expect a better nitrogen boost to pasture and crops, according to independent research conducted by AgResearch, Ballance Agri-Nutrients says.
Emails worry NZ climate deniers
25 Nov 2011
The release of more than 5000 emails sent by IPCC scientists provides irrefutable evidence that their goals were political, rather than scientific” says Barry Brill, chairman of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
Smart boxes come to the Waikato
18 Nov 2011
Regional lines company WEL Networks is taking the next step in the continuing modernisation of its network to provide customers a more efficient and reliable electricity supply.
Caravan carries green message to kids
11 Nov 2011
3M is sponsoring Auckland's first mobile classroom containing interactive exhibits designed to teach children important environmental lessons.
Philips wins lighting award
14 Oct 2011
Philips Lighting’s work in developing LED technology has been recognised by an international award.
Business lobby puts student on ice
23 Sep 2011
Pure Advantage, the business lobby championing a shift to green growth in New Zealand, is sending a New Zealand student to Antarctica.
Green Honda wins praise
23 Sep 2011
Honda Motor Company’s environmental commitment has been internationally recognised by the UK-based Carbon Disclosure Project for achieving the highest disclosure scores among Japanese companies.
NZ Wood adopts new CEO
2 Sep 2011
The Wood Council of New Zealand has appointed Jane Arnott to the role of chief executive officer of NZ Wood, the operation that runs the over-arching marketing programme for the forest and wood sector.
Dump deepwater drilling, say Greens
19 Aug 2011
New Zealand needs clean, green jobs, not risky deepwater drilling, the Green Party says.
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.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
