Consider, for a second, that you’re not from here. You don’t know much about the faraway country that birthed Lorde, but every time it is mentioned in mainstream and social media, it’s paired with sweeping shots of dense, green bush, beaches you could only dream of, rolling hills and scenes that inspire you to rewatch Lord of the Rings. New Zealand looks clean and green.
But just like how that toilet cleaner made its way into your shopping trolley because it had green packaging, the world sees the colour green and innocently connects the dots; they think of New Zealand as a sustainable haven.
But is it really? Considering several of the top factors that contribute to a country’s environmental impact, let’s find out.
We’re working on waste
In 2021, the average New Zealander sent 700kg of waste to landfill. Embarrassingly, this is one of the highest in the OECD. The Government is changing things to control this ever-growing figure, like progressively increasing landfill levy rates and using that money to invest in waste reduction projects, but it’s going to be a long, hard slog to go from the back of the pack to where the rest of the world thinks we are; the front.
When it comes to legislation that reduces waste, such as laws that require manufacturers to provide replacement parts and consider repair potential in the production of their products, we’re also falling behind. Aotearoa New Zealand has only just started the first phase of processing the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment bill, a sure sign we are followers, not leaders. France implemented its right-to-repair legislation back in January 2021.
And our CO2 emissions
Things look up slightly when we compare our carbon dioxide emissions per capita, per person. In 2022 this was 6.2 tonnes. Our neighbours in Australia were much higher CO2 emitters at 15 tonnes but the United Kingdom beat us at 5.2 tonnes per capita per person. Things might look “luscious, green and filled with light and happy animals”, like an international Instagram follower assumed, but our actions still contribute greatly to our global climate crisis.
Tourism is trying to improve
Looking on the bright side, something we do get right is our sustainable tourism sector. It’s easy for tourists to find eco-accredited accommodation and activities by looking for the Qualmark rating that indicates how sustainable an organisation is, or browsing through the boutique sustainable accommodation options, like Wild Forest Estate, that we have dotted all over the country.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa is leading the charge in a more official way with its New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment, which aims to see every tourism business committed to sustainability by 2025. Companies like RealNZ are well ahead of this commitment and are well known for their sustainability initiatives which makes it easy for tourists to have low-impact domestic travel as they explore all that we have to offer. Perhaps our impressive sustainable tourism efforts is one of the reasons why our country gets a green tick of approval when sometimes we do not deserve it.
Getting around poses challenges
We have some packaging-free stores, though they are rare and filled with internationally sourced products that travel thousands of kilometres to get to our plates. Our car per person rates are one of the highest in the world at nearly nine cars to every 10 people. Our heavy reliance on cars makes sense when you consider how far apart our towns are, the lack of rail options, low population density and geographic barriers which make a vast amount of our terrain challenging for building transportation infrastructure.
Yet short car trips under two kilometres are responsible for almost a third of all car travel in Aotearoa New Zealand. In most cases, these short car trips can be swapped for walking, biking or scootering. If only we were as good at leaving the car at home as we are at keeping our air pollution low. Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the world’s cleanest air quality rates of 4.3μg/m³. Compared to other countries of our size, Japan sits at 9.6μg/m³ and Ireland at 6.3μg/m³. That figure is impressive.
Seeing green and being green
I adore being a New Zealander. Whenever I travel overseas, I am incredibly proud to say I am from Aotearoa New Zealand. But our country is, perhaps unintentionally, greenwashing. I’m not known for my negativity, but I believe the first step towards positive change is acknowledging our weaknesses. Let’s not fool ourselves, and the rest of the world, by hiding our sins under our amazing natural landscapes. Instead, let’s use our unique connection with our environment to motivate us to protect it.
We’re expecting more than 5.1 million visitors to our country this year, an increase of 4.6 per cent a year. Tourists visit our country for all sorts of reasons, including our highly diverse terrain and outdoor activities, world-famous wineries and endemic wildlife. If travellers want to see green, they are welcome to visit Aotearoa New Zealand, but if they want to experience a thriving sustainability-minded society, they should check out the solar panel bus stations in the Netherlands and enjoy Sweden’s impressive waste systems.
My hope is that one day in Aotearoa New Zealand, you’ll find both.
