About the Carbon Neutral Government Programme

The programme's aim is to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector. The CNGP launched in December 2020.

CNGP participants should

• measure, verify and report their emissions annually
• set gross emissions reduction targets and longer-term reduction plans
• introduce a plan to reduce their organisation’s emissions
• offset remaining gross emissions from 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality.

The immediate priority is to reduce emissions by

• phasing out coal-fired boilers from the public sector, with a focus on removing the largest and most active by the end of 2025
• optimising the size of agencies’ car fleets and purchasing electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids if a full electric is not appropriate, unless this is not possible due to operational requirements (for those mandated to apply the Government Procurement Rules)
• requiring NABERSNZ, a system for rating the energy efficiency of office buildings, from January 2021 for agencies that occupy large office space (over 2,000m²) and are covered by the Property Functional Leadership mandate

The Carbon Neutral Government Programme has been supported by the State Sector Decarbonisation Fund to invest in low-emissions heating, cooling, electric vehicles and energy-efficient lighting.

State Sector Decarbonisation Fund.

From December 2022:

• all departments, departmental agencies and the executive branch will report on their emissions, gross emissions reduction targets and reduction plans from the 21/22 financial year onwards.
• See Cabinet Minute

From December 2023:

• all Crown agents are to report their emissions, gross emissions reduction targets and reduction plans from the 2022/23 financial year onwards.
• See All of Government direction [Parliament]

There are three organisations responsible for managing the programme across the government:

• the Ministry for the Environment (MfE)
• EECA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
• the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

View the organisations participating in the CNGP (PDF, 174KB)

If you have a question on the programme email cngp@mfe.govt.nz.