Carbon Neutral Government Programme in New Zealand schools

These FAQs provide boards and schools with information about their role in the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP), what Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education (the Ministry) is doing on their behalf, and what schools need to do to assist.

If you have any other questions, contact CNGP.Schools@education.govt.nz 

Carbon Neutral Government Programme 

What is the Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP)?

The CNGP has been set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions across the public sector. It requires public sector organisations to measure and reduce carbon emissions. More information can be found on the Ministry for the Environment’s website(external link). 

What does it mean for boards and schools?

As the legal body governing a school, Boards are a part of the CNGP and originally were going to have to meet the requirements themselves. However, to reduce the burden on Boards the Ministry will be meeting the requirements on behalf of the state schooling sector. To do this schools will need to provide certain information to the Ministry and allow the Ministry to access some information on their behalf. 

Are state-integrated schools included in the CNGP?

State-integrated schools are not required to measure and report their carbon emissions under the CNGP. This is due to the different ownership of property and key infrastructure. State-integrated schools can still take active steps to reduce their carbon footprint. We will be providing information and guidance to state and state-integrated schools to support schools to reduce their climate impact. 

Carbon emissions data collection and reporting

What is the Ministry reporting on our behalf?

The Ministry is reporting on emissions associated with coal, gas and electricity use as well as emissions associated with Ministry contracted transport services. These emissions sources make up a significant proportion of overall emissions in the sector. 

Why is the Ministry not doing full emissions reporting on behalf of schools?

To reduce the burden on schools, we are currently focusing on the emissions sources that can be efficiently and effectively collected on behalf of schools (i.e. electricity) as well as those that have a significant carbon impact in schools. We will continue to investigate reporting on more emission sources in the future.

My school wants to do more, what can we do?

While schools are not required to measure and report their emissions as part of the CNGP, schools can still take active steps to reduce their carbon footprint. We will be providing information and guidance to support schools who want to reduce their climate impact. 

Will schools be able to access this information to use themselves? 

Yes, we are working on the best way to make this available to schools after the first reporting year finishes in mid-2023. 

What is the Ministry going to do with this information?

We will be using it to fulfil CNGP requirements including reporting on emissions, publishing emission reduction plans and taking action to reduce emissions across the portfolio. We will also use this information, along with other information we have, to assist with property planning processes to improve schools’ energy efficiency. This information does not change the current property planning or funding prioritisation processes and will not impact on your school’s current property projects.

Who is responsible for emissions reduction?

The Ministry and schools each have a part to play in reducing emissions in the schooling sector. The Ministry’s initial focus will be on reducing significant emissions through centrally-led programmes such as the Coil Boiler Replacement Programme. However, there are a range of emissions that schools can influence such as transport, waste, and energy consumption. We will be providing further guidance to schools to reduce emissions in these areas. 

Information we need from boards and schools

Overview 

How and what are you collecting information from schools?

We are collecting the information we need from schools through an energy stocktake. It is a survey that collects detailed information about the energy sources a school uses and who they get it from. This will allow the Ministry to collect this information directly from energy retailers. 

Why is the energy stocktake being sent to Boards and not schools directly?

The CNGP requirement is on Boards as the governing body at a school.  As the legal body governing a school, we need the Board to provide authorisation to access the data. However, the Board can direct the second part of the stocktake to school staff to complete.

Why do Boards need to provide authorisation to access this data? 

Boards are the energy customer not the Ministry, therefore we need Boards’ permission to access energy consumption information directly from retailers

Why does the stocktake request come from noreply@cortexo.education.govt.nz?

The stocktake request email is generated from a system built for us by a company called Cortexo. We will use this information to request schools’ energy use data on our behalf directly from retailers. Their systems meet our IT and Security requirements and all the information is stored securely. 

Completing the stocktake 

What information do we need? 

For electricity and piped gas, we need to know three things:

1. The name of the company you get it from 
2. Your customer/account number
3. The ICP number (this will be on your invoice, further detail is below) 

An ICP (Installation Control Point) Number is the unique identifier for a connection to the electricity grid or piped gas network. A school may have more than one ICP for either electricity or gas. 

For bottled gas we need to know:

• The name of the company you get it from
• Your customer/account number 

For all other energy sources, such as wood pellets, coal, and diesel, we just need to know:

• If your school uses it;
• And if so, the company you get it from

If you have solar panels, we need to know:

• Who installed the solar panels, we may use this to investigate accessing solar data in the future

Where do I find the right information? 

The information we need will be on an invoice. The customer/account number is usually on the first page near the top along with the name of the company you get it from. 

The ICP number will likely be near the customer/account number or where the breakdown of energy use is. It is 15 characters long, mostly numbers with a few letters towards the end (e.g. 0000121203TREF2).

Why do I need to upload a copy of a recent invoice? 

For electricity and gas we need a copy of a recent invoice so that we can confirm the details in case of any errors without having to go back to schools. Errors in the ICP or account number will mean that we cannot access the information. 

You can also upload invoices for other energy sources (e.g., diesel) if you want. We will use this to investigate how we could collect this information on schools’ behalf in the future. 

Can I start and then return to the stocktake to finish later? 

Yes, you can begin the stocktake and return later to finish it if you need to get more information. You will receive an automated email with a link to take you back to the stocktake. 

Why is the electricity information pre-filled?

If you have previously provided the Ministry with access to your electricity information, then we have put the necessary information in your energy stocktake response for you to re-confirm (e.g. provider name, account/customer number). 

Why are you asking about energy sources you are not reporting on?

The Ministry will be investigating what other emissions sources we can report on in future. To support this we need to know more about schools’ energy sources and who supplies them. 

If you have any other questions, contact CNGP.Schools@education.govt.nz