Understanding our footprint
In 2023 we started to calculate the emissions from staff commuting to and from work as part of our carbon footprint. We’ve included info on our methodology at the end of this article.
For our 2023-24 financial year, our carbon footprint was 13.09 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Commuting made up 61% of that. And in the most recent 2024-25 financial year, commuting emissions accounted for 63% of our footprint of 15.93 tCO2e, as shown below:
How our people commute
Most of our staff live in Auckland and commute to our downtown office several days a week (Note: SBN introduced a nine-day fortnight in 2023). Many of our team live close to public transport routes and take buses, trains or ferries to get to work. We also have keen cyclists and plenty of staff who combine public transport with active travel, like walking or cycling. A few of our team live more remotely and rely on driving for some or all of their commute.
Each mode of transport has a different emission factor. This figure represents the amount of greenhouse gas produced to transport a person one kilometre. Interestingly, the transport modes that clocked up the biggest distances were not always the largest sources of our commuting emissions. Bus transport is a good example.
Comparing the two charts for emissions and distance, private cars and ferries stand out as relatively high emitters. Public transport is generally a more energy-efficient, lower emissions way to travel than driving a private car. This is because a single bus can carry many more people than a car, and a train can carry even more. While a bus or train uses more fuel (or more electricity) than a petrol or diesel car to travel the same distance, the amount used per passenger is lower. Auckland’s ferries run on diesel and have significantly lower fuel efficiency than buses. This means a ferry has higher emissions for each passenger-kilometre travelled than a bus or train. Auckland’s first electric ferry is expected to start carrying passengers later this year.
A common challenge
Transport is a major contributor to emissions for our country as a whole. The latest data from the Ministry for the Environment shows that 18.5% of our gross emissions came from transport in 2023. And, for the Auckland region, where SBN’s office and most of our team are located, just over 40% of total emissions are from transport.
We know SBN isn’t alone in facing this challenge - many organisations discover that staff commuting accounts for a large share of their emissions.
How we’re tackling it
We’ve committed to reducing our overall carbon footprint by 50% by the 2029-30 financial year, compared to our 2019-20 baseline. This target is registered with SME Climate Hub. In our most recent financial year, from 2024-25, we set a total carbon budget of 14.54 tonnes of carbon, in line with the goal of halving emissions. However, our actual carbon emissions of 15.93 tonnes exceeded that - largely due to the inclusion of commuting emissions.
So we’re grappling with the challenge of how to reduce emissions from commuting as part of our overall reduction plan.
We will continue supporting staff to make lower-emissions choices:
- Supporting hybrid working with a mix of days at home and days in the office.
- SBN’s Sustainable Staff Fund can be used to support actions that help cut emissions from private car travel, such as purchasing bikes or scooters or contributing to public transport costs, as well as other personal sustainability initiatives.
- Signing up with WorkRide to support staff who want to buy a bike or scooter for commuting. The programme offers a cost offset and no upfront payment.
- Joining Cycling Works to support safe cycling infrastructure for our staff.
We plan to take part in Aotearoa Bike Challenge.
We also know that some commutes are too long to make by bike or on foot. And those options aren’t accessible for everyone. We are also big believers in the importance of public transport. The more of us that use buses, trains and ferries instead of private vehicles, the stronger the case for maintaining and investing in those services for everyone!
So, we’ll continue to support our staff using public transport for commuting and for work travel. That means a large share of our commuting emissions will continue to depend on the progress of ‘Mission Electric’, Auckland Transport’s change to a lower emissions fleet. It’s important to SBN to support and advocate for the introduction of electric ferries, electric and hydrogen buses, and improvements in public transport infrastructure. And we encourage our network to do the same!
Solutions from our network
Reducing emissions from travel and switching to more sustainable ways of moving around is a big challenge for all of us in Aotearoa New Zealand. It will require multiple solutions and action from individuals, businesses and local and central government.
Some of those solutions are provided by organisations in our network and those listed in our Circular Economy Directory:
- Carpoolin helps people rideshare through its app, making it easier to carpool for commutes or other trips.
- Switched On Bikes offers electric bike subscriptions, rental and sales.
- Mevo, Ryd, and Cityhop all offer car sharing with electric vehicles, giving people the option to drive electric with low upfront cost. Zilch also offers electric vehicles on demand for businesses.
- ChargeNet provides charging solutions for electric vehicles.
- Power Trip helps businesses to optimise and electrify their fleets.
- eCoach and Mahu City Express operate emission-free, fully-electric luxury coaches for team transport.
Other solutions rely on local and central government action. Wellington City Council’s rapid bike network roll-out is a good example and was recognised in the Next 95 list, the list of finalists in the 2024 Sustainable Business Awards. However, limited budgets and vocal opposition from small but influential groups mean we can’t assume this good work will continue.
Businesses have two powerful ways to contribute: supporting staff to use existing sustainable transport options, and advocating for electrified public transport and improved walking and cycling infrastructure.
A note on methodology
We’ve been calculating and reporting our organisational carbon footprint for nine years. We use activity data and calculate emissions based on default emission factors published by the Ministry for the Environment. This is the approach used by the free Climate Action Toolbox calculator, which we supplemented with our additional calculations for commuting emissions. Our carbon footprint data is not externally verified or audited.
Since 2023, we have collected commuting data from staff via six-monthly surveys capturing mode of transport, travel distances and how often each mode was used. Emissions are calculated using the default (for private cars) or average (for public transport) emission factors from MfE, and the metropolitan electric rail emissions factor. While charging e-bikes for commuting produces some electricity-related emissions, these are not reflected in our calculations. That will change when MfE publishes an emission factor for e-bike travel.