The Carbon Neutral Government Programme

Continued reduction in emissions

Pharmac continued to reduce its total emissions in 2024/25, reaching a 57% reduction in comparison to our base year. This was achieved despite a 14% growth in the number of staff. In addition, 2024/25 saw an increase in a number of emission factors due to unfavourable weather conditions which shifted New Zealand’s electricity generation from hydro power to fossil fuel.  

How we achieved reductions

Reductions were achieved across many areas compared to the previous reporting year including:

• A 90% reduction in Business Class travel
• A reduction of 43,000 km flown domestically
• A 15% decrease in Taxi use
• 50 fewer nights spend in New Zealand accommodation.

How we'll maintain our reduction target

With the increase in staff numbers came increases in office electricity usage, the number of working from home days, and the amount of commuting kilometres travelled. Since the largest source of carbon emissions (28%) comes from commuting by light vehicle, a focus for 2025/26 will be promoting public transport and cycling options to reduce these figures

About the programme

The Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) has been set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector. The Ministry for the Environment is one of three agencies managing the programme.

Carbon Neutral Government Programme | Ministry for the Environment(external link)

About Pharmac's report

Pharmac prepared our reports using the international standard, ISO 14064-1:2018(E) Part 1: Specification with Guidance at the Organization Level for Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals.