Climate Action Marlborough - Towards Climate Resilience: Harnessing Carbon, Energy and Waste Innovations

Towards Climate Resilience: 

Harnessing Carbon, Energy and Waste Innovations

Welcome to Climate Action Marlborough, where we embark on a journey towards climate resilience by harnessing the power of innovation in carbon reduction, energy efficiency and waste management. As stewards of our environment, we recognise the urgent need for collective action to address the challenges posed by climate change. Through education, awareness, and tangible actions, we are committed to forging a path towards a sustainable future for Marlborough and showcasing to other business communities across the country what can be done when passionate people come together... It will take a village!

Climate Action Marlborough is driven by a mission to create awareness, foster education, and inspire action within our business community. By equipping stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to reduce carbon emissions, optimise renewable energy and implement effective waste solutions, we aim to cultivate a culture of resilience and impact. 

We envision a community where businesses, individuals, and institutions collaborate seamlessly to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt to a rapidly evolving environment. By harnessing cutting-edge innovations in carbon reduction, energy efficiency, and waste management, we aspire to create a low-carbon, highly productive, and thriving community that serves as a model for sustainable development.

This one day event brings together

• A collective of individuals who are passionate about living in a climate positive world
• Businesses who know that it will take a collaborative approach
• Farmers, growers and suppliers that are the heartbeat of our community
• Educators who are excited to share their knowledge  
• Community organisations that are passionate leaders
• Passionate retirees who have so much value and knowledge to contribute and share
• And College students who are our next generation of change makers

The event will host a series of action oriented, hands on, creative learning experiences and immersive activities to engage our Marlborough, New Zealand, business community.

Event Details:

We invite you to join us for our next Climate Action Marlborough event as we work together towards a more resilient and sustainable future. Your participation is vital in shaping the trajectory of our collective efforts towards a climate positive region.

Thursday 30th May 2024

Time: 8:45am - 4:30pm

Agenda:

Location 1: Lansdowne Pavilion, Lansdowne St, Blenheim

8:45am - 9:15 - Connection and listening - hearing from the audience on where you are at on your journey. Some of the stories, milestones, actions in play

9:15 - 10:15 - Collaboration Activation Session - Focused on Net Zero Buildings and Plant Rich Diets. Last year, we began working through the Project Drawdown Table of Solutions to activate diverse projects and solutions for our business community. We have begun activating our Land based Seaweed project and would love to continue to collaborate with our community to evolve new ideas. 

10:15am - 10:45am - Keynote Speaker, Nick Gerritsen - Crispstart, CH4 & Carbonscape - Innovative solutions to create resilience.

10:45am - 11:15am - Locally sourced morning tea, Karaka Kitchen

11:15am - 11:45am - Mark and Katja Thompson, Fairfield Construction - Journey to Carbon Zero

Location 2: Fairfield Construction Recent build: David St, Blenheim 

11:45am - 12:00pm - Carpool to David St, Blenheim

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Fairfield Construction Immersion Experience, David St home.

Fairfield Construction is a family owned and operated building company based in Blenheim, Marlborough. 

Specialised in energy-efficient and passive houses, they have been building and renovating homes for over 30 years.

With the aim to design and build beautiful homes, that are warmer and healthier, and which people will still love in a hundred years. 

Fairfield is proud to be Carbon Zero certified with Toitū, demonstrating their commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible business practices.

In these immersion experiences we will go behind the scenes of their Passive office and a recently completed Passive home in Blenheim and learn about their diverse initiatives to reduce energy consumption and carbon through building design and practices.

"We have been building High Performance, energy Efficient buildings in Marlborough for many years. In 2021 we completed Marlborough's First Passive House Institue certified building, also the South Islands first Commercial Building built to PHI standards. This means it performs about 7 times more efficient than code minimum construction. We are committed to building to the highest possible level, helping reduce the operational Carbon of or built designs. We take active steps to minimise site waste where possible and as of early 2024 are Toitu Net CarbonZero Certified." Mark Thompson, Fairfield Construction

"One of our core values is Leadership. Within this it is key for Fairfield that we not only push the boundaries and try techniques towards building healthier, warmer homes that are better for our clients and our planet. But that we also share our knowledge and learning with others in the industry and community to make significant change."

Location 3: Karaka Kitchen, 60 Rene St, Westwood Estate

1:15pm - 2:00pm Locally curated lunch, Karaka Kitchen 

2:00pm - 3:30pm - Round Table Discussions focused on 

"Transitioning to a low carbon economy - transport, energy and waste"

- Biking and Walking - Charlotte Campbell - Lamerton, Multi Modal Advisor - Marlborough Roads, NZTA

"Marlborough Road's client, Marlborough District Council, relies on us to maintain the roading network, however I am tasked with creating and building a resilient Walking and Cycling Network within our urban environments. My role is all about giving residents of Marlborough viable options and transport choices."

- Sea Freight - Kylie Matthews, AWWA Period Care

AWWA is focused on reducing their carbon emissions - "our goods are manufactured offshore so we need to transport them to NZ - we developed a sea first policy and saw our annual emissions across all scopes halve."

- Future Freight - Heather Donachie, Export Logistics

- Green buildings - Joe Quad, The New Zealand Green Building Council 

"Our vision is for all homes and buildings in Aotearoa to be green and sustainable, making healthier, happier New Zealanders. For that to happen we need leadership and action to change how we design, build, and use our homes, buildings and communities. We're a for-purpose membership body created by the building and construction sector to drive for transformation of our built environment."

- Human centric urban spaces - Catherine van der Meulen, THINK Business

- Future of a Fleet - Alistair Thomson, Hortus

- Circular journey of organic waste - Julien Stevens, NZ King Salmon

"This is our first reporting year under the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards. Preparing the baseline data has been a significant journey and one that provides rich insights that we will use to build plans for targeted improvements. 

A strategic focus of our circular journey continues to be respecting the whole fish and working towards whole fish utilisation. We have funded and are in the process of commissioning an ensilage plant to capture and utilise our remaining organic waste streams. Once operational, our goal for this facility is to allow us to convert salmon
waste streams currently sent to landfill, into fish silage for liquid fertiliser and biogas production. This project is another important step in transitioning towards a low emissions and circular economy."

3:30pm - 4:30pm - Partner match making and Speed Dating session supported by Yealands Estate Wines

4:30pm - The day wraps until our next event on Thursday 29th August 2024

A few things to note 

- The Humanitix booking fee will be donated to children's charities such as Manaia Kalani https://www.manaiakalani.org to support closing the education gap in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

What to expect from an Immersion Experience

Each of our partner organisations will host an immersion experience in Marlborough. Through a tour of their facilities, you will see, feel, taste, smell and hear about the work they are doing and have done on their journey to create an environmentally and financially viable business that reflects the needs of their consumers, while paying close attention to the footprint they leave on this world and in our communities.

Hosted by the founders and leadership teams, you will get the opportunity to learn and be inspired directly by the leaders in Aotearoa, New Zealand in activating this meaningful work. 

What to expect from the days activities

Our Climate Action activities, collaboration sessions, round table discussions and presentations have been designed to create interactive and meaningful educational experiences to further enable your learning and action oriented journey.

What to expect from our meaningful meals?

Each food experience will be a celebration, showcasing the amazing produce found right here in Marlborough. Each meal will delight & surprise, using locally sourced and produced ingredients. 

Our meals will be a combination of on site experiences or packaged and delivered in lunch boxes.

Who’s behind Climate Action Week?

Founded by Catherine van der Meulen from THINK Business & Entrepreneurial Women with Purpose, Catherine connected with the community of Marlborough to support the initiatives and has quickly developed a tribe of locals who are keen to support and drive the activities, initiatives and awareness in our community.

Steering Committee

Michael Wentworth, Heather Donachie - Export Logistics, Edwin Massey - New Zealand Wine Growers,  Tom Powell - Climate Karanga Marlborough, Kylie Matthews - AWWA Period underwear and Tayla Hayes - Graeme Dingle Foundation

As we know, it takes a village! And this is no different. As individuals it can often feel overwhelming on where to start, but as a community we can approach it differently to have a greater impact.

Founding Sponsor

Yealands Estate Winery. 

“We are not going to make the collective changes required to address climate change by making people feel guilty.  The way to success is to positively engage people, share and promote positive examples and to work together to tackle key issues.  I am looking forward to working with Catherine and the team to deliver a focussed event to highlight our environmental champions, educate and encourage action across the region.” Michael Wentworth, GM Sustainability and Strategic Projects at Yealands

Community Partners 

EnviroHub Marlborough, Climate Karanga Marlborough, NZ Wine Growers, New Zealand Sustainable Wine Growing, NZ Landcare Trust, Marine Farming Association, Top of the South Wood Council, NZ Institute of Company Directors, Mission Zero and Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.