Objectives

Our 5-step pathway is supported by the Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand (RVA). It provides tailored tools and resources to retirement villages and aged care facilities to help lower emissions and unlock business benefits.

Eligibility

All owners, operators and facility managers in the aged care and retirement living sector can access this pathway for free.

Your decarbonisation journey starts here

There are two ways to access the decarbonisation pathway.

Sign up for a series of curated emails below. We highly recommend this method as you will:

  • Be alerted as soon as new resources are added
  • Receive invitations to events and webinars
  • Be the first to know about new co-funding opportunities

Or you can jump straight into things by visiting our Tools and Resources page to start your journey now.

Tools and resources

The climate impact of the aged care sector

New Zealand’s aged living sector is large and growing, with an estimated 90,000 residents in facilities catering specifically to the elderly. This is separated into three areas: rest home or aged care, retirement living (independent living), and a combination of both. Because there is so much variance within facilities, there is significant diversity in energy split and usage.

Carbon emissions across the aged care and retirement living sector contribute approximately 66,000 tCO2e each year. Energy use in the sector is made up of an estimated 34.5% fossil fuel and 65.5% electricity. Research recently undertaken by EECA found that almost all the fossil fuel used within the sector is natural gas or LPG.

This pathway focuses on carbon emissions coming from the everyday operations of rest homes and retirement living – primarily heating, cooling, and lighting. There are good opportunities to improve the energy performance of the sector with energy savings to be made in water heating and decreasing air-conditioning consumption, as well as the use of new technologies to improve heat recovery and transfer.

And remember, reducing emissions makes not only good environmental sense, but good business sense too.

Register

Want to receive tailored tools and resources straight to your inbox? Sign up to the Aged Care & Retirement Living Decarbonisation Pathway now.

Sign up

The business good of decarbonisation

Switching away from fossil fuels can have many benefits for business, beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Cost savings – reduce operating costs through energy efficiency and fuel switching.
  • Social license – improve your reputation with socially responsible consumers and investors.
  • Brand value – tap into new markets, spark innovation and create business opportunities.
  • Employee engagement – attract and retain talent.
  • Compliance – stay ahead of regulation for climate change mitigation.

Oceania says 'Hello' to clean and clever technology

Retirement and aged care living provider, Oceania, is upgrading to cleaner technologies in their facilities across New Zealand.

Oceania’s Head of Sustainability, Stephanie Spicer says the company is working hard to embed sustainability into its DNA – in both its new building program and in its existing facilities.

The sooner the switch, the greater the reward

The earlier businesses make changes, the faster potential cost-savings can be unlocked. By switching to low-emissions solutions soon, you can protect your business from potential fossil fuel supply and cost uncertainty. In addition, by acting quickly, your businesses may be able to get ahead of the pack for popular technologies – particularly if there is competition for limited resources.

Get started

Ready to begin? Explore our resources for Aged Care & Retirement Living and start your decarbonisation journey now.