Carbon emission reduction progress of pledging New Zealand corporates

This thesis examines the progress of New Zealand’s thirteen founding members of the Climate Leaders Coalition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 to 2020 inclusive. The thirteen corporates’ associated emissions are equivalent to half of New Zealand’s total emissions; therefore their progress is influential on New Zealand’s national progress. A known issue with corporate emissions is the paradox that whilst awareness and support for reducing emissions increase, corporate emissions also continue to increase. Understanding the carbon emission reduction paths of these publicly pro-mitigation New Zealand corporations provides further insight into this paradox and potential ways to alter the trend of increasing corporate emissions.

A corporate emissions progress framework was constructed to define and capture the corporate emission reduction paths. The framework recognises eight stages of progress, including corporate emissions, strategies, actions, and communications as characteristics of progress. Semi-structured interviews with sustainability staff, corporate reports, press releases and corporate submissions to government were analysed to form a picture of progress within and across the corporates. A shared pathway was identified across the corporates, with comparable sequence and focus of strategies, action areas and progress. All corporates achieved relative emission reductions with some low emitters achieving absolute emission reductions. The path had characteristics that are transferable to other corporates regardless of sector. The reporting standard used by all corporations strongly influenced the path, with multiple implications. No corporates were identified as being in the top three stages of progress, as all corporates remained within a non-transformational range. Being a foundational pledge member of the Climate Leaders Coalition seemed influential in terms of progress for some corporates, and more a reflection of their existing approach for others.