Fletcher Building commits to reduce carbon emissions by 30%

Fletcher Building commits to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent

Auckland, 18 December 2019: Fletcher Building is the first building materials and construction company in New Zealand or Australia to set a Science-Based Target for carbon reduction.

Fletcher Building has committed to reduce direct and indirect emissions by 30 percent by 2030 from its 2018 baseline year, which is in line with limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. The target was verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on 17 December 2019.

Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor says setting a science-based target is an important step in taking meaningful and significant action on climate change.

“We want to be the New Zealand and Australian leader in sustainable building materials, construction and distribution and this is an important step in that direction.

“Climate change is an urgent, global priority, and business has to do its part to achieve meaningful change. We are proud to be the first building materials and construction company in New Zealand and Australia to have set a target which has been accepted by the SBTi.

“Our carbon emissions come primarily from the manufacture of cement and the electricity we use in Australia. To meet our target we need more than simple reduction strategies, given the inherently carbon intensive nature of some of our operations. But where there is a will there’s a way, and we are not working from a standing start – in fact the cement we produce locally in New Zealand already contains 20 percent less embodied carbon than our offshore competitors. We’re now looking at cement alternatives to reduce carbon further.

“Fletcher Building’s target is for scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions which are the emissions it directly creates and those from the energy it uses. We have also committed to help our supply chain to reduce their carbon emissions. In doing this, we will have significant, meaningful impact across the building products sector in New Zealand and Australia,” says Mr Taylor.

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