Our commitment to sustainability means doing the right thing today so our planet and all it sustains can survive and thrive in the future.
There are two ways to explore this section using the menus below. You can learn about what we are doing as a company and for our customers, communities and the planet; or below that you can navigate Meridian’s approach to sustainability using the pillars of environment, social and governance.
As a generator and retailer of electricity, we focus on climate, environment and people initiatives to help create clean energy for a fairer and healthier world by:
Being a sustainable business means that we walk the talk when it comes to protecting our people and planet. Our business is focused on providing sustainability leadership through key initiatives in the following areas:
Over the past two years, Meridian Energy and its Certified business customers have joined forces to contribute $1.5 million in funding to support community and business projects in reducing carbon emissions.
by Neal Barclay, Chief Executive at Meridian Energy
One of New Zealand’s most iconic lakes is getting a high-tech upgrade.
What started as an unexpected failure on a key piece of machinery has ended as one of the most ambitious and successful recycling projects Meridian has ever undertaken.
Climate-related reporting is nothing new, but changes here in Aotearoa New Zealand mean something that was once voluntary is now a legal requirement for many companies.
Few people realise many of the goods and services they buy may be linked to cases of modern slavery within their supply chain.
Lyn Tee says the funding provided by Meridian's Power Up Community Fund is a powerful way of supporting Te Anau and its many community groups.
A new electric boiler at Mataura Valley Milk is now fully operational, completing the plant’s conversion from a coal-fired manufacturing process to an electric one.
Meridian Energy is trialling new vehicle-to-grid and smart charging technology as it works towards the launch of a virtual power plant that will provide greater flexibility to New Zealand’s electricity system.
Tackling Zero is Meridian’s quarterly newsletter for people whose roles or studies are focused on sustainability, or for whom is an area of interest. Each issue will offer Meridian’s insights into a topical sustainability issue, as well as stories on how we, our customers and supply chain partners are tackling sustainability. It also includes links to recent Meridian disclosures such as new policies and reports.
Our Climate Action Plan contains our initiatives to support decarbonisation for our customers, plant a permanent forest transitioning to 100% natives over time, and to deliver our ‘Half by 30’ target. Half by 30 represents Meridian’s commitment to halve operational emissions by FY30 from an FY21 baseline* and includes underlying targets to halve scope 1 and 2 emissions, and halve scope 3 emissions** within the same timeframe.
We’ve set an ambitious near-term science-aligned target to halve operational emissions by 2030, and have committed to set long-term emissions reduction targets with the Science-Based Targets initiative in line with reaching net-zero by 2050. We also set emissions targets for all our one-off construction projects as we know how we build matters.
We recently increased our offsetting commitment to cover total business emissions (beyond operational emissions). It now includes emissions from one-off construction activities for renewable energy generation assets. We have used Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions to achieve this to date, and are focused on investing in permanent forests in Aotearoa to remove the same amount of emissions that we produce when we’ve achieved Half by 30.
We continue to mature our understanding of climate change impacts on our business, reporting on this most recently in accordance with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and in substantial early voluntary alignment with the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards.
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Along with more than 100 other businesses, Meridian has signed the CEO Climate Change Statement which encourages all companies to see climate change as a critical business issue. Our signature is a commitment to measuring, reporting on and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement aspiration to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees.