Environmental sustainability is at the very heart of our business. From the services we provide to the way that we operate: 3R is always focused on reducing our impact on the planet.
Our values of guardianship (environmental, social and financial) form the foundations for the way we work. We track and measure our commitment to sustainability with independent third parties through our Toitu carbonzeroTM and ISO certification.
3R is a member of the Climate Leaders Coalition and we publish our commitment to sustainable development through annual reports submitted to the Sustainable Business Council.
Our people bring into action our sustainability goals. We work together as a team and in partnership with you to deliver positive change for the environment.
Our values help us to connect our passion for sustainability with our culture and the way that we work. Our philosophy is based around the concept of guardianship.
For our natural environment, people and resources.
For our people, community, partners and clients.
Financial guardianship allows us to deliver on our duties of care to people and our environment.
In 2013, 3R decided to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability by seeking Toitū certification. Being certified helps us to evaluate and focus on our objectives to continually reduce our impact on the environment while finding efficiencies and potential cost savings. We were initially certified Toitū carbonreduce (then CEMARs).
Since 2016, 3R has been Toitū net carbonzero certified (known as Toitū carbonzero prior to 2022). An important part of our certification is offsetting unavoidable emissions with carbon credits. Over the years we have purchased credits from a mixture of New Zealand Permanent Forest Sink Initiatives and overseas initiatives including solar and wind power projects.
All international projects are certified by organisations such as the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and The Gold Standard.
Our carbon emissions reporting can be found in our Sustainable Development Reporting.
Being part of our community drives us to bring our sustainability beliefs to life at a local level. By investing our time in inspiring initiatives we seek to build connections and grow sustainability around us.
As a group we regularly participate in litter clean ups, tree planting and activities such as packing food parcels. We also carefully select initiatives that we can donate to when our sustainability goals and company values align.
Our people also have the opportunity to take six paid days per year – referred to as Good Fridays – to work on personal or professional development or contribute to community organisations.
3R is one of more than 100 New Zealand businesses who are part of the Climate Leaders Coalition. The goal of the Climate Leaders Coalition is to help New Zealand transition to a low emissions economy and, in doing so, create a positive future for New Zealanders, business, and the economy.
Our role in the Climate Leaders Coalition is an important reflection of the importance we place in sustainability as a tool to achieve future business prosperity.
Our commitment.
By being a signatory to the Coalition we have agreed to the 2017 CEO’s Climate Change Statement:
We will continue our commitment by signing the 2019 statement in 2022.
3R has completed a Sustainable Development Report annually since 2014/15 and each year submits it to the Sustainable Business Council for review. We find the process to be invaluable in supporting our sustainability journey.
A Sustainable Development Report (SDR) identifies economic, environmental and social issues and impacts related to a business. The SDR is a valuable tool that can be used to highlight areas for improvement; identify opportunities for change; manage risk; develop and enhance reputation; improve processes and systems; and enhance internal and external communications.
ISO Certification gives us the opportunity to demonstrate that our sustainability values sit at the heart of the way we do business.
3R holds the following ISO Certifications: