NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

SkyCity Entertainment Group goes carbon neutral, switches Sky Tower lights off for two months

Aimee Shaw
By Aimee Shaw
Business Reporter·NZ Herald·
13 Oct, 2019 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

So what do the colours mean on the Sky Tower? Video / Heart of the City

Casino and hospitality operator SkyCity Entertainment Group has been certified carbon neutral, and as part of its plans to be greener will temporarily switch off the lights of the Sky Tower.

The NZX-listed entertainment company has paid $86,000 to offset the equivalent of 12,866 tonnes of carbon from its Auckland, Hamilton and Queenstown businesses, and says it is committed to running a greener operation.

Its Adelaide business will be certified carbon neutral next year.

As part of its carbon neutral plans, the external lights of Auckland's Sky Tower, home to three SkyCity restaurants, a cafe and radio transmitters for the city, will be switched off for two months from today to replace existing lights with LED bulbs. The lights will be back on in time for Christmas.

SkyCity says switching the bulbs will reduce its energy consumption by 10 per cent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

READ MORE:
• SkyCity profit down 14 per cent, convention centre progress 'slow'
• SkyCity CFO hoping to sell Remuera house for record price
• SkyCity launches online gambling site, based in Malta
• SkyCity nets $220m from Auckland carpark mega sale

The Sky Tower is also being assessed by the New Zealand Green Building Council for a green star rating.

SkyCity says it has reduced its gas, fuel and electricity emissions by 13 per cent over the past year, with the target of reducing its emissions by 38 per cent by 2030.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Going neutral says we've done something now whilst we get on with the task of reducing emissions," SkyCity chief executive Graeme Stephens told the Herald.

"We don't have a massive carbon footprint as much as we're a big corporate. Even though our footprint is not huge and the difference we make independently may not be huge, if every corporate did their little bit then actually it does add up to quite a lot."

To offset its carbon footprint, SkyCity bought carbon credits through Enviro-Mark Solutions and will pay a $25 internal levy on every tonne of carbon it emits, which will go into its Green Fund.

Over the past year the company has started changing the way it operates to meet its emission reduction targets across the business, Stephens said.

Discover more

Business

SkyCity launches online gambling site, based in Malta

08 Aug 09:53 PM
Investment

SkyCity profit down 14 per cent, convention centre progress 'slow'

13 Aug 08:30 PM
Business

Major cannabis summit planned for SkyCity Convention Centre in 2020

12 Sep 06:05 AM
New Zealand

Reports of fire at SkyCity Convention Centre: Hundreds evacuated

07 Oct 09:47 PM

Changes it has introduced include swapping plastic straws for plant-based alternatives, upgrading its air conditioning units, offering beer and wine on tap in its restaurants, and finding ways to re-use or re-purpose leftover food.

The company says it has reduced the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 21 per cent, including 314 tonnes of food waste which has been commercially composted.

Stephens said the main focus for SkyCity for the next 12 months to find a solution to help it reduce the waste it sends to landfill, as this would make the biggest positive impact. It would also try to cut down on the number of flights its staff take, he said.

"We've been looking at technology which might be something we can adopt. Trying to get zero waste to landfill is one of the missions we're focused on."

Graeme Stephens, chief executive of SkyCity. Photo / Doug Sherring
Graeme Stephens, chief executive of SkyCity. Photo / Doug Sherring

In 2018, SkyCity became a signatory of the Climate Leaders Coalition, joining Air New Zealand, ANZ, DB Breweries, ANZCO Foods, Auckland Airport and Foodstuffs, among others, to agree to combat climate change.

Dr Chris Galloway, marketing and reputation expert at Massey University, said it was common for large companies to pay to offset their carbon emissions.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's part of companies of all kinds and sizes recognising that they need to increasingly demonstrate some kind of social responsibility. With the climate process around the world, people are taking it on board much more seriously than perhaps they did in years past, and SkyCity teams seem to want to ride this particular wave and be seen as part of that movement," Galloway told the Herald.

"SkyCity in the minds of some people is associated with gambling which is associated with negative effects, such as problem gambling. I imagine one of the things in senior management's mind at SkyCity might be that this is one way of establishing legitimacy in the minds of some of these people that have doubts."

Galloway said it was pleasing to see the company work to reduce its carbon footprint. "Demand from the general public for companies to do this will only become more insistent ... This is going to be something that people will expect of companies - to minimise their impact on the environment."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Business

'Significant cost': Cyber attacks cost Kiwis $1.6b last year

13 May 05:03 PM
Premium
Opinion

Liam Dann: After Orr – is it time for a Reserve Bank reset?

13 May 05:02 PM
Premium
Opinion

Beyond the Budget: Brutal truths

13 May 05:01 PM

“Not an invisible footprint”: Why technology supply chains need optimising

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

'Significant cost': Cyber attacks cost Kiwis $1.6b last year

'Significant cost': Cyber attacks cost Kiwis $1.6b last year

13 May 05:03 PM

More than half of Kiwis were targeted in the final six months of 2024.

Premium
Liam Dann: After Orr – is it time for a Reserve Bank reset?

Liam Dann: After Orr – is it time for a Reserve Bank reset?

13 May 05:02 PM
Premium
Beyond the Budget: Brutal truths

Beyond the Budget: Brutal truths

13 May 05:01 PM
Premium
The hunt for equity: Kiwi expats wanted

The hunt for equity: Kiwi expats wanted

13 May 05:01 PM
Deposit scheme reduces risk, boosts trust – General Finance
sponsored

Deposit scheme reduces risk, boosts trust – General Finance

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP