Farmlands commits to acting against climate change

Farmlands Co-operative have followed their carbonreduce certification from Toitū Envirocare with a commitment to the Climate Leaders Coalition in October 2020.

The rural supplies and services co-operative have joined 116 other organisations in signing a joint statement saying that they will supply their greenhouse gas emissions, set a public emissions reduction target and work with suppliers to reduce their emissions. In a statement initiated in 2017, the Climate Leaders Coalition pledged to help transition New Zealand to a low emissions economy and limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Farmlands has committed to the 2017 statement — the minimum requirement to join the Coalition. A new statement in 2019 illustrates the need to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Farmlands’ Director of External Relations, Mark McHardy says that while the 2019 statement is a good goal to work towards, committing to the 2017 statement serves as a strong base in Farmlands’ sustainability journey. “We recognise our operations have an impact and that we have a responsibility to mitigate our environmental footprint,” Mark says. Farmlands’ Head of Sustainability and Land Use, Katie Vickers says that as an agri-business co-operative, Farmlands must play a part in meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals applicable to the Food and Fibre sector. “We will be actively dealing with the challenges facing our shareholders, particularly around the need to embrace the inevitability of low emission agriculture and more sustainable farming practices,” Katie says. Farmlands’ partners Z Energy, The Warehouse Group, Meridian and Spark NZ are among the founding and steering signatories of the 2017 statement. Katie says that Farmlands is proud to contribute to lowering New Zealand’s emissions.

The origin of the Climate Leaders Coalition

The Climate Change Leadership Statement was drawn up by a group of 13 New Zealand CEOs in October 2017.

In July 2018, 60 of New Zealand’s business leaders signed the statement committing their businesses to tackle climate change and reduce New Zealand’s climate emissions. The statement is a leadership beacon for collective action and ambitious solutions to tackle climate change. The goal of the Climate Leaders Coalition is to help New Zealand businesses transition to a low emissions economy by lowering their own and their suppliers’ emissions to create a future which is positive for New Zealanders, New Zealand businesses, and the overall economy. Any organisation can join the Coalition and play their part in New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions economy.