How we’re performing

In December 2017, we became the first regional council in New Zealand to attain Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (“CEMARS”) certification – now called Toitū carbonreduce – for our carbon emissions management and reduction scheme in relation to our corporate activities.

Our latest results

Waikato Regional Council remains on track to meet an emission reduction target of 68 per cent from its 2016/17 base year by 2030.

In the seventh audit of its corporate emissions, excluding public transport emissions, the council has achieved a 1 per cent reduction against the base year.

The results from 2022/23 also include unusually high rainfall in the last 12 months which has led to a massive increase in flood pumping run hours and corresponding increases in electricity and diesel. While emissions have been unusually high this year, they are expected to return to normal levels in the following financial year as weather patterns are forecast to return to drier conditions.

Developed by Local Government New Zealand, CouncilMARK™ gives communities a clear picture of how their councils are performing, including where they are excelling and areas for improvement.

Participating councils are assessed across the areas of leadership, financial decision making, service delivery and community engagement every three years, and given a standard from AAA to C.

Our council’s performance was comprehensively and independently assessed in 2024 as part of the CouncilMARK™ local government excellence programme.  The assessment report will be available in the near future.

Find out more about the CouncilMARKTM programme.