BayTrust Climate Change Action Plan 2020-2025

BayTrust accepts that climate change poses a serious and immediate risk to our community and requires urgent action. We believe that we all have a role to play in helping to mitigate the most severe impacts and that we all will have to do things differently.  As a philanthropic, BayTrust has significant flexibility to help our BOP communities understand and mitigate their climate change impacts, as well as grasp opportunities through our internal actions, our investments and our community support.

BayTrust is committed to becoming a climate responsible (Tiakina te ao turoa) organisation.  We will actively target a 5% annual reduction in our emissions*, together with ensuring that by 2050 at the latest any residual emissions will be offset via local BOP opportunities that create co-benefits in the BOP (e.g. environmental, economic, social and cultural).  Furthermore, we will continue to be a BOP active enabler and support grantees CC/sustainability journeys.

*Emissions mean:

• all internal emissions
• its share of its investment emissions
• its share of its grantee emissions‍

Climate Positive Business Operations Certification

BayTrust is proud to be certified Climate Positive Business Operations with Ekos. We have measured and offset 120% of our carbon footprint for our Trust operations for 2023 financial year with certified carbon credits. This footprint excludes our investments. These certified carbon credits are sourced from projects that grow and protect forests in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and help to deliver climate resilience, waterways protection, erosion control, biodiversity conservation and community economic development.

Link to Baytrust Climate Positive Certification

*If you would like to find out more information on what we are doing or are a BOP group looking for assistance in this space please contact lisa@baytrust.org.nz

In 2019, the Trust Board approved the Climate Change Action Plan. To make sure our plan is fully implemented it contains measurable targets and is monitored quarterly and reported on annually.

Kaupapa of National Significance - Climate Action Fund

Climate Investment in Aotearoa

Climate investment in Aotearoa <-- Download here

BayTrust Carbon Management 2020-2021 below:

BayTrust Carbon Management 2020-2021

BayTrust Sustainable Investment Journey - Video presentation - Alastair Rhodes

Targets 2024-2030

1. Have a local BOP offsetting project in place by 2030 that will fully offset BayTrust’s scope 1,2 & 3 emissions by 2050 at the latest.
2. Target a ~5% annual reduction in the Trust’s internal emissions (Scope 1 & 2) from its March 23 Baseline of 21.21 tCO2e and offset any residual each year through the purchase of high-quality NZ credits until a local BOP offsetting project is in place to be climate positive
3. Account for BayTrust’s Scope 3 emissions:
   
   1. BayTrust will actively measure (where able) the carbon footprint of its investment portfolio and will use its best efforts to ensure the portfolio is carbon neutral as early as practical whilst not materially impacting the risk and return of the Trust’s overall investment portfolio. This will be achieved through:
      • continuing to focus on transitioning in a robust and evidence-backed way to lower carbon investments with a target ~5% annual reduction in its investment portfolio’s carbon footprint from its March 2023 baseline of ~7000 tCO2e; and
      • investing into a BOP-based opportunity(s) by 2030 or earlier that will enable the trust to offset the portfolio's expected residual emissions of ~ 3000 tCO2e by 2050 at the latest
   2. Offset the Trust’s pro-rated share of its grantee’s scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2050 at the latest whilst we continue to work with community organisations to lower their emissions with a target of emissions lowering by ~ 5% a year once we can more accurately measure this.
4. Ensure all our large granting partners and MYF are on the path to be carbon neutral by 2030