Climate-related disclosures are on their way. Auckland-based ClimateTracker has cloud-based software that eases the compliance overhead and makes sense of the data. Co-founder and data architecture heavyweight Dougal Watt backgrounds the new era of climate disclosure and tells Ross Inglis it’s as much about opportunity as it is about risk.

Armed with its own IP, Hamilton-based car charging innovator Hikotron is rolling out a national network of charge points. Ross Inglis asked co-founder Stephanie Smits O’Callaghan how Hikotron tackles the chicken-or-the-egg dilemma of building a network for a small but fast-growing market, how to make sense of all those charging standards, and what on earth a hikotron is.

Hikotron EV Charging - New Zealand's Electric Future

The Climate Leaders Coalition turned five years old. Its signatories, which include some of NZ’s largest polluters, are a group of 88 companies that have committed to climate agenda and they’ve notched up some impressive achievements. Collectively they’ve reduced emissions by 3.6 million tonnes, that’s a nearly 30% percent reduction since 2018.

And, this one that I found surprising, 97% of signatories have identified and measured their scope 3 emissions. To discuss the coalition, its five-year milestone and how it sees a future under a new government, Vincent was joined by convenor Jolie Hodson, CEO of Spark, and by Mike Burrell, of the Sustainable Business Council.

Every 35 minutes solarZero installs a new residential solar system. It plans to invest $1 billion in new solar and battery systems over the next decade and already has 12,000 installations. It made headlines this time last year when it was acquired by Blackrock, the world’s largest investors. And in September just gone, the government-owned NZ Green Investment Finance invested $80m alongside two other funds. In other words, solarZero is on the march. The 15 year dream of solar enthusiast Andrew Booth is now mainstream.. How does it work, why is it attracting so much capital, and how does it reconcile being owned by one of the largest coal and fossil fuel investors in the world?

Vincent spoke to chief executive Matt Ward.

Ian Parry is the Environmental Fiscal Policy Expert at the International Monetary Fund. He came to speak at a series of events in New Zealand about tax. It doesn’t get more exciting than that. But there’s more. Ian is a specialist in carbon pricing, emission trading schemes, and the role of fiscal policy in climate mitigation. The timing couldn’t be better, with New Zealand wrestling with changes to the ETS, price drops and then recovery in the carbon market, and growing skepticism about the veracity of offsetting and claims about carbon neutrality. He spoke to Vincent.

How is the Council progressing with Te Tāruke ā Tāwhiri, Auckland’s Climate Plan? In the three years since it was ratified, we’ve had Covid, a change in council, and now a change of government. Will it survive and how much progress has been made? We check in with its architects, councillor Richard Hills, chair of the Planning, Environment and Parks committee; and Parin Rafei-Thompson, head of climate innovation and sustainability at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited.

Sustainability’s elevation into corporate strategy suggests it’s on its way to becoming integral to New Zealand businesses. But why are businesses writing sustainability strategies? What do they look like? And how often do they translate into real action?

For answers, Ross Inglis talked with Vanessa Thompson from Auckland-based sustainability strategy specialists Go Well Consulting.

The future of farming may be indoors. With eroding coastlines, droughts and unpredictable downpours, farming may be better done in controlled, indoor environments. Better for GHGs emissions too. We know that’s already happening for tomatoes and leafy greens – but what about large scale crops like wheat or fruits or sheep and dairy?

Darryn Keiller is the founder of Way Beyond, a company specialising in data and management of such indoor farms – and he joined Vincent.

How does change happen? And what can we learn from political and community leaders? Vincent hosted a live event during the Auckland Climate Festival to learn how three experienced climate leaders crossed the chasm from intention to action:

 ●     Sophie Hansford - School Strike 4 Climate founder and Kapiti Coast District Councillor

●      James Shaw - Minister of Climate Change

●      Alec Tang, partner Sustainable Value, KPMG