Reduce, Reduce, Reduce
To avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need an urgent quantum leap in emissions reductions. New Zealand is currently not on track to hit its 2030 international reduction targets and may need to purchase international carbon offsets for billions of dollars as a result.
The good news is that New Zealand is amongst the first countries in the world where reducing emissions is now cheaper than remaining reliant on fossil fuels. A report issued by Rewiring Aotearoa has highlighted how New Zealand has now reached an important tipping point, where households and businesses can save money and reduce their emissions by "electrifying everything."
GoZero works to identify and provide services and solutions that accelerate the transition to an electric, low-carbon future for all households and businesses in New Zealand.
It's a no-brainer. Taking action to electrify our future is good for your pocket, your bottom line, New Zealand's economy, and our planet's climate and biodiversity.
No more risky business
The climate crisis presents risks to every household and business.
Investing in unreliable or untested climate solutions can also be risky for your business, both financially and for your brand.
Offsetting
Many current tools and services available to SMEs are limited to helping them to measure and offset their emissions. GoZero believes that any solution that doesn't focus primarily on emissions reduction should be considered too risky by businesses. Large corporations have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years on offset projects that have since been discredited. Nestle, for example, are abandoning offsetting in favour of decarbonising their operations and supply chains. We work to help SMEs to avoid making the same mistakes.
The emit and offset approach cannot deliver the impact needed to address the climate crisis, even if the offsets were reliable. However, there have been a number of scandals recently, that have undermined trust in many of the low-cost offsets projects that businesses have been using to claim net zero status. The Guardian reported in January 2023 that "More than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless" and, in May 2024, that "Corporations invested in carbon offsets that were ‘likely junk’." Additionally, there are allegations that some offset projects are responsible for violating the human rights of members of the local communities where they are taking place.
Where a business is reducing its emissions by over 5% each year but wants to claim to be net zero now, it is acceptable for it to use high-integrity emissions reduction carbon credits, such as those offered by GoZero (see details below). Climate action claims based solely on offsetting should be considered greenwashing, in our view.
Direct Air Capture
Systems that remove CO2 from the atmosphere are in development but haven't achieved scale or cost to make them attractive solutions. Even if they achieve scale at some point in the future, GoZero believes that it is risky to see these as an alternative to immediate emissions reductions. Additionally, such removals will only provide a small proportion of the action on emissions that is required, so emitters should not use the promise of such future technologies to avoid taking actions to reduce emissions in the present.
Ensuring credibility
Ensuring the credibility of every tonne of CO2e in our Carbon Points system is at the core of what GoZero does. We understand that increasing trust in climate solutions is vital in order to increase climate action.
We work to ensure that every Carbon Point represents real action on emissions. We also work to ensure that businesses that have deals on our site have taken validated, credible, measurable action on their carbon emissions. They are only able to generate Carbon Points based on the amount of CO2e that they have addressed through verified climate actions.
We will not get things right 100% of the time, but we are constantly researching the best, most reliable services and approaches to deliver credible climate actions to Kiwis and Kiwi businesses.
Our carbon reduction projects
To generate Carbon Points that can be used to top up reward campaigns and member accounts, GoZero exclusively uses high-integrity, Gold Standard carbon credits from projects that reduce emissions, such as those from cookstove projects.
These deliver emissions reductions as well as certified co-benefits, such as improved health and livelihoods, under the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Improved Cook Stove Project, Uganda
Under this Gold Standard-certified project, improved cook stoves (ICS) have been provided to families in three districts in Uganda. Cook Stove projects produce amongst the most credible types of carbon credits.
These replace traditional cooking methods, increasing efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also improve family members' health and reduce the need for them to collect firewood.
This project has certified SDG impacts, under SDGs 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 13 (Climate Action).