27 February 2025
Maddison Winsor
[FYI request #29985 email]
Tēnā koe Maddison
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00078514
Thank you for your email on 6 February 2025, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request comprehensive information
regarding the sustainability initiatives and environmental data for the following hospitals:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
- Middlemore Hospital
- Wellington Regional Hospital
- Christchurch Hospital
Specifically, I am seeking detailed information on the following aspects for each hospital:
1. Sustainability Goals and Initiatives:
- What specific sustainability goals has each hospital established, particularly concerning
carbon emission reductions, waste minimisation, and energy efficiency?
- Are there defined timelines and measurable targets associated with these goals?
- Could you provide documentation or reports outlining the strategies and action plans
developed to achieve these objectives?
2. Energy Consumption:
- What is the total annual energy consumption (in kilowatt-hours) for each hospital for the
past three fiscal years?
- Please provide a detailed breakdown of energy sources utilized, including electricity,
natural gas, coal, or any other sources.
- Have energy audits been conducted? If so, could you share the findings and any
subsequent measures implemented to enhance energy efficiency?
3. Vehicle Fleet Details:
- How many vehicles are currently operated by each hospital, categorized by type (e.g.,
ambulances, administrative vehicles, maintenance vehicles)?
- Of these, how many are electric or hybrid vehicles? Are there strategic plans or timelines
to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in the fleet?
- What has been the total annual expenditure on fuel for the vehicle fleet over the past three
fiscal years? Please provide a breakdown by fuel type (e.g., petrol, diesel, electricity).
- Are there initiatives in place to monitor and reduce vehicle idling times to conserve fuel
and reduce emissions?
4. Staff Transportation Policies:
- What policies or programs are in place to encourage or incentivize staff to use public
transport, carpooling, or other sustainable transportation methods, especially during after-
hours shifts?
- Are there partnerships with local public transport providers to offer discounted fares or
shuttle services for hospital staff?
- Has the hospital conducted any surveys or studies to assess staff commuting patterns
and the effectiveness of these initiatives? If so, please provide the findings.
5.Renewable Energy Installations:
- Do any of the hospitals have on-site renewable energy installations, such as solar panels
or wind turbines?
- If so, please provide details on the capacity of these installations, the amount of energy
generated annually, and the percentage of the hospital's total energy consumption that is
met through these renewable sources.
- Are there future plans to expand the use of renewable energy within hospital operations?
6. Medical Waste Management:
- What is the total amount of medical waste generated annually by each hospital over the
past three fiscal years? Please provide a breakdown by waste type (e.g., hazardous, non-
hazardous, recyclable).
- What protocols are in place for the segregation, handling, and disposal of medical waste?
- Are there initiatives aimed at reducing the volume of medical waste, such as recycling
programs or the adoption of reusable medical supplies?
7. Electronic Systems Usage:
- What electronic systems or software platforms are utilized to monitor and manage
environmental performance, energy consumption, and waste management?
- How do these systems contribute to achieving the hospital's sustainability objectives?
- Are there metrics or key performance indicators tracked through these systems? If so,
please provide recent data or reports generated by these systems.
I am primarily interested in the information for the five hospitals listed above. If retrieving
information for all five hospitals exceeds the scope under Section 18(f) of the OIA (on the
grounds that the information cannot be made available without substantial collation or
research), please limit the request to:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
- Middlemore Hospital
If that scope is stil considered too large under Section 18(f), further limit the request to:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
Finally, if it is stil too large, please limit the request only to Auckland City Hospital
I appreciate your attention to this request and look forward to your response.”
Response
For the sake of clarity, I wil address each section of your request in turn.
Part One: Sustainability Goals and Initiatives
What specific sustainability goals has each hospital established, particularly concerning
carbon emission reductions, waste minimisation, and energy efficiency?
As part of the formation of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, a national programme for
sustainability was established to provide a coordinated, impactful and efficient approach to
environmental sustainability and climate change. Work is underway to deliver this programme of
work related to climate resilience, emissions reduction, waste minimisation and energy efficiency.
The programme is implemented regionally and at hospital sites, including the ones related to your
request.
Health NZ has sustainability goals, which were adopted as part of Te Pae Tata – Interim New
Zealand Health Plan 2022 and the Statement of Intent 2024-2028. These plans are publicly
available on the Health NZ website:
https:/ www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/te-pae-tata-interim-new-zealand-health-plan-
2022 and https:/ www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/statement-of-intent-2024-2028
In addition, several sustainability measures are reported in our Annual Reporting. These measures
relate to our transition to a low-emissions health service and are also part of our compliance with
the government’s Carbon Neutral Government Programme. These are the links to the two annual
reports reflecting Health NZ two first years of operation:
FY22/23 Health NZ Annual Report -
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/te-whatu-
ora-hnz-annual-report-2022-2023
FY23/24 Health NZ Annual Report -
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/health-
new-zealand-te-whatu-ora-annual-report-purongo-a-tau-2023-2024
Are there defined timelines and measurable targets associated with these goals?
Health NZ has set an emissions reduction target; a 25% reduction of category one and two
emissions between our FY22/23 baseline and the end of FY24/25. Between FY22/23 and FY23/24
Health NZ has reduced category one and two emissions by 24%, which provides a solid foundation
to achieve the 25% target by the end of FY24/25.
These are the links to the two annual emissions reports reflecting Health NZ two first years of
operation:
FY22/23 Greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory -
https:/ www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/greenhouse-gas-inventory-report-2022-23
FY23/24 GHG Emissions Inventory -
https:/ www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/greenhouse-gas-emissions-inventory-report-
fy202324
Health NZ wil prepare and publish a summary of the progress towards sustainability goals and
targets within Te Pae Tata Interim New Zealand Health Plan 2022.
Could you provide documentation or reports outlining the strategies and action plans
developed to achieve these objectives?
Health NZ is currently developing its emissions reduction planning approach to provide a strategic
plan to set ing and achieving emissions reduction targets. This is a requirement of the Carbon
Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) that applies to Health NZ as wel as other state sector
agencies.
In the past two years, the focus has been on implementing key programmes of work that are
creating impact; reducing our costs, replacing aging assets, improving resilience and reducing
emissions. Health NZ is implementing a fully funded $12m programme by Energy Ef iciency &
Conservation Authority (EECA) to replace or convert all coal boilers owned by Health NZ. These
projects have predominantly been on sites in Te Waipounamu. Further key programmes of work
are referenced in the response below.
Part Two: Energy Consumption
What is the total annual energy consumption (in kilowatt-hours) for each hospital for the
past three fiscal years?
Please provide a detailed breakdown of energy sources utilized, including electricity,
natural gas, coal, or any other sources.
The total energy consumption for each of your requested hospitals is provided in the table below.
The table lists the energy sources for the five sites over the last three financial years.
Table One: Energy consumption by hospital by financial year
Hospital Name
Total Net
Total Net Gas
Total Net
Total Net Coal Total Net LPG
Total Net
Electricity
consumption
Biomass
consumption
consumption
Stationary
consumption
(GJ)
consumption
(GJ)
(kg)
Diesel
(kWh)
(GJ)
consumption
(L)
FY21/22
Auckland City Hospital
45,002,982
87,105
39,717
Christchurch Hospital
27,220,419
201,066
3,457
119,707
Middlemore Hospital
25,125,322
82,389
4,611
North Shore Hospital
16,647,062
59,929
40,016
Wellington Hospital
22,933,372
95,281
437,062
FY22/23
Auckland City Hospital
45,200,276
128,594
Christchurch Hospital
31,930,210
156,704
Middlemore Hospital
25,946,406
89,403
130
North Shore Hospital
18,360,611
87,663
49,207
Wellington Hospital
22,267,837
95,728
FY23/24
Auckland City Hospital
44,329,280
133,351
3,872
Christchurch Hospital
31,222,229
181,703
22,383
20,759
140,998
Middlemore Hospital
27,128,066
95,451
17,863
North Shore Hospital
16,199,047
57,614
2,115
39,585
Wellington Hospital
21,954,269
100,967
71,773
Please note that all data included in this response is provisional data. This is data which has not undergone the validation process that we use for
published data. We recommend that caveats are consistently used, underscoring that the data is provisional, not validated through a formal validation
process, and could be subject to change.
Table notes: Please also note the unit of each energy source (blank cells denote that the energy source is not used or not measured at the site).
Have energy audits been conducted? If so, could you share the findings and any
subsequent measures implemented to enhance energy efficiency?
Through partnerships with organisations like the Energy Ef iciency & Conservation Authority
(EECA) various energy audits and related studies have been undertaken (please see table two
below).
Table Two: Energy audits and assessments by site and financial year
District
Site
FY
Description
Te Toka Tumai |
Auckland City
FY22/23
Energy Transition Accelerator
Auckland
Hospital
Decarbonisation pathway
Waitaha |
Christchurch
FY23/24
Building management software
Canterbury
Hospital
Capital & Coast,
Wellington &
FY23/24
Feasibility study for Energy Transition
Hutt Val ey and
Kenepuru sites
Programme
W
airarapa
Wellington &
FY23/24
6 feasibility studies for Energy
Kenepuru sites
Transition Programme
C
ounties Manukau
Middlemore
FY22/23
Lighting Audit
Hospital
Middlemore
FY22/23
Gas usage reduction - 2 * Feasibility
Hospital
studies
Middlemore
FY23/24
Gas usage reduction of steam system
Hospital
Middlemore
FY23/24 Electrical Infrastructure study - Capacity
Hospital
assessment
W
aitematā
North Shore
FY22/23
Metering project
Hospital
North Shore &
FY22/23
Energy Transition Accelerator
Waitakere
Decarbonisation pathway
Hospitals
North Shore
FY23/24
Ground source heat pump using lake
Hospital
water
North Shore
FY23/24
Natural Gas switching in Kitchen
Hospital
Many of the outcomes of the audits have been enacted through Health NZ and EECA establishing
and co-funding a national energy efficiency programme called the Energy Transition Programme.
As part of this programme over 50 projects have been assessed and approved including energy
transition from fossil fuel to electricity, heat, cooling and electricity efficiency (e.g. boiler, LED and
chil er replacements) and some small solar PV projects to displace diesel electricity generation.
These 50+ projects are set to reduce annual costs by at least $2.5m and emissions by 11,000
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) through energy transition and efficiency and up to a
further 5,000tCO2e through the removal and replacement of high global warming potential (GWP)
refrigerants.
This includes a heat pump project at Wellington Regional Hospital, three projects at Christchurch
Hospital (a chil er replacement and two LED lighting upgrade projects), Middlemore Hospital an
LED lighting upgrade and cooling project, and an energy transition (heat pump) and LED lighting
project at North Shore Hospital.
Part Three: Vehicle Fleet Details
How many vehicles are currently operated by each hospital, categorized by type (e.g.,
ambulances, administrative vehicles, maintenance vehicles)?
Of these, how many are electric or hybrid vehicles? Are there strategic plans or timelines to
increase the proportion of electric vehicles in the fleet?
Health NZ does not have a breakdown of vehicles by types as they are often used for multiple
purposes, or by hospital site, as many vehicles routinely operate between and from multiple sites.
Therefore, this section of your request is refused under section 18(g) of the Act as the information
you have requested is not held by Health NZ and we have no grounds to believe that the
information is held by another entity subject to the Act.
However, we have been able to provide the total number of vehicles for the districts for the hospital
sites you have requested, including the number of hybrid or electric vehicles.
Table Three: Vehicle type by District
District
Total
Hybrids (including Plug in Battery Electric
number of
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Vehicles (BEVs)
vehicles
(PHEV))
Te Toka Tumai | Auckland
340
43
1
Waitematā
439
3
83
Counties Manukau
409
0
170
Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley
532
299
40
and W
airarapa
Waitaha | Canterbury
345
2
58
Regarding the strategic plans and timelines, currently, ~17% of Health NZ’s fleet comprises Battery
Electric Vehicles (BEVs). This has been supported through EECA funding for fleet
audit/optimisation studies and site charging infrastructure assessments. Health NZ’s current
approach is to:
• Replace Internal Combustion Engine vehicles (ICE) with lower emissions vehicles
• Where ICE vehicle replacements are necessary it is likely the solution wil be Hybrid (on
capital budget availability grounds), noting that a circa 40% reduction in operational
emissions is inherent with this option.
• As costs continue to reduce for BEVs and when they are the same or lower whole of cost
(including BEV charging infrastructure), a BEV wil be selected unless there is an overriding
operational requirement not to do so, such as the availability of BEVs in the required size,
complex terrain and range demands, resilience issues, or access to reliable charging
infrastructure.
A fleet optimisation plan is under development to improve the tracking, management, and
utilisation of the fleet.
What has been the total annual expenditure on fuel for the vehicle fleet over the past three
fiscal years? Please provide a breakdown by fuel type (e.g., petrol, diesel, electricity).
Health NZ does not hold consolidated expenditure information for fuel type. In order to provide you
with the information requested, a substantial amount of manual research and collation would be
required by staf across Health NZ’s multiple districts and corporate functions. As such, this section
of your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
I have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending the
timeframe for response would enable Health NZ to respond. I do not consider that either option
would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other operations.
However, we can provide consolidated data for the volume of fuels used for the districts for the
relevant hospitals for FY22/23 and FY23/24. Please note that we do not have current consolidated
electricity consumption data for our fleet vehicles, as this is primarily captured through the site wide
electricity usage.
Table Four: Fuel usage by District and financial year
District and fuel type
Litres purchased in
Litres purchased in
FY22/23
FY23/24
Capital & Coast, Hutt
197,262
213,895
V alley and Wairarapa
Diesel - litre
44,571
48,331
Petrol - litre
102,111
107,873
Premium Petrol - litre
50,579
57,691
Counties Manukau
315,332
243,584
Diesel - litre
29,655
23,055
Petrol - litre
281,345
216,076
Premium Petrol - litre
4,333
4,453
Te Toka Tumai |
205,118
204,170
Auckland
Diesel - litre
13,484
15,309
Petrol - litre
188,675
187,373
Premium Petrol - litre
2,959
1,488
Waitaha | Canterbury
351,259
330,809
Diesel - litre
137,317
135,965
Petrol - litre
210,788
192,056
Premium Petrol - litre
3,154
2,788
Waitematā
253,367
235,135
Diesel - litre
29,202
29,113
Petrol - litre
211,466
197,473
Premium Petrol - litre
12,698
8,549
Grand Total
1,322,338
1,227,593
Are there initiatives in place to monitor and reduce vehicle idling times to conserve fuel and
reduce emissions?
There are no nationally driven initiatives in place.
Part Four: Staff Transportation Policies
What policies or programs are in place to encourage or incentivize staff to use public
transport, carpooling, or other sustainable transportation methods, especially during after-
hours shifts?
The table below outlines the most relevant policies for the districts related to your request. Please
note that travel planning is often undertaken at a multi-site level due to the integrated nature of how
we deliver care. The links and attachments provided contain more detailed information which may
be of interest to you.
Table Five: Travel Policies and Programmes by District
District
Policies and Programmes
Capital & Coast, Hutt
1. Wellington Regional Hospital Travel Action Plan (TAP)
Valley and Wairarapa
(https://www.huttvalleydhb.org.nz/media-and-latest-news/latest-
news/2021-11-04-transport-and-parking-at-wellington-regional-
hospital/wrh-travel-action-plan-2021-final-for-sharing.pdf)
2. Travel Ready carpooling App. - Enables staf to find and organise
carpools with colleagues travelling to the WRH campus. The App was
launched in November 2024 as part of implementing the TAP.
3. Carpooling Guaranteed ride home policy. Supporting the Travel
Ready app, this policy provides staff with a measure of confidence
that they wil be able to travel home if their previously organised
carpool arrangement fails.
Waitemata
1. Promotion of public and active transport through travel brochures
Te Toka Tumai |
that details patient and staff shuttle services, active transport options,
Auckland
parking options, and bus and train schedule information.
Counties Manukau
2. Travel plans prepared for Counties Manukau (2021), Auckland
(2022) and Waitemata (2017)
Waitaha | Canterbury
1. Travel and transport advice for staff on intranet and promotional
brochures. Shuttle service from Deans Ave car park. Healthy
Commuter and bicycle user groups.
Are there partnerships with local public transport providers to offer discounted fares or
shuttle services for hospital staff?
Due to the complex nature of staff travel needs (timings, safety, reliability) and to best support our
staff we have long standing partnerships.
Table Six: Travel Partnerships by District
District
Existing Transport/Travel
Notes
Partnerships
Capital & Coast, Partnership with Greater
GWRC provides consultancy support to
Hutt Val ey and
Wellington Regional Council
run travel surveys, travel planning.
Wairarapa
(GWRC)
Metlink funded and provided a set number
Partnership with Metlink
of preloaded public transport cards for
staff who switch to public transport.
GWRC and Metlink fund an express bus
service between Wellington railway station
and Wellington Hospital.
Waitemata
Partnership with Auckland
AT Provides ATHOP public transport card
Transport (AT)
free to use for two weeks under the ‘Give it
Counties
a Go’ initiative.
Manukau
Te Toka Tumai |
Auckland
Waitaha |
Partnership with Environment
Periodic travel to work promotional events
Canterbury
Canterbury and Christchurch
with preloaded Metrocards and
City Council
personalised journey planning.
Has the hospital conducted any surveys or studies to assess staff commuting patterns and
the effectiveness of these initiatives? If so, please provide the findings.
Staff Travel surveys were completed for the following districts related to the sites requested.
Table Seven: Travel Surveys by District
District
Year of last travel
Link (if available)
survey
Capital & Coast, Hutt 2024
Provided as
Appendix One.
Valley and Wairarapa
Waitemata
2017
No records of an official report are on file.
Te Toka Tumai |
2022
Therefore, this part of your request is refused
Auckland
under section 18(g) of the Act as the
Counties Manukau
2021
information you have requested is not held by
Health NZ and we have no grounds to believe
that the information is held by another entity
subject to the Act.
Waitaha | Canterbury 2023
https://www.cph.co.nz/wp-
content/uploads/hiapannualreport2023.pdf
Part Five: Renewable Energy Installations
Do any of the hospitals have on-site renewable energy installations, such as solar panels or
wind turbines?
If so, please provide details on the capacity of these installations, the amount of energy
generated annually, and the percentage of the hospital's total energy consumption that is
met through these renewable sources.
Are there future plans to expand the use of renewable energy within hospital operations?
To date none of the listed hospitals have been utilised for onsite renewable energy generation
such as solar PV or wind turbines. The Christchurch Hospital energy centre has two 7.5MW
capacity biomass boilers. In FY23/24 over 50% of the measured energy usage of the site was
provided by these biomass boilers.
Renewable energy has been utilised where it can have the greatest impact across the whole of the
Health NZ estate. This has led to coal boilers at Taupō Hospital being replaced with geothermal
heat systems. Through the co-funded Energy Transition Programme Health NZ has approved two
small solar PV projects to displace diesel electricity generation for health centres on Rēkohu |
Wharekauri | Chatham Island and Rakiura | Stewart Island. Te Huhi Raupō renal unit at Taranaki
Base Hospital includes a solar PV system and is targeting Net Zero Energy Certification and Zero
Carbon Certification through the Living Building Challenge.
Part Six: Medical Waste Management
What is the total amount of medical waste generated annually by each hospital over the
past three fiscal years? Please provide a breakdown by waste type (e.g., hazardous, non-
hazardous, recyclable).
Please see below table eight which details the waste data for the sites requested. Please note that
data has been presented in the format in which we hold this information, which differs in terms of
waste categories than you have requested. We are currently in a multi-year review to improve
waste and recycling data coverage and quality nationally.
Table Eight: Waste breakdown by District and financial year
District
General waste
Clinical /
Cytotoxic Waste Recycling (kg)
(kg)
Medical Waste
(kg)
(kg)
FY22/23
Te Toka Tumai |
2,142,417
1,931,603
25,783
692,160
Auckland
Waitaha |
1,184,354
778,711
13,344
638,723
Canterbury
Counties Manukau
1,797,922
81,624
6,001
122,425
Waitemata
1,785,146
440,715
5,345
169,767
Capital & Coast,
1,176,485
417,647
14,134
559,324
Hutt Val ey and
Wairarapa
FY23/24
Te Toka Tumai |
2,257,547
1,712,474
25,303
611,010
Auckland
Waitaha |
1,431,442
782,630
12,838
822,908
Canterbury
Counties Manukau
1,994,624
132,025
12,446
130,826
Waitemata
1,441,206
405,827
10,701
189,662
Capital & Coast,
1,074,197
788,700
13,236
486,056
Hutt Val ey and
Wairarapa
What protocols are in place for the segregation, handling, and disposal of medical waste?
Medical waste is managed following the New Zealand Standard NZS 4304:2002 Management of
Healthcare Waste. The standard outlines the processes for the segregation, handling and disposal
of medical waste and applies to all sites.
Are there initiatives aimed at reducing the volume of medical waste, such as recycling
programs or the adoption of reusable medical supplies?
Health NZ hospitals have several of initiatives throughout the country supporting medical waste
reduction. The table below outlines programmes that are currently run in the hospitals related to
your request.
Table Nine: Recycling Initiatives
Programme / Initiative
Description
Baxter PVC Recycling
An initiative for the recycling of fluid bags and oxygen mask
tubing into playground materials
Medsalv
An initiative for the reprocessing of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
compression sleeves for reuse
BD Plastic Syringes
An initiative for the recycling plastic syringes into fence posts
Recycling
Johnson & Johnson
An initiative for the recycling of metal components from single-
Ethicon
use laparoscopic surgical instruments
Part Seven: Electronic Systems Usage
What electronic systems or software platforms are utilized to monitor and manage
environmental performance, energy consumption, and waste management?
Health NZ has a centralised emissions reporting platform licensed from a third party, ‘Accelerate to
Zero (A2Z)’, that collates data sources from internal teams and suppliers in order to measure and
report on the organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
At a site-specific level each of your requested reference sites have energy/building management
systems to control and regulate internal building environments.
How do these systems contribute to achieving the hospital's sustainability objectives?
The emissions data and reporting tool enables Health NZ to measure and report against its
emissions reduction targets and inform priority areas for emission reduction intervention.
Are there metrics or key performance indicators tracked through these systems? If so,
please provide recent data or reports generated by these systems.
Health NZ has an emissions reduction target contained in the Statement of Intent 2024-2028. A
25% reduction in Category 1 and 2 emissions by the end of FY24/25 against the FY22/23 baseline
emissions. Annual GHG Emissions Inventory reports and quarterly progress reports are published
on the Health NZ website. The most recent inventory for FY23/24 showed a reduction in Category
1 and 2 emissions of around 24% and total measured emissions reduced by around 14% since
FY22/23.
Links to our Statement of Intent, as well as our GHG Emissions Inventories for FY22/23 and
FY23/24 have been provided as part of our response to part one of your request.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Rick Lomax
Head of Sustainability
Planning, Funding and Outcomes
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
