One New Zealand is now working with a 100% renewable energy generator for all its purchased electricity and buying Certified Renewable Energy, partnering with Meridian Energy.

As an organisation, we’ve been measuring our emissions since 2007 and continue to mature our reporting. Purchased electricity accounts for approximately 70% of our current emissions operational footprint and is a core focus for reductions.

Nicky Preston, Head of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, explains: “Given we are a digital company with extensive mobile and fixed line networks, purchased electricity is a material part of the One NZ emissions profile.

“The energy we use, and the majority of what NZ uses, comes directly from the national grid, which is made up of all generation. However, over the past few years we’ve been strategically moving to a retailer that generates from 100% renewable sources only – wind, water and sun. We now match the amount of electricity that One NZ directly purchases with an equivalent amount of renewable electricity put into the national grid.”

The New Zealand Energy Certificate System (NZECS) issues Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to Meridian for the amount of renewable energy generated by Meridian’s certified hydro stations and wind farms. These RECs are then allocated to customers like One NZ based on the amount of electricity used for the period that Certified Renewable Energy is purchased for.

Preston adds: “We set a goal on our Sustainability Kaupapa released in August 2023 to be ‘100% renewable by 2024’. We have achieved this for purchased electricity as of 1 April 2024, when we began purchasing Certified Renewable Energy.”

In line with standard practice, this enables One NZ to report market-based Scope 2 emissions (those linked to our electricity usage) as zero, using the market-based reporting methodology as per the GHG Protocol’s Scope 2 Guidance. This is a notable difference from One NZ’s reported Scope 2 emissions of 7,552 tonnes of CO2e for the year to 31 March 2024.

One NZ has committed to buying Certified Renewable Energy for all its purchased electricity in FY25 (spanning 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) for One NZ’s directly supplied electricity. Preston adds: “However, we also buy a small portion of electricity from landlords, for example at some mobile cell sites (e.g. on leased rooftops) and for some retail stores. This is estimated to be approximately 10% of all electricity used by One NZ. We intend to devise a renewable strategy for this portion and will continue to report on our progress.

“We will therefore update our sustainability goals for the current financial year (FY25), to expand the goal of ‘100% renewable energy by 2024’ to be ‘Directly purchased electricity to be 100% renewable from FY25, with all consumed electricity to be 100% renewable by FY30’.”

For more information about One NZ’s Sustainability approach, please visit: https://one.nz/our-company/corporate-responsibility/

For more information about Meridian’s Certified Renewable Energy, please visit: https://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/business/sustainable-options/certified-renewable-energy