IR is part of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector.
Measuring emissions
IR emissions for 2024–25 for mandatory emission sources as defined by the CNGP were 2,705 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
Our result is a 10.3% decrease from 2023–24 and a 57.7% reduction against our 2018–19 base year (our target for 2025 was a 43% reduction).
This year we began measuring additional emission sources that we expected would be material to our overall profile. These are not mandatory for CNGP purposes. The additional emissions related to staff commuting, data centre or cloud storage and other purchased goods and services. Our 2025 result for these non-mandatory emission sources was 14,993 tCO2e, 88% of which came from other purchased goods and services.
In total, IR's measured Greenhouse Gas emissions inventory is 17,699 tCO2e.
The table below shows annual emissions by year.
| Year | Tonnes CO2e |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 6,389 mandatory emission sources |
| 2020 | 5,620 mandatory emission sources |
| 2021 | 2,851 mandatory emission sources |
| 2022 | 2,235 mandatory emission sources |
| 2023 | 2,848 mandatory emission sources |
| 2024 | 3,016 mandatory emission sources |
| 2025 | 2,705 mandatory emission sources 14,993 non-mandatory emission sources |
Reduction targets
We set reduction targets in 2022, covering the mandatory emission sources as defined by the CNGP. As shown in the table below, we are targeting a reduction of 50% by 2030 against our base year of 2018–19.
Current modelling indicates we will better our 2030 target.
| Year | Actual | Target | 1.5° C requirement | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6,389 | - | 6,389 | 6,389 |
| 2020 | 5,620 | - | 6,389 | 5,620 |
| 2021 | 2,851 | - | 6,121 | 2,851 |
| 2022 | 2,235 | - | 5,852 | 2,235 |
| 2023 | 2,848 | - | 5,584 | 2,848 |
| 2024 | 3,016 | - | 5,316 | 2,944 |
| 2025 | 2,705 | 3,642 | 5,047 | 2,793 |
| 2026 | - | - | 4,779 | 2,693 |
| 2027 | - | - | 4,511 | 2,620 |
| 2028 | - | - | 4,242 | 2,555 |
| 2029 | - | - | 3,974 | 2,497 |
| 2030 | - | 3,194 | 3,706 | 2,445 |
| Emissions source | Tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2024–25 | Reduction against our base year | Proportion of our emissions (previous year) | Year-on year-change (previous year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2,705 | 57.7% reduction from our base year |
N/A | Down 10.3% (up 5.9%) |
| Insights on overall emissions: IR’s emissions profile is much larger when emissions from non-mandatory sources are considered. |
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| Business travel | 1,260 (mostly air travel) | 65% reduction from our base year | 47% (52%) | Down 20% (up 22%) |
| Insights on business travel emissions: Business travel includes air and car travel and accommodation. Domestic travel made up 53% of all business travel emissions (64% of air travel emissions). International travel made up 30% of all business travel emissions (35% of air travel emissions). Domestic accommodation made up 11% of our business travel emissions. |
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| Freight | 756 (mostly mail-related) | 42% reduction from our base year | 28% (29%) | Down 12% (down 12%) |
| Insights on freight emissions: Domestic mail made up 56% of freight-related emissions (95% of our mail is sent domestically). International mail made up 43% (5% of our mail is sent internationally). 89% is sent to Australia, 5% to the UK, 3% to USA and 1% to Singapore. |
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| Energy | 403 | 53% reduction from our base year | 15% (11%) | Up 20% (up 20%) |
| Insights on energy emissions: IR energy consumption was 6% lower this year. However, the Ministry for the Environment issued an updated energy emissions factor for agencies to calculate emissions that was higher. As a result, our overall energy-related emissions increased. Our relocation to more modern buildings in Auckland, Nelson and Dunedin is expected to bring further reductions in energy consumption in 2025–26. |
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| Working from home | 188 | 92,785% increase from our base year (0) | 7% (5%) | Up 34% (up 11%) |
| Insights on emissions from working from home: The increase in emissions from 2023–24 reflects the impact of seismic upgrades that required staff to work from home at times and fitouts for some of our sites. We would expect to see an inverse correlation in emissions relating to working from home and staff commuting, which we are now measuring. |
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| Fuel | 23 (mostly vehicle fleet-related) | 94% reduction from our base year | 1% (2%) | Down 50% (down 36%) |
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Insights on fuel emissions: 49 of the 51 vehicles in our fleet are electric vehicles (EVs). The remaining 2 petrol vehicles will be replaced with EVs when available. |
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Our plan
IR’s emissions reduction initiatives have largely focused on areas where there was an existing government requirement, including transitioning to a fully electric vehicle fleet, enhancing the energy efficiency of the sites we occupy and minimising office waste.
We have also increased the visibility of our emissions profile, in particular travel-related emissions.
All these initiatives have contributed to the reduction of emissions from mandatory sources.
As our emissions source inventory has now largely stabilised, we are not planning any new reduction initiatives for 2025–26.
The table below shows a breakdown of emissions for mandatory sources from our 2018–19 base year.
| 2019 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business travel | 3,573 | 1,571 | 1,260 |
| Freight | 1,312 | 864 | 756 |
| Transmission and distribution losses | 98 | 23 | 31 |
| Wastewater | - | - | - |
| Working from home | - | 140 | 188 |
| Energy | 850 | 335 | 403 |
| Fuel | 412 | 47 | 23 |
| Waste disposal | 127 | 29 | 35 |
| Water supply | - | - | - |