About the Carbon Neutral Government Programme

The Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) has been set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector. The Government will join businesses and communities already leading the way to reduce their emissions as we transition to a low-emissions economy.

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Timeline for the programme
Agencies involved
Scion building
Scion's striking new three storey building, Te Whare Nui o Tuteata in Rotorua.

Image: Scion

The programme's aim is to make a number of organisations within the public sector carbon neutral from 2025. It was launched on 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 2025 to achieve carbon neutrality.

The immediate priority will be 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 is supported by the State Sector Decarbonisation Fund to invest in low-emissions heating, cooling, electric vehicles and energy-efficient lighting.

State Sector Decarbonisation Fund

Timeline for the programme

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]

Agencies involved

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)

The organisations participating in the CNGP can be found here.

Contact us

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