Our response to climate change
As a major supplier and retailer of electricity in New Zealand, Genesis Energy is very conscious of the environmental effects of burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, and we know that we play a key role in helping New Zealand meet its climate change objectives.
We recognise that global warming is a threat to our planet and we're taking steps to understand and reduce our impact on the environment.
Genesis Energy's major carbon dioxide ("CO2") emissions come from our generation at Huntly Power Station, New Zealand's largest thermal (coal and gas burning) power station. We recognise that although Huntly emits the most CO2 in our business, every aspect of our operations create greenhouse gas emissions, from the vehicles our staff use to travel between sites to waste management practices in our offices.
Our big challenge and what our whole team works towards every day is how we can best balance our impact on the environment with the country's increasing demand for energy. We need to make sure that New Zealand has a secure supply of energy and that at the same time, our resources are managed in a sustainable way.
It's everyone's challenge to reduce global warming. For Genesis Energy, as New Zealand's largest electricity retailer, the challenge is particularly great. We are going to make a positive difference and the good news is, we've already started.
At Genesis Energy we have developed a Climate Change Strategy with the goal to responsibly manage our impact on climate change both through our own activities and emissions and in partnership with our customers and stakeholders.
We know that our Huntly Power Station is a large emitter of carbon dioxide but we, and the country, can't afford to shut it down in the near future. It is New Zealand's largest power station and supplies a large amount of electricity to our homes and industries. Without Huntly the country would face an immediate shortage of electricity. We are working on ways to make Huntly more efficient - that is to get more power from burning the same amount of fuel. We are also helping to pay for research into ways of capturing carbon dioxide before it goes up the chimney at a power station.
We are working on plans to build more generation and we are finding ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all parts of our business.
Factsheet: Change Tomorrow by Changing Thinking Today
