KEY POINTS:
First there was the great environmental debate of the 1960s, about raising the level of Lake Manapouri.
Then, in the 90s, "sustainability" entered the lexicon.
But only now has it become not just fashionable for businesses to embrace sustainability but also commercially advantageous - especially for exporters to environmentally conscious Europe.
The carboNZero programme, administered by Lincoln-based Landcare Research, is promoted as a way to minimise climate change by limiting carbon dioxide emissions.
CarboNZero certification allows applicants to demonstrate through a third-party audit that they meet its rigorous criteria.
Toyota New Zealand executive chairman Bob Field describes the programme as a "simple way for companies to mitigate the global warming effect of the burning of fossil fuels".
Toyota is working towards certification.
The New Zealand Wine Co, producer of Grove Mill and Sanctuary wines, last year became the first New Zealand company to receive carboNZero certification and one of the first winemakers in the world to produce carbon-neutral wines.
This was a market-driven change brought about by European concerns about "food miles" - the fuel used to get products to foreign markets.
The New Zealand Wine Co worked with Landcare Research to measure, and reduce emissions and offset those remaining by regenerating native forests.
Its certification is now a prominent part of the company's marketing.
State-owned Meridian Energy became the second New Zealand company to be carbon certified and the first to provide carboNZero-certified electricity to its customers.
This was not a one-off exercise. The company works to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and where it cannot, it invests in "emission offsets" from renewable energy projects.
It can now claim that the "carbon footprint" of its customers' power consumption is zero.
This is an important element of its marketing and Meridian has not hesitated to play on the feel-good factor Meridian brands itself as a renewable energy generator with the promise that power generation does not directly produce carbon dioxide emissions.
Not all of Meridian's carbon dioxide emissions are included in the certification process, but the company is open about this and buys carbon credits from rival TrustPower to make up the shortfall.
TrustPower, which owns and operates 34 hydro generators and the Tararua Wind Farm, was awarded the credits for several of its sustainable generation development and enhancement projects.
The largest completed so far has been the stage 2 development of the Tararua Wind Farm.
Meridian says carbon dioxide emissions are produced from its day-to-day operations, such as land and air travel, and all emissions relating to generating and selling electricity have been included in the certification process.
"Emissions from our subsidiaries and some business activities, and the electricity generated onsite for one district health board have not been included, in accordance with the certification process," Meridian says.
"While we work very hard to reduce these emissions, it's impossible to completely eliminate them. But we are balancing out the emissions we produce by supporting projects that reduce or prevent [carbon dioxide] emissions elsewhere."
Carbon neutrality is not just the domain of large companies or boutique exporters.
Living Earth, a $10 million company which processes 135,000 tonnes of organic waste in Auckland and Wellington each year to produce a range of composts, is on the "right side of the carbon ledger", according to director Rob Fenwick.
It is in the early stages of obtaining carboNZero certification.
Fenwick, who is also chairman of Landcare Research, says the scope for growth is huge.
In 2001 alone, he notes, Auckland city landfills accounted for 777,245 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases - about 19 per cent of the greenhouse gases produced in the city.
Fenwick says carboNZero certification allows businesses to "look at their carbon footprint and do something about it".
It is vital, he says, for carboNZero certification to stand up to international scrutiny and avoid being labelled "greenwash" - or giving an environmental image to unsound practices.
Landcare Research is also aware of the danger of its programmes being dismissed as "greenwash".
It is working with about 200 organisations, some of which have been put on notice by European customers of concerns over food miles, to address environmental issues.
But the certification process cannot be hurried - Meridian took about two years to gain carboNZero status - or compromised by a tick-the-box approach.
If certification does not meet international scrutiny it is meaningless.
