GreenWork Work Green

Lawn-mowing, garden maintenance, landscaping and organic waste removal services delivered to the Auckland region with minimal impact on the global climate.

GreenWork® Limited is a humble New Zealand family business, established by brother’s Geoff and Steve Rickerby in March 2009. Their purpose is to give a fresh and more sustainable approach to lawn care and garden maintenance in Auckland, which sets them apart in an industry with a traditionally heavy environmental impact.

Consequently, GreenWork has joined some of New Zealand’s leading brands and successfully achieved carbon neutral certification through Landcare Research’s carboNZeroCertTM programme. Proving among many things, that no matter what size your company or what sector you operate in, carboNZero certification encompasses transferable benefits. Reduce carbon, reduce risks, and reduce costs.

GreenWork measure their carbon footprint so they can understand their main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The carboNZero programme’s measurement requirements meet and exceed the requirements of the international standards: GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1.

They then manage and reduce their GHG emissions at source through top management commitment, setting targets and reporting on emissions reduction performance.

GreenWork are taking practical steps to reduce their environmental impact.

“We use organic sprays and fertilisers, compost all greenwaste; we hire out our equipment when it's not in use and even give the option of using hand tools. We don’t mind using push mowers, rakes and brooms! It's nice to work without noisy machines sometimes and have a break from petrol exhaust fumes”, says Steve.

They insist on using electronic invoicing and marketing. They encourage their growing client base to receive and pay invoices online; this saves trees and a trip to the bank.

The major source of their emissions comes from vehicle use. Their aim is to reduce these emissions per employee by 5% over the next 12 months. To achieve this, the brothers ensure their vehicles and equipment are serviced regularly so they run more efficiently and last longer. Their meetings are conducted using Skype to save on fuel and travel time and they take steps to improve their job planning and transport logistics, carpooling where possible. They believe a little extra time spent planning will make significant reductions to their emissions.

GreenWork mitigate (offset) their remaining unavoidable emission by purchasing/cancelling verified carbon credits from renewable energy generation projects. Lastly, they were independently verified by an external auditor prior to achieving certification.

“carboNZero certification offers a point of differentiation, GreenWork can now make a credible and robust carbon neutral claim using the internationally recognised carboNZero certification mark”, says Kathryn Hailes, carboNZero programme Marketing and Communications Manager.

But GreenWork’s commitment doesn’t stop with carboNZero certification. They are also a member of SiteSafe, WasteMINZ (Waste Management Institute of New Zealand) and they proudly support the coastal clean-up events run by Kiwi charity Sustainable Coastlines Inc.

“The GreenWork boys have been a huge source of support at our events over the past year” says Sam Judd, Co Founder and Events Director at Sustainable Coastlines, “on top of being hard-working, reliable and willing to get their hands dirty, they are simply good blokes.”

“We care about our clients and the environment and want our business to continue to thrive in the future. Our aim is to do our best to reduce and manage our impact on the planet while providing the most efficient and reliable service in Auckland” says Steve.

For more information visit:

www.greenwork.co.nz/
www.carbonzero.co.nz
www.sustainablecoastlines.org

ENDS