9/04/2025
Phillip Fry
[FYI request #30282 email]
Tēnā koe Phillip
OIA: 1344755 - Environmental impact of math resources
Thank you for your email of 3 March 2025 to the Minister of Education, transferred to the Ministry
of Education (the Ministry) on 13 March 2025, for the following information:
1) The estimated carbon footprint associated with the production and distribution of structured
maths resources to schools in New Zealand, including plastic-based materials such as
Numicon.
2) The proportion of these materials that are manufactured overseas (e.g., in China) and the
environmental impact of their importation.
3) Any assessments conducted by the Ministry of Education on sustainable alternatives or the
potential for reduced packaging waste in future resource distribution.
4) Policies or initiatives in place to offset or mitigate the environmental impact of these
educational materials.
Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Regarding
parts one and two of your request, in procuring the structured maths resources it was
not a requirement for providers to disclose specific information in relation to the environmental
impact of the resources. The Request for Proposal asked, “what your environmentally sustainable
work practices include”. The providers outlined their environmentally sustainable work practices but
did not provide specific information regarding their estimated carbon footprint or information related
to the environmental impact of importing their resources, therefore the Ministry does not hold this
information.
I am therefore refusing these parts of your request under section 18(g) of the Act, as the
information requested is not held by the Ministry, and I have no grounds for believing that it is
either held by, or more closely related to the functions of, another department or organisation
subject to the Act.
8 Gilmer Terrace, Levels Ground floor, 1, 2, and 6-14, Wellington
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
The Ministry has recently published an information response that may interest you about the
proportion of mathematics textbooks being procured from overseas companies, we provide the link
below:
https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3fs-public/2025-
03/1341867%20Response.pdf?VersionId=qj.Ff8hCeni80IXMSeaD2hkvg.tw1ipO
In response to
part three of your request, the Ministry did not conduct any assessments on
sustainable alternatives or the potential for reduced packaging waste in future resource
distribution. As such I am refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the Act, as the
information requested does not exist.
Regarding
part four of your request, the procurement of resources is outside of the scope of the
Ministry’s sustainability team and as such there are no specific policies or initiatives in place that
consider the environmental impact of resources. Where resources are available in a digital format
or physical resources hold Forest Stewardship Council certification, we consider that the products
and the providers conform to environmentally sustainable practices, including but not limited to
sourcing sustainable materials such as paper from forests which wil be replanted once harvested.
However, as there is no specific policy or initiative in place I am refusing this part of the request
under section 18(e) of the Act as the information requested does not exist.
I provide the following links to some of our providers’ websites which includes their commitment to
sustainability:
Numicon/Oxford University Press:
•
https:/ corp.oup.com/purpose-and-values/
•
https:/ www.oxforddigital.co.nz/
PR1ME:
•
https:/ www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/sustainability/
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Giles Panting
Senior Manager, Foundational Progress and Achievement
Te Mahau | Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre
OIA: 1344755
