Contact Energy proud to support Climate Change Conference

Contact Energy proud to support Climate Change Conference

Contact Energy is pleased to be one of three platinum sponsors of next week’s Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference.

The conference, which is being held in Auckland on Tuesday and Wednesday (http://www.climateandbusiness.com), will bring together business leaders to discuss one of the most significant challenges facing New Zealand and the global economy.

As well as supporting the conference, Contact Energy will also have three key leaders participating in the event. James Kilty, Chief Generation & Development Officer, will be on the panel for New Business: Innovating for Climate; Louise Tong, Head of Capital Markets and Tax, will be on the panel for Green Bonds: Favouring Sustainability; and Kaapua Smith, Head of Sustainability, will be a speaker in a session on Defining the Path: Setting Science Based Targets & the SDGs.

The conference will focus on the implications of the new government’s climate change policy.

James Kilty, Chief Generation and Development Officer, said he was pleased to be given the opportunity to participate in such a meaningful conversation about probably the most important issue facing businesses and the economy.

“Contact Energy is proud to be supporting this event and we hope to contribute to potential solutions to the very real problem of Climate Change.”

“We don’t have all the answers, but we want to play our part in helping New Zealand transition to a low carbon economy.

Louise Tong, Head of Capital Markets and Tax, says: “Globally, trillions of dollars of investment is required for the world to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement, so finance and capital markets will play a critical role in addressing the challenges presented by climate change.”

“Our pioneering Green Borrowing Programme was an opportunity to provide a link between our debt investors and our low carbon generation assets, and shine a light on our wider sustainability strategy. I look forward to contributing to the discussions about the development of the important green finance market in New Zealand at the conference” she said.

Kaapua Smith, Head of Sustainability, said her address would focus on the need for businesses to set targets that align with global goals.

”There are a lot of businesses taking steps to reduce their emissions but how do we know that what we’re doing is enough? How do we align ourselves as individual businesses to our collective goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees? These are big questions and providing a space for businesses to learn from each other and to share ideas is important in ensuring we’re working together towards transitioning New Zealand to a low-carbon future.”

Contact Energy will have a stall at the conference where it will showcase its low-carbon energy solutions available for businesses, and share stories of its own sustainability journey.