The Zero Carbon Act heralds a significant change in the government's approach to managing climate change. Over time, initiatives undertaken as a result of the Act will impact on, and disrupt businesses. We believe we're uniquely placed to help our customers to adapt to meet the flow-on effects of the Act.
What's the Zero Carbon Act?
Before we jump into how we can help you meet the Act, here's an overview of what the Act is.
The Zero Carbon Act aims to help limit the global average temperate increase to 1.5 celsius under the Paris Agreement.
The Zero Carbon Act goals are to:
- Set a new domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for New Zealand to:
- Reduce net emissions of all greenhouse gases (except biogenic methane) to zero by 2050
- Reduce emissions of biogenic methane to 24–47 % below 2017 levels by 2050, including to 10% below 2017 levels by 2030 (Legislation)
- Establish a system of emissions budgets to act as stepping stones towards the long-term target
- Establish a new, independent Climate Change Commission to provide expert advice and monitoring to help keep successive governments on track to meeting long-term goals.
The Construction Industry is a Key Contributor
A significant contributor to greenhouse emissions is the building and construction sector. A big part of this contribution is through the carbon 'embodied' in building materials during the manufacturing process. And once a building is complete, energy will continuously be used. Meeting this challenge is about using resources in a smart way to reduce the carbon footprint.
How does Envirocon meet the needs of the Zero Carbon Act?
Envirocon is founded on the principle of ensuring sustainability is both practical and effective. Through great product design and incorporating high-quality surplus resource streams into our manufacturing process, we can deliver low-carbon products that work within existing construction methodologies.
We call this Practical Sustainability. At the core of the Practical Sustainability approach is an acceptance that;
• Construction is good for the economy and society;
• It improves lives;
• Concrete remains the best building material available to deliver those benefits
From the offset, Envirocon’s goal has been to reuse excess wet concrete that would’ve otherwise been dumped. As the carbon cost is already allocated to the project it came from, the excess concrete that we use to make Interbloc is carbon zero. That's why we call Interbloc a CarbonSmart® solution.
By doing this, we are helping transform New Zealand’s construction sector from a linear economy to a circular economy. The circular economy aims to make sure everything we create can be used for as long as possible and then once it’s reached its end of life, it can be reused.
So when choosing for your upcoming projects, Interbloc can help you achieve your Zero-Carbon Status. This in turn helps you meet the requirements of the Act.
(Interbloc Mass Concrete Blocks on the left, Stonebloc Retaining Wall on the right)
Get in touch with us for your carbon smart® construction solution.
