How we’re performing

In December 2017, we became the first regional council in New Zealand to attain Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (“CEMARS”) certification – now called Toitū carbonreduce – for our carbon emissions management and reduction scheme in relation to our corporate activities.

Our latest results

Waikato Regional Council remains on track to meet an emission reduction target of 68 per cent from its 2016/17 base year by 2030.

In the sixth audit of its corporate emissons, excluding public transport emissions, the council has achieved a 44 per cent reduction against the base year, although the 2021/22 results show a slight increase of 0.5 per cent in emissions compared to 2020/21.

In previous years, there had been significant reductions in air travel and fuel consumption due to the council's response to COVID-19.

The results from 2021/22 also include an unprecedented run of wet weather events, meaning its flood pumps worked overtime, contributing to increased use of electricity, petrol and diesel.

Our council’s performance was comprehensively and independently assessed in March 2017 as part of the CouncilMARK™ local government excellence programme, resulting in an A rating.

Developed by Local Government New Zealand, CouncilMARK™ gives communities a clear picture of how their councils are performing, including where they are excelling and areas for improvement.

Participating councils are assessed across the areas of leadership, financial decision making, service delivery and community engagement every three years, and given a standard from AAA to C.

Find out more about the CouncilMARKTM programme.