Annual Planting Day – Our Commitment to being Carbon Neutral

What an incredible experience it was being out in our community last Friday for our annual planting day! Our team had an absolute blast getting their hands dirty, planting all those beautiful native plants and trees. Not only did we make a positive impact on the environment, but it also turned out to be an amazing team-bonding experience.

Here at Hawke’s Bay Homes, we are aiming to be one of the first New Zealand building businesses to be carbon neutral. We want to align ourselves with the government 2050 scheme of being carbon neutral. Instead of buying carbon credits, we want to be actively involved and plant native trees to offset our carbon emissions.

We have undergone a strict measuring process over the last year to find out exactly how many tons of carbon we use accounting for every aspect of our operations, including those of our subcontractors and suppliers. In addition to our efforts to minimise our carbon footprint, Hawke’s Bay Homes is deeply committed to environmental sustainability and waste reduction. Recognizing that construction waste makes up approximately 40% of landfills, in 2023 we actively took the steps to half the amount of our waste that ends up in landfills, which we achieved by implementing robust recycling and waste separation practices.

 We have partnered up with Hohepa Nursery, who already do amazing things throughout our community. Hōhepa nursery grows native plants from locally sourced seeds. The nursery team, alongside the people they support, nurture the seeds through to fully grown plants. Hōhepa works closely with local authorities, tangata whenua, Department of Conservation and other landowners throughout the region, to undertake environmental protection work.