Pharmac’s policy for zero-carbon use by 2025

Date sent: 23 September 2021

OIA response

23 September 2021

Dear [name and contact details withheld]

Request for information

Thank you for your request dated 12 September 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to Pharmac’s policy for zero-carbon use by 2025. You asked:

Is there a current policy in your organisation for zero-carbon use by 2025? If so, is there an official wording for it?
Do you have an advisory committee dedicated to zero-carbon neutrality?
- If so, how much staff is dedicated to the committee?
What are your main priorities for zero-carbon use?
What are your current gross emission reduction targets?
When does your organisation plan to phase in the NABERSNZ rating requirement for large buildings?

Pharmac is working towards establishing a sustainability advisory committee over the next 6-months. We do not have a standalone zero-carbon/sustainability policy as we intend to incorporate sustainability into our operational policies over the coming months (for example our procurement policy).

Pharmac is committed to participating in the Carbon Neutral Government Program (CNGP) which focuses on identifying our GHG emissions (direct and indirect) from facilities and business activities that we have financial and/or operational control over.

The immediate priorities that are relevant to Pharmac for reducing emissions are:

Incorporating sustainability into our procurement as stated in the Government procurement broader outcomes that used to support wider social, economic, cultural, and environmental outcomes that go beyond the immediate purchase of goods and services.
Working towards the requirements of the Building Environmental Rating (NABERSNZ) system energy efficiency of our office.
Reporting emissions and publishing reduction plans, including gross emissions reduction targets, from the 2022/23 financial year.

Pharmac is referencing the mandatory CNGP emission sources framework set out by CNGP. Appendix 1 indicates the activities relevant to Pharmac. These activities also include some of the NABERSNZ rating requirements relevant to our premises.

The initial activity we are commencing includes the data collection to establish our base year figures which will be used to set gross emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 consistent with a 1.5-degree pathway.

The participating CNGP organisations have been phased into three tranches. Tranche 1 organisations that are required to report current gross emission reduction targets this financial year are departments, and non-public service departments. As a Crown Agent Pharmac is required to meet the CNGP reporting requirements from 2022/23 onwards as part of tranche 2.

We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.

Yours sincerely

Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services

Appendix 1 - Mandatory CNGP emission sources relevant to Pharmac

GPG Class	Activity	Data Collection
Scope 1	Fugitive emissions from air-conditioning / HVAC	This includes leaks in your owned refrigerators, chillers, HVAC systems, etc. The easiest way of measuring leaks from air‑conditioning equipment is to look at how much it has had to "top-up". Your facilities management provider or maintenance provider will be able to give you replaced gas, "the top ups" (in kg) and the type of refrigerant gas within the reporting period from service or installation records. Where information is not available, default leakage rates can be assumed. See the NZ Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for Organisations, Detailed guide for a full list of refrigerant and other fugitive gases that you may or may not have under your control. The guidance also provides default leakage rates.
Scope 2	Electricity use (location based - grid electricity)	Electricity data can be requested from the energy supplier or the landlord. Floor area or consumption per FTE can be used as a proxy if this information is not available.
Scope 2	Electricity use (Market based - specific provider EF)	Electricity data can be requested from the energy supplier or the landlord. Floor area or consumption per FTE can be used as a proxy if this information is not available.
Scope 3	Air travel domestic	Air travel is often procured through a central system. Travel providers often provide data to enable organisations to calculate emissions. The data required would include, where applicable: mode of transport, origin and destination, including country, class of journey, distance of journey.
Scope 3	Air travel international (short- and long-haul)	Air travel is often procured through a central system. Travel providers often provide data to enable organisations to calculate emissions. The data required would include, where applicable: mode of transport, origin and destination, including country, class of journey, distance of journey. CNGP participants should apply emission factors that includes radiative forcing.
Scope 3	Taxi	Emissions associated with taxi and rideshare journeys can be easily estimated by obtaining the total spend or kilometres from your taxi provider. If you do not have an organisational account with a taxi provider, talk to your accounting or finance team to obtain total $ reimbursed for taxi travel within the reporting period.
Scope 3	Private car	Talk to your accounting or finance team for use spend data to find out if any fuel reimbursements have been made. Also check if additional information such as fuel type is available on claims. Some organisations will also have kilometres captured. See AA for average fuel prices per fuel type and the Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for organisations, Detailed guide for a full list of ways to report staff mileage.
Scope 3	Public transport staff travel	Talk to your accounting or finance team for use spend data to find out if any reimbursements for public transport has been made. Also check if additional information such as the type of public transport is available (e.g. train, bus) on claims.
Scope 3	Rental car - petrol	Rental car and travel companies often provide data to enable organisations to calculate emissions. You need the kilometres travelled and the type of fuel type of the vehicle. If your provider supplies you with litres of fuel topped up, emissions can be calculated in the same way as for fuel purchased by you for owned vehicles.
Scope 3	Freight rail, road, coastal shipping and couriers	Request shipping data from your freight provider. The data required includes distance travelled and the weight of the goods transported. In some cases, the freight provider will be able to include fuel data which is preferred as it allows for a more accurate calculation. For marine freight emissions calculations, online tools (www.ports.com and www.marinetraffic.com) can be useful to calculate an estimation of the distance covered based on the load and destination ports.
Scope 3	Water supply	Water use can be obtained from your waster provider or landlord. If no water use is available, it can be estimated based on number of full-time employees. The NZ Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for Organisations, Detailed guide has further information on how to measure emissions associated with water use.
Scope 3	Waste water services	Wastewater is a function of the water supplied to account for losses. The NZ Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for Organisations, Detailed guide has further information on how to measure emissions associated with water use.
Scope 3	Staff working from home (waste and electricity)	Emissions associated with staff working from home can be estimated by obtaining information about how many employees have been working from home multiplied by the number of days. The NZ Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for Organisations, Detailed guide has further information on how to measure emissions associated with staff working from home.
Scope 3	Waste landfilled	Data can be obtained from your waste collection provider or your landlord. For office locations estimates based on FTE or size of bin can be calculated. The NZ Ministry for the Environment, Measuring Emissions: A guide for Organisations (as before) has further information on how to measure waste emissions. Note that this category only includes emissions from waste generated in your own operations, so including tenant waste is optional for CNGP participants.
Scope 3	Business travel - hotel nights	Travel management organisations can provide data to enable organisations to calculate emissions. You need number of nights and country.