Frequently asked questions

Toitū Enviromark certification indicates an environmental management system meets certain requirements to help organisations manage their significant environmental aspects and impacts.

The Toitū Climate Impact programmes (Toitū Carbon Reduce, Toitū Net Carbon Zero and Toitū Climate Positive) indicate a carbon footprint has been measured, verified and is being reduced in line with climate science and best practice. In the case of Toitū Net Carbon Zero the footprint is also fully offset and in Toitū Climate Positive the footprint is also offset to 125%.

For more information on each programme, see our solutions.

The time it takes to prepare for and successfully pass an audit varies from business to business, and the certification programme you are applying for. Time requirements are mainly related to how well developed your existing systems are when you start.

As a rough guide, a small organisation with tidy records will only need a day’s worth of time spread out over several weeks. For a small to medium enterprise needing to develop systems or improve records, a few hours a week is enough to prepare for and pass your annual audit. The time needed each year is expected to reduce as you develop and improve systems and records.

Our expert staff can discuss your particular situation and help you develop a realistic project plan to guide your progress.

In order to maintain certification, you are required to have an audit annually within 12 months of your previous audit once you have achieved your first certification. You can be audited more frequently to suit your circumstances and goals. Annual fees and ongoing annual surveillance audits must be paid and completed in order for the certification to remain valid.

The rate at which you progress is dependent on several factors: your current situation (e.g. how well organised your records are, existing systems and processes, etc.) and the resources you can put to the project. Most businesses are able to progress from sign up to certification in 3-6 months.

Certification to one of our programmes means that your organisation or product has been independently verified as meeting the standard or requirements for that scheme.

• For a Toitū Climate Impact certification, this means your greenhouse gas inventory or product footprint is accurate and complete against an international standard and that you are making reductions over a 6 year cycle.
• For Toitū Enviromark certification of an environmental management system (EMS), this means your EMS is being developed or has reached maturity against one of three levels on the way to exceeding the requirements of an international standard.

Certification means your stakeholders can have confidence that you have achieved that standard and you can make environmental claims in the marketplace with credibility and confidence. Claims based on self-certification are of doubtful value in the same way that self-diagnosis will never be as useful as a visit to the doctor. Independent certification, on the other hand, allows you to easily substantiate a science-based and accurate environmental claim.

Certification is time-limited and you must demonstrate continuous improvement to continue to be certified annually.

Toitū Climate Impact members measure and verify emissions on an annual basis. Reductions must be achieved on a six year cycle.

Toitū Enviromark members build continual improvement into their bespoke environmental management systems and regularly check that the current system is still the most applicable and appropriate framework.

Most companies have some outstanding issues they need to address after an audit – that is the value in having your work checked by the experts. You will be given any findings and recommendations, as well as a time frame to work on these. The auditor will then check the findings can be closed out and you will proceed to certification.

Our Toitū Carbon Reduce and Toitū Net Carbon Zero programmes are endorsed and accredited by an independent accreditation body, Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ). JASANZ accredits Toitū Envirocare under ISO 14064-3:2019, ISO 14065:2020, ISO 14066:2011, ISO/IEC 17065:2012, ISO/IEC 17029:2019. This means they independently check our carbon certification programmes and ensure that our verification and certification activities conform with the appropriate international standards, and that our clients can claim accredited certification to ISO 14064-1:2018, ISO 14067:2018 and/or PAS 2050:2011.

Accreditation is the process by which an organisation is authorised to issue certifications to third parties. Accreditation is different from certification. Accreditation is a specific organisation's process of certification and refers to the organisation that issues certification, not the organisation being certified.

You can opt to only have an audit.

By not becoming a Toitū member you will not receive the tools, checklists, guidance or software that our members receive, nor will you be certified or have the right to use the certification logo to promote your achievements.

Membership is the core of our certification programmes. Members receive expert guidance, access to our world-class tools, resources and software, the use of internationally recognised certification marks and marketing support, and access to the member network for procurement and cross-promotion.

Most organisations do find significant savings come from focusing on their environmental performance. Improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions generally result in cost savings although, for some savings, there may need to be an investment in new technology or behaviour change before the savings are realised. Many of our members have been able to better understand their largest impacts, or hot spots, and work to manage and reduce these. Many common hot spots, such as transport and fuel or energy use are also cost areas, so reducing these generally leads to cost savings. You can see member case studies here.

Many organisations join our programmes for other reasons, including ethical reasons, gaining reputational advantage, attracting innovative talent, market differentiation, help with compliance, or meet supply chain demands.

Each certification scheme we offer has a unique logo/mark. Once certified, you can use the relevant logo to clearly, credibly, and precisely share your achievement in the marketplace. This mark allows your environmental claims to be substantiated in line with advertising standards and legislation.

We encourage our members to promote their certification by using the logo on advertising, letterheads, displays, and on product labelling (where eligible). Members receive training and advice in the communications of their certifications.

Both central and local government have been involved with Toitū Envirocare from the start of the schemes under our parent, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. Many councils, businesses and organisations recognise Toitū certification as a way to meet tender requirements or to meet supply chain standards.

The Toitū Enviromark certification programme is widely recognised within New Zealand. It does not currently operate overseas so international recognition is more limited.

The Toitū Carbon Reduce, Toitū Net Carbon Zero, and Toitū Climate Positive programmes have active members in 5 countries and the certification marks are recognised in over 60 countries. Toitū Envirocare has scope to undertake audits for Toitū Carbon Reduce, Toitū Net Carbon Zero, and Toitū Climate Positive certification in 17 countries. These certifications are a way to gain entry into certain export markets that have environmental requirements. Around 80% of the CDP climate change questionnaire can be answered from your Toitū Climate Impact certification reports. In the UK, Toitū Carbon Reduce is also licensed by the UK Environment Agency and recognised by the UK Energy Savings and Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) as a route to compliance.

No. We certify your carbon emissions or your systems for managing environmental impacts, but the certification does not guarantee that other environmental impacts have not occurred. Our certifications do not guarantee food safety or product composition or that your products or services are better than someone else's.

However, a company that has chosen to have Toitū Carbon Reduce, Toitū Net Carbon Zero, Toitū Climate Positive, or Toitū Enviromark certification for its products and/or organisation is likely to be concerned about the environment, therefore more likely to adopt measures to reduce overall environmental impacts.

Consumers are also increasingly savvy about greenwash and vague ‘eco-friendly’ type claims. Credible environmental certification enables you to substantiate more specific and useful environmental claims.

There are seven main greenhouse gases:

1. carbon dioxide (CO₂), mainly from fossil fuel use
2. methane (CH₄), mainly from animals and waste
3. nitrous oxide (N₂O), mainly from agriculture
4. hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), mainly from refrigerants
5. sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), mainly from the electricity industry
6. perfluorocarbons (PFCs), mainly from aluminium production
7. nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), mainly from production of silicon wafers, liquid crystal displays and silicon-based solar cells.

Usually, all greenhouse gases are expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) and typically measured in kilograms or tonnes (kgCO₂e or tCO₂e). 1 tonne CO₂e is emitted when you:

• Burn 370 litres of diesel
• Use 786 kg of standard office paper (embodied emissions)
• Travel 3,400 km on domestic air flights

Typically, emissions are reviewed annually, looking at the previous year’s activities to extrapolate emissions. In practice, this mean collating 12 months’ worth of activity data such as electricity and fuel consumption invoices. This data is then entered into the emission calculation software, which uses formulas known as emissions factors to calculate your emissions total.

In an ideal world every organisation would take responsibility for their own emissions, but double counting may occasionally occur. Double counting could take place if both the buyer and the seller (of the service or product) accounted for the emissions due to the same activity, e.g. international maritime freight.

The Toitū Net Carbon Zero programme requires organisations to disclose the full emissions inventory prior to any discounting of double counted emissions, to encourage continued resource efficiency and emissions reductions. Organisations that use Toitū Net Carbon Zero certified services will still account for those emissions but will not be required to offset that portion of the footprint, if seeking Toitū Net Carbon Zero certification.

It is difficult to separate the renewable energy from the fossil fuel energy in the distribution system (national grid). As electricity demand goes up to meet peak demand periods during the day, it is generally the fossil fuel generators that produce more electricity to meet that demand. For New Zealand electricity emissions, we use data provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that accounts for the total mix of electricity sources that go on the national grid, including electricity from renewable sources.

Even where your electricity retailer supplies carbon neutral electricity, you still need to record your electricity usage. Carbon neutral electricity still produces emissions, but these are offset for you by the electricity provider. Where you are seeking Toitū Net Carbon Zero certification and you purchase Toitū Net Carbon Zero certified electricity, you are not required to offset that component of your footprint, but it is still measured and reported.

Waste sent to landfill produces emissions and must be considered as part of your footprint. Minimising waste, composting and recycling can reduce emissions because you are either preventing waste or preventing the use of virgin (new) materials.

Emissions Factors are a coefficient (a number) multiplied against your activity data (e.g. purchased electricity, fuel, etc) to convert it to greenhouse gas emissions.

They are developed by a number of organisations. At Toitū Envirocare, we source commonly from Ministry for the Environment, but also other providers where appropriate (including other government departments, industry studies, etc). We load them into the emanage software so you can choose the most appropriate for the activity data you are collecting.

Publishers of emissions factors will review the information that sits behind the coefficient value on a regular basis. A factor may be updated for many reasons, including if there is improved information from local data, or a change in assumptions of how the activity data causes emissions. So, they can be updated at any time and may either go up or down.

For example, if new wind farms are built to supply into the electricity grid, meaning that less coal is burnt to produce electricity over time, then the emissions factor for electricity will go down.