Our Purpose

Our Purpose

To accelerate bold meaningful change, assisting BOP communities and the environment to flourish.

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.

As such, BayTrust is committed to becoming a climate responsible (Tiakina te ao turoa) organisation through:

 

  • Embedding climate responsibleness in our culture and ethos and measuring our internal greenhouse gas footprint, making this information publicly available and looking to reduce and offset this with the aim of being carbon neutral by 2021.
  • Use a robust and evidence-backed approach to assessing all new investments to ensure that the Trust’s investment portfolio’s carbon exposure is reduced over time with the long-term goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions by 2025.
  • Support our BOP communities to understand and mitigate their climate change impacts and grasp opportunities through embedding climate change as a foundational principle across our funding framework

 

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 December 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 

 

Goal 1: To be a carbon-neutral/positive organisation

 

Actions achieved so far 2020

Integrated climate change responses into policies as a foundation principle and ensure consistency with ToW

Measured our GHG emissions for 2019/20 in partnership with Catalyst

Replaced CEO car with hybrid (part of MV replacement policy)

Actions in progress

Develop action plan to reduce emissions

Develop and implement incentive scheme for staff/trustees to reduce emissions

Identify and implement sustainable procurement principles

Initiate collaboration with other funders

Develop business case for electric pool vehicle for staff/group usage

Determine best practice for organisational responses to CC, share with other funders

Future actions

Sign up to Climate Leaders Coalition (NZ)

Contribute to certified carbon offset projects

 

Goal 2: To be a sustainable investor

 

Actions achieved so far 2020

Sinking lid policy amended to focus on carbon footprint not just fossil fuel reserves

Target set with investment advisors for carbon neutrality (2050, 50% by 2023)

More weight is given to focus on carbon neutral and carbon positive investment opportunities as part of the assessment framework and environmental sustainability as part of COVID economic recovery

Measure carbon footprint of BT investment portfolio where able (ongoing)

Actions in progress

Medium Term opportunity plan inc NT green low-cost passive fund, carbon offset investments (i.e. NZ carbon farming etc) agreed

Reset targets each year and embed this into SIPO, once current carbon footprint is known and explore opportunities.

Coordinate footprint assessments with Impact Investment partners

Future actions

Measure through ESG survey

Ensure all new Impact Investments are carbon neutral from 2025 onwards

 

Goal 3: To be a BOP active enabler

Actions achieved so far 2020

Climate change included in Grants Priorities and in application/accountability forms.

Actions in progress

Toolbox support budget of $30k a year (10* support) is allocated

Support research and work with BOPRC etc on carbon sectorial analysis/opportunities/impacts /resilience for BOP communities/COVID recovery etc

Define our role in terms of CC leadership /advocacy in this space

By mid-2020 ensure all future MYF partners and grants for over $50k, are on the path to be carbon neutral by 2030 and provide assistance to come up with action plans to help deliver this

Investigate options to offset community organisations emissions

Initiate discussions and collaborate with other key regional funding partners to ensure actions align and explore options to co-fund activities/initiatives

Include CC in CAF’s environmental approach as part of the grant’s refresh and pro-actively promote this.

Future actions

By mid-2022 ensure all future CAF partners are on the path to be carbon neutral by 2030, and SPF partners by 2025, and provide assistance to come up with action plans to help deliver this