Carbon, how can this be measured, verified and reduced by 2050 by Dr Lee Bint, Director Sustainability, New Zealand Defence Force, and Rachael Wood, Sustainability Advisor, GHD; Climate-related disclosures, scenario analysis, and the TCFD framework – what it means for asset management.

This is a hybrid event, with the in person event being held at Welling ton Railway Station Level 1, and it will be available as a webinar to those wishing to join in online.

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Agenda:

• 4.00pm: Arrival and registration (for those attending in person)
• 4.10pm: Event opening by AMCouncil NZ Chapter
• 4.25pm: Carbon, how can this be measured, verified and reduced by 2050 by Dr Lee Bint, Director Sustainability, New Zealand Defence Force, and Rachel Wood, Sustainability Advisor, GHD
• 5.10pm:  Climate-related disclosures, scenario analysis, and the TCFD framework – what it means for asset management

About the presentations and speakers:

Presentation 1: Carbon, how can this be measured, verified and reduced (by 2050)

The Defence Estate and Infrastructure sustainability journey began in 2018, and by 2019 its Sustainability Framework was in play with the vision of Tuku Iho. Tuku Iho in this instance is explained as “our living legacy”. This reflects the ambition to leave the estate and the wider environment in a better condition for future generations. There are four pillars that provide the structure for the framework, which highlight the complexities and interrelationships across all areas of sustainability. Tuku Iho includes a key action to mitigate the impacts to / from climate change, while being more comprehensively sustainable.

Additionally, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is a participant of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP), which has been set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector. The CNGP requires the measurement and verification of emissions annually, and a number of key emissions reduction activities to achieve carbon neutrality.

Lee and Rachel will provide insight into the NZDF’s progress to-date, and discuss how the Defence Estate is mitigating and adapting to climate change, including how sustainability is being embedded into building designs to reduce emissions in both construction and operation, as well as to keep people and assets safe from climate hazards that are likely to occur in the area.

Dr Lee Bint, Director Sustainability, New Zealand Defence Force

Lee has been leading the Defence sustainability journey since 2018, establishing and implementing their first sustainability framework and leading a team of technical experts across energy, sustainable buildings, resilience and sustainability. During this time, she has also co-founded the all-of-government sustainability group, supported numerous other government agencies in commencing on their sustainability pathway, held the position as Vice Chair of the Carbon & Energy Professionals Board and welcomed her daughter into the world.

Prior to Defence, Lee worked as a Sustainable Building Scientist at BRANZ while also completing the Sustainable Business Council Future Leaders’ Programme and being elected the Future Leader’s Representative on the Sustainable Business Council Board, and also working with UnionAID as the hosts of the Myanmar Young Leaders Programme.

Lee completed her PhD in Building Science at Victoria University of Wellington, which included the development of a Water Efficiency Rating Tool that was awarded runner-up at the Grow Wellington Bright Ideas Challenge in 2011.

Rachel Wood, Sustainability Advisor, GHD

Rachel is an Environmental Economist with a master’s degree in Economics from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) majoring in Ecological Footprint Accounting. As a student, she discovered a passion for resource management, climate change research, environmental economics (impact analysis), and social development. She is interested in improving the sustainability of social and economic activity through innovative solutions and effective strategies. During her time at GHD, she has become more engaged with greenhouse gas accounting for carbon emissions auditing and Climate Change Risk Assessments.

Presentation 2: Climate-related disclosures, scenario analysis, and the TCFD framework – what it means for asset management in practice

What can – and should – asset managers do now in the face of increasing climate change impacts, evolving climate policies, and potentially insufficient financial and human resources to address it? The Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework offers an answer – about how to manage climate change strategy, targets, action planning, risk management and financial decisions.

TCFD reporting – also called climate-related disclosures or climate statements in New Zealand – is now mandatory for most of the country’s financial system and listed companies. It is strongly incentivised for the public sector, too, which reports to the Ministry for the Environment and Climate Change Commission under the Zero Carbon Act.

Applied to asset management, TCFD reporting can consolidate information on where you want to get to, what you need to do, and the good work you’re already doing – but perhaps not thinking of it as climate-related. In the guise of a reporting framework, TCFD reporting is a strategic planning exercise, which asset managers can use to test the resilience of their current strategies. Like testing a plane in a wind tunnel, the TCFD framework uses climate scenario analysis to consider different plausible futures, such as rapid decarbonisation or ‘hot house’ warming scenarios.

With insurers and banks among those required to report, and international adoption of TCFD reporting in the UK, TCFD is where all entities’ climate change reporting is going. And it can be immensely helpful to asset managers seeking to organise their approach to climate change.

Matt Raeburn, Principal – Strategic Advisory (Climate Change and Sustainability), WSP

Matt is a Principal climate strategist based in WSP’s Wellington office with 18 years of experience in Aotearoa New Zealand and the US. An American-Kiwi who spent a decade in environmental law and policy in Washington DC and Portland, Oregon, Matt worked in the Ministry for the Environment’s Climate Directorate from 2018-2021. There, he implemented parallel TCFD reporting regimes under the Zero Carbon Act and Financial Sector Amendment Act.

Over 7 years in New Zealand, Matt has worked with corporate, council and Central Government asset managers on their climate risks, strategies, and reporting projects as a consultant for EY, Beca, and now WSP. He recently developed climate scenarios for NZ’s construction and property sector and previously led delivery of the Wellington Regional Climate Change Impact Assessment.

Adele Jones, Principal – Strategic Advisory (Asset Management), WSP

Adele is a Principal in our Strategic Advisory team with 20+ years of experience, leading and delivering a diverse range of strategic advisory, asset management, network management and procurement projects, both nationally and internationally. Adele has worked across a wide variety of horizontal and vertical infrastructure portfolios, including transport, 3-waters, property and buildings, recreation and aviation.

Adele’s technical skills span wide range of asset management practices at strategic, tactical and operational levels, with a strong focus on aligning with the International Standard for asset management, ISO 55001. She has experience in asset management policy, asset management system development, strategic asset management planning, investment decision making approaches, business case development, asset management planning, risk management and asset data and information management practices.