KiwiRail Scenic earns Silver Enviro Award

KiwiRail Scenic earns Silver Enviro Award

KiwiRail Scenic's efforts towards environmental sustainability have been rewarded, with the long-distance train operator winning a Silver Enviro endorsement from Qualmark this week.

KiwiRail’s Passenger General Manager, Deborah Hume, said KiwiRail Scenic had been rewarded for reducing its impact on the environment and for its contribution to communities.

KiwiRail Scenic is a Qualmark accredited tourism operator, and Ms Hume said the company applied for an Enviro endorsement to the general Qualmark certification to formally recognise the business' sustainability efforts. These include monitoring the carbon footprint of all Scenic services, trials of biofuels, using recyclable or compostable pre-packaging onboard, and providing free travel to community charitable and cultural organisations.

“These initiatives, some of which are seemingly small, make a big impact on the way we run our business and have the double benefit of being both cost effective and good for the environment,” says Ms Hume.

The new Scenic carriages that were built in New Zealand using New Zealand materials received positive feedback from Qualmark for the multi-glazed windows and LED reading lights.

KiwiRail Scenic was also commended for the introduction of an ‘Enviro Pathway’ Project which focuses on integrating environmental targets and initiatives that can be implemented as part of the business’ operations.

"The Qualmark Silver award recognises that our long-distance services are important parts of our communities and environment, as well as New Zealand torusim," Ms Hume says.

Qualmark is a government and private sector partnership which licenses New Zealand tourism businesses to use the Qualmark tourism's official quality mark to help international and domestic travellers select places to stay, things to do and ways to get around. Enviro Awards are given to businesses that perform well in the areas of energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, community activities and conservation initiatives.

“Adding value to our brand and ensuring customers are aware of how using our services helps reduce impacts on the environment and communities; doing our fair share to cut back on activities that produce greenhouse gases; minimising the amount of waste our business sends to landfills; and recognising that communities are where our employees and customers live and that we need to respect their needs is part and parcel of the whole package of being a responsible and responsive business,” Ms Hume says.

ENDS

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