Kiwi Property commits to a greener future

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Derek Calvert cleans the solar panels on top of Sylvia Park Mall, owned by Kiwi Property, in Mt Wellington, Auckland.

Kiwi Property says it has cut its carbon footprint by 40 per cent since 2012 and hasd committed to further improvements.

The large listed company joined 60 other large companies in signing The Climate Change Statement committing to public targets to measure and report on their greenhouse gas emissions.

Jason Happy, Kiwi Property's national facilities manager, said the company was on track to become New Zealand's largest consumer of solar power.

Last year it announced a deal with electricity retailer Meridian Energy to install solar power on several of its malls around New Zealand including Northlands Mall in Christchurch and Hamilton's The Base. It has installed solar power at Sylvia Park Mall in Auckland already.

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Sixty New Zealand corporates have pledged to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and publish results.

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Happy said Kiwi Property had also reduced water and electricity consumption at its properties by 23.3 million litres and by 4.48m units of electricity and had diverted 310 tonnes of waste from landfill, a cut of 9 per cent.

The Climate Change Statement is an initiative by the Sustainable Business Council, a division of BusinessNZ.

Happy said the company's commitment to the Climate Change Statement was the culmination of more than 15 years leadership in sustainability.

Kiwi Property manages and owns a $3 billion portfolio of real estate.

For three years it had led the NZX with the only A- rating in the Carbon Disclosure Project, he said.

The project involved companies worldwide reporting their impact on the environment and natural resources.

Kiwi Property was committed to measuring its greenhouse gas emissions and publicly reporting them, setting a public emissions target, and working with suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.