Since its opening, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has quickly established itself as a premier venue for events and conferences in New Zealand. Not only has it become a hub for business and cultural gatherings, but it has also demonstrated a steadfast commitment to sustainability. In just one year of operation, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has achieved remarkable milestones and made a ground-breaking commitment to achieving net carbon zero status.
Net carbon zero commitment
From the outset, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre made an ambitious pledge to operate as a net carbon zero facility. This commitment involves minimising carbon emissions throughout the centre’s operations and offsetting any remaining emissions through various initiatives such as renewable energy projects, local reforestation efforts, and sustainable development programmes. By striving to achieve net carbon zero status, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre aims to lead by example and inspire others in the events industry to adopt environmentally responsible practices. In its first year of operation, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has achieved significant milestones in its sustainability journey. These milestones include:
- Energy Efficiency: The centre has state-of-the-art energy-efficient technologies, including LED lighting, smart building controls, and energy monitoring systems. These measures continue to result in reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions.
- Waste Management: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has implemented a comprehensive waste management programme, which includes recycling, composting, and waste diversion initiatives. By minimising waste sent to landfills, the centre has significantly reduced its environmental footprint.
- Water Conservation: The centre has implemented water-saving measures, such as efficient fixtures and landscaping practices to minimise water consumption.
Brimming with events
One significant milestone for Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is a notched-up full year of events that generated more than NZ$60m (USD$38m) in direct economic value for the city of Ōtautahi Christchurch. In the 12 months from 2 May 2022, the Centre hosted 234 events for more than 129,700 delegates – this included 70 conventions, seven exhibitions, 76 banquets, 79 meetings and seminars and two live entertainment events – including the Centre’s first concert. Te Pae Christchurch general manager Ross Steele said it has been a fantastic feeling to have completed a full 12 months of event operations. “It’s fair to say we had a challenging start with our first events coming just a few weeks after the move to new restricted event-settings in New Zealand,” said Steele. “Since then, the team has gone from strength to strength and I’m so proud of their commitment to delivering almost 300 world-class events over the past year.” With several of the events – including 82 multi-day conferences, Steele said it was humbling to receive such strong support from our clients during the Centre’s inaugural year. “Our team has been so proud to support a number of businesses from around our region, and the world,” he added. One of the first events was the Harcourts National Conference for 1,200 delegates in mid-May 2022 – an event which also marked the return of the event to Christchurch for the first time in more than a decade. Taking place just a few weeks after the Centre opened for business, Harcourts Group head of events Jennie Harrison said creating an event of that scale and complexity had required a great deal of planning, especially as the events industry continued to navigate Covid-19 restrictions and requirements. Harrison said overall, guests were impressed by the event, and the conference was judged a major success for the Harcourts events team: “In terms of the actual conference itself, everybody was pleased with how well that went and everybody was really impressed by the venue.” “One of the resounding comments from the Christchurch locals was how proud they were to have the conference back in Christchurch and to have it in the new Centre. People who had come from Auckland to Christchurch were impressed by the high quality of the facilities,” Harrison added. With another 200-odd events expected through to the end of 2023 – including the return of Harcourts HX2023 conference –Steele said the Centre’s team was looking forward to another busy year ahead. Steele commented that, while 11 of the conventions hosted in the past 12 months have been international conventions, over the coming year that number is scheduled to jump significantly which will bring added benefits to the city. Emma Walsh, marketing, and brand experience manager at Oxford Group, which manages several central city bars, said the opening of Te Pae Christchurch had been a game changer in terms of early week trade. “For those conventions that run from Sunday to Wednesday, we’ve really seen a strong uptake. There’s a lot more people out and about early week, which is really exciting to bring more diversity and rhythm into the city.” “We know Friday and Saturdays are going to be busy and there’s going to be people out and about. But it’s been great to see those Monday and Tuesday nights busy too. These conference goers are also a good clientele in terms of spend – especially for the Australians that attend – they haven’t seen the city in a few years, so they spend a bit more on average.” 
Sustainability
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre boasts several key features that contribute to its sustainability goals:
- Green Building Design: The centre has been constructed with a focus on sustainable building practices. It incorporates environmentally friendly materials, efficient insulation, and natural lighting to reduce energy consumption and is 5-star Green Star Design rated.
- Sustainable Catering: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre partners with local suppliers who prioritise sustainability and source their ingredients responsibly. The centre promotes seasonal and locally produced food options, minimising the carbon footprint associated with food transportation.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Waste Management systems and plans leading to reduction in waste to land fill. This includes a dehydrator reducing food waste down to compost full of nutrients which is provided to city gardens for fertiliser use.
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has also taken the next step in its sustainability journey, drafting an agreement with New Zealand based Toitū Envirocare as the Centre commits to reducing its environmental footprint. The agreement works towards Te Pae Christchurch being a certified Toitū net carbon zero organisation. This commitment underscores the seriousness with which the Centre is approaching its environmental obligations. When looking at partners to assist the Centre in its journey to carbon zero, Toitū Envirocare was the obvious choice, Steele says. Not only a long-standing Te Pae Christchurch partner, the Toitū carbon programmes are also the only ones in New Zealand certified under ISO 14064 standard (organisation) and ISO 14067 standard (product) by the JAS-ANZ (Joint Accreditation System for Australia and New Zealand), meaning they are internationally recognised. “Toitū has been an invaluable part of our journey to date. The guidance and support they have provided us since 2020 in their capacity as New Zealand’s strongest environmental programme has set us up to take this next step,” Steele commented. “The fact their programmes take a science-based approach also gives us the confidence to aim high and set big goals in this area.” For Steele, committing to net carbon zero operations is a clear indication of the Centre’s desire to lead by example and create meaningful change. “For us, sustainability and sustainable operations go beyond just measuring waste and offsetting carbon emissions. It’s about legacy – what we leave behind for future generations, and how we instil values that will ensure we are not only environmentally sensitive, but that we take a lead in this area for years to come.” “The goal now is to bring clients and suppliers along on the journey and look at ways to work with our event partners to minimise the impact of the events we host – something we are well supported to do with Ōtautahi Christchurch’s own commitment to reaching net zero emissions.” ChristchurchNZ head of business events, Megan Crum says the destination’s guiding principle is ‘Small Footprint – Big Impression’. As the region’s economic development agency, ChristchurchNZ has a big part to play in helping to foster and promote sustainability initiatives. “Among the many actions underway for the business events space in Christchurch this year will be delivering a comprehensive Business Events Sustainability Framework for the City, doing our bit to help achieve the target to halve the city’s emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2045,” she says.
