Pāmu on track to meet carbon reduction targets

Pāmu is the largest farming group in New Zealand, managing more than 100 farms that cover nearly 360,000ha.

State-owned farming company Pāmu has reached its goal of half of its farms meeting a carbon reduction target by June this year.

Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said the milestone meant Pāmu was on track to meet its ambitious goal of 100 per cent of its farms achieving Toitū carbonreduce certification by June next year.

“The process is supporting us to really understand where emissions are generated so we can focus on reduction.”

The Toitū website promotes the certification programme as measuring greenhouse gas emissions and puts in place strategies to manage and reduce impacts.

Compliance with the programme was independently verified annually to maintain certification.

Pāmu, the largest farming group in New Zealand, manages more than 100 farms, covering nearly 360,000ha, across sheep, beef, dairy, deer, forestry, and horticulture.

To achieve the certification, operational greenhouse gas emissions are calculated for each farm, and a plan to manage and reduce them is developed.

The certification, which meets international standards, requires detailed annual data and independent verification of measurement and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

“This demonstrates the good work farmers do each year on their emissions reduction journey, a consumer demand that is increasing,” Leslie said.

“It is also a key driver for meeting the conditions of the state-owned enterprise’s two sustainability-linked loans.”

In 2022, Pāmu farms contributed 0.71 million gross metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and sequestered about 0.3m metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.