Procurement helping to reduce carbon emissions
Government procurement practices offer a unique opportunity to achieve broader cultural, economic, environmental and social outcomes for New Zealand.
Recently, the Department of Conservation (DOC) has done a lot of innovative work in their unique procurement space to reduce their carbon footprint. For DOC, there is a vested interest in cutting carbon emissions.
"The work that we do is going to get harder if global temperatures continue to rise,"
Laura Cendak DOC Procurement Advisor
"A slight rise in temperature will cause the habitat of common pests such as stoat to grow, threatening more and more of our native species. So we've asked ourselves: how can our procurement decisions today impact our ability to continue doing our work into the future?"
"We're starting to invest in new technologies that produce less carbon. For example, we're looking into biodegradable pest traps that won't need our rangers to travel out and check them regularly. We're also looking to use drones for aerial drops of 1080 in the future, instead of helicopters.
"You might have heard that the government will be adding more electric vehicles to its fleet, along with a boost in charging infrastructure. DOC is receiving funding for 148 more electric vehicles (EVs), which we're over the moon about. Driving through New Zealand's natural scenery in an electric vehicle just feels better!"
"Given the nature of our work, it's so crucial that our operations are sustainable, not just our offices."
The progress DOC is making in this space is just one of the many examples of agencies leveraging procurement to achieve positive environmental outcomes, transitioning to a net-zero emissions economy and designing waste out of the system. This work supports the push to achieve broader outcomes and greater public value from the $51.5 billion spent annually by government through procurement.