Climate Positive Ākina

The climate emergency presents the biggest challenge of our time. At Ākina, creating positive impact is at the heart of the work we do with our clients and partners – so it’s important to us that our impact on the environment is positive too.

Our vision is of a sustainable, prosperous, inclusive New Zealand and world, and being climate positive helps us to move towards that. Being climate positive acknowledges the urgency of the problem, and demonstrates a commitment to being part of the solution. We know we’re only a drop in the ocean when it comes to global emissions, but if we’re serious about tackling the climate crisis, we believe we need to see action from all corners of business, government and society.

Ākina will consider a Te Ao Māori lens when approaching sustainability. We believe that through caring for people and the planet in the way we operate, we are able to keep moving forward in a sustainable way to create impact.

“Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua”

— Care for the land, care for the people, go forward

The ultimate goal of course, is to help keep the planet within a 1.5 degree rise above pre-industrial temperatures, in order to mitigate the worst effects of man-made climate change. The reduction of carbon dioxide emitted by human activity is one way of doing this. Though we’ll need to innovate large scale solutions to tackle the climate crisis worldwide, it is also important to focus on the impact that we can have both individually and collectively – taking advantage of the solutions that are already available. Carbon offsetting is one of the solutions.

If you’d like to find out more about carbon offsetting there’s a great breakdown on the Ekos website – they’re the social enterprise we use to measure and offset our carbon footprint.

Our carbon footprint

Ekos certificate - Ākina Climate Positive Business Operations 2023 — The Ākina Foundation has measured and offset the business operations scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2 emissions for the year measurement period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 with the following details: Total emissions = 59.67 tCO2e. Total offsets = 72 tCO2e (120%). Offsets retired on the Markit Environmental Registry.

Ākina is proud to be certified Climate Positive Business Operations with Ekos. We have measured and offset 120% of our carbon footprint for the business operations scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2 emissions for the year measurement period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 with certified carbon credits. These certified carbon credits are sourced from projects that grow and protect forests in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and help to deliver climate resilience, waterways protection, erosion control, biodiversity conservation and community economic development.

Ekos helps develop and supports carbon projects that grow and protect permanent restorative forests in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Ekos connects carbon offset buyers with these projects by measuring business and individual carbon footprints, supplying certified forest carbon offsets, and providing carbon certifications (Zero Carbon, Climate Positive, Carbon Footprint Certifications). These forest carbon projects deliver climate resilience, waterways protection, erosion control, biodiversity protection and community economic development. Learn more about Ekos here.

Read our latest EKOS Carbon Inventory Report

Ākina has committed to reducing our:
• Absolute scope 2 emissions by 42% by 2029 from a 2019 base year.
• Absolute scope 3 emissions from travel, accommodation and waste by 42% within the same year
This means reducing our emissions from 69.79 tCO2e to 40.4 tCO2e.
The reason for this is to demonstrate climate leadership that is consistent with our domestic climate change legislation (Climate Change Response Act 2002) and with the overall goal of keeping within the 1.5 degrees target above pre-industrial temperatures.
Ākina Carbon Measurement process (PDF report, produced by Ākina)
• 2018-2019: 69.79 tCO2e (base year)
Ākina Carbon Footprint Report FY18/19 (PDF report, produced by Ekos)
• 2019-2020: 27.99 tCO2e
Ākina Carbon Footprint Report FY19/20 (PDF report, produced by Ekos)
• 2020-2021: 42.32 tCO2e
Ākina Carbon Footprint Report FY20/21 (PDF report, produced by Ekos)
• 2021-2022: 23.36 tCO2e
Ākina Carbon Footprint Report FY21/22 (PDF report, produced by Ekos)
• 2022-2023: 59.67 tCO2e
Ākina Carbon Footprint Report FY22/23 (PDF report, produced by Ekos)
We are a service based organisation and our work is to drive positive outcomes and tackle issues such as climate change for stakeholders. This makes our assessment and disclosure of climate change risks unique when compared to a more traditional business.
Physical risks
For Ākina, our greatest physical risk associated with climate change is the loss of our offices which can directly influence our ability to provide our services. As a risk management tool, we have introduced a flexible working policy and also trained our staff to deliver workshops and services online.
Reputation risks
We accept as a leading organisation in social impact, the consequences of not limiting our target emissions and being climate change conscious imposes great reputation risks for our organisation. Accordingly, we have implemented a sustainability policy which includes a “travel only when necessary” and always selecting low carbon transition options. These policies also ensure we mitigate the risk of rising cost of carbon and accessibility to offsets.
Financial risks with offsetting
Although we offset all our emissions, with climate change action increasing including mandatory compliance laws coming into effect soon, this brings forwards the risk of rising cost of carbon and accessibility.
Main process to identify and assess climate change risks:
Therefore to mitigate the risks of climate change and hold ourselves accountable we use carbon footprint measurements to identify the areas and processes within our organisation that require work. We also use Ekos to offset our carbon, not only to remain climate positive but also to hold us accountable. We monitor throughout the year, analyze our emissions on an annual basis and adjust in accordance with this.
The purpose of the policy is to provide a framework for Ākina staff to help guide us to work in a more sustainable way. It outlines and demonstrates Ākina’s commitment to operating as a responsible and sustainable business and ‘walking the talk’ (operating in alignment with our values).
Ākina will consider a Te Ao Māori lens when approaching sustainability. We believe that through caring for people and the planet in the way we operate, we are able to keep moving forward in a sustainable way to create impact. Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua. Care for the land, care for the people, go forward
The sustainability policy should be considered when making all procurement decisions, and in considering the environmental impact of other operational decisions.
Ākina is committed to improving our approach to sustainability over time and will aim to evolve our approach in line with best practice.
The policy takes a principle based approach and is intended to be understood and used as a guide, rather than a detailed set of processes to be followed.
Read the Sustainability Policy here
Ākina has implemented a sustainability policy, which includes ‘travel only when necessary’, and selecting low carbon transport options.
Our team is committed to operating in accordance with our values and creating the change that we want to see in the world.We have specific actions planned to reduce our carbon footprint:
• We will continue to monitor and report our emissions on an annual basis.
• Allow staff to work from home to reduce commute emissions.
• Hiring staff and associates to service regions where Ākina is operating to reduce travel