Our 2023/24 Sustainability Strategy is focused on improving the sustainability of our ongoing operations while driving long term change. It is underpinned by an extensive implementation programme to ensure we deliver across all divisions and teams within Transpower, as well as with our service provider, supplier, and community partners. Over the long term we want to drive behaviour change so 'the sustainable way' becomes business as usual.
Our Sustainability Strategy sets out goals and enabling actions across three challenge areas:
- Climate Change
- Environmental Stewardship
- Sustainable Business
Reporting
We have a responsibility to our customers, communities, service providers, suppliers, Government shareholders and investors to consider the social and environmental impacts of all we do and to report on our activities in a transparent way. Our principal way of doing this is through our annual Integrated Report. This year we also published a climate-related disclosures document and our eighth greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory report.
Climate Change
The electricity transmission system is New Zealand’s primary platform for emissions reductions. We provide the connections for new generation as the system moves steadily towards becoming 100% renewable, as more coal and gas fired industrial boilers are converted to electricity, and as more electric vehicles are set to hit our roads.
We are also working hard to cut emissions arising across our supply chain - from how we build, operate and maintain the grid, to electrify our vehicle fleet and from energy use in our buildings and sub-stations.
Not only are we looking to reduce emissions, we’re also investing to make the grid more resilient to operating in a hotter climate and to make it better able to withstand more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
You can read more about where our emissions come from, and what we’re doing to record, manage and cut them here. Read our strategic publications here.
Environmental Stewardship
Given the scale and reach of our assets across many locations with high landscape, environmental and cultural values, we have a responsibility to minimise our environmental impact and increase the efficiency with which we use materials and resources. We also seek to reduce contaminants and waste discharges, and restore the natural environment around our assets with the goal of creating a net gain in biodiversity.
Sustainable Business
Having highly engaged, skilled and capable people is central to all we do. It is essential we make the most of the strengths inherent in having a diverse and inclusive workforce and culture. We are committed to developing our workforce and promoting health and safety across all spheres of our operations.
We also believe improved sustainability of our operations can only be delivered in partnership with the community. Specifically, we acknowledge mana whenua connection with the land and seek to partner with them (supported by our Māori partnership strategy) to remediate the natural environment and minimise the impact of our work on sites of cultural significance.
More broadly, we acknowledge our responsibility to promote kaitiakitanga. This encompasses the enabling role the development and operation of our assets play in reducing emissions and protecting Aotearoa New Zealand from the worst impacts of climate change. We also seek to work with local communities to be a good neighbour and minimise the physical presence related to our assets. This includes working closely with landowners to minimise disruption associated with our work.
Our CommunityCare Fund is one of the ways we contribute positively to the communities we operate in. We support a diverse range of community projects with wide-reaching and lasting benefits to the community. We also host quarterly Consumer Advisory Panel meetings, to bring together a diverse group of people who work closely with their communities. One of the ways we work alongside the panel is to guide our approach to community engagement.