Sustainability at Te Pae Christchurch

30 November 2021

Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse are the three ‘R’s at the heart of Te Pae Christchurch’s sustainability strategy as a convention centre and business.

We believe in maximising resources by repurposing them to generate community value and a circular economy.

• All food waste generated at the Centre will be processed on site through a GAIA dehydrator, which uses advanced technology to reduce the waste by 85% and turns the remainder into a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser, scientifically proven to improve soil condition.

• Food that can be reused from events we will be donated to Foodbank Canterbury to distribute amongst community groups and social service agencies, who will then provide the items to those in need across the region.

• To manage our water resources, we have installed a specific eWater system in our kitchens. The system uses a chemical reaction between water and salt to produce a product for cleaning and disinfecting that is more powerful than bleach at killing bacteria and microbial elements. This product will be utilised in our kitchen to wash and prepare fresh produce, as well as by our Venue Presentation team to clean throughout the Centre; drastically reducing our chemical consumption.

Alongside the Toitū envirocare gold certification announced in our last newsletter, our venue has also just achieved a 5 Star NZGBC Green Star Design rating, demonstrating New Zealand Excellence. Green Star is Australasia’s largest voluntary sustainability rating system for buildings, fitouts, and communities, designed to assist businesses in lowering their carbon footprint.

As the first of New Zealand’s new generation convention centres, we want to set the standard for sustainability by actively looking for ways to improve how we reuse waste and reduce our impact on the environment.