Low CO2

Student Exchange Australia New Zealand Ltd is officially certified as a Low CO2 organisation.

This means that we undergo regular carbon audits by the Carbon Reduction Institute in order to understand how much CO2 emission we are producing. This allows us to investigate opportunities to cut down on these emissions through more efficient energy practices and staff education. We also purchase carbon credits to help offset our emissions based on the results of the audits.

Flights are the only component of the program which are not offset. We are happy to offer you the opportunity to offset the greenhouse emissions of your flights in order to make your student exchange experience 100% carbon neutral. To visit the Carbon Offset Calculator simply click on the image to the right.

What We are Committed to Doing

we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint to help contribute to a more sustainable future. We do this by:

• Using recycled materials for any hard copy materials we use (eg posters, flyers, application forms etc) within reasonable cost boundaries
• Offsetting our staff travel costs when travelling on business
• Offsetting all emissions from our business activities and operations
• Conserving resources through the careful management of water, energy, and paper consumption in our office
• Ensuring that employees incorporate environmentally friendly initiatives wherever possible in their daily business activities, and encouraging them to continue to do so in their personal lives
• Encouraging students to carbon offset their international flights.
• Encouraging inbound and outbound exchange students to apply environmentally friendly behaviour wherever possible.

In early 2009 we ran a t-shirt design competition called Make Your Mark. The competition used the theme "Cool the Planet!". The Top 3 designs each won scholarships worth up to $3500 and all the Top 10 designs received gift certificates from Dick Smith Electronics valued at $100 each.

For a range of other ideas which you could try and implement in your household visit the Carbon Reduction Institute’s page for individuals and families.

What is Climate Change and Global Warming?

We have included some additional information for you below, to provide an overview of what climate change and global warming is all about. This information comes from the Australian Department of Climate Change, WWF Australia and the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment.

Climate change is one of the greatest economic, social, and environmental challenges of our time. Expert scientific evidence confirms that human activity is altering the climate. This is changing rainfall patterns, reducing water availability in Australia and increasing the frequency of severe weather events such as bushfires and storms. ¹

Globally, 11 of the last 12 years have been among the 12 warmest in the history of global surface temperature records.

In Australia, the average maximum temperature rose 0.8ºC from 1910 to 2004, with most of this rise occurring since 1950.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) attributes most of this temperature rise to human activities that release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. ²

Temperature increases in New Zealand have followed a similar pattern to Australia. Average temperatures in New Zealand are projected to increase about 1°C by around 2040 and about 2.1°C by around 2090. ³

Why Should We Act on Climate Change?

For too long we have poured greenhouse pollution into the atmosphere and we are continuing to do so at an alarming rate. Science tells us that this pollution is causing climate change.

We are already starting to feel the effects of this pollution. And projections show that if we don't act, it will only get worse with changing temperatures and rainfall patterns, more droughts, floods, water shortages, rising sea levels and extreme weather.

Australia - already the driest inhabited continent on Earth - is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The longer we wait to act on climate change, the more it will cost and the worse its effects will be. ⁴

Australians are the highest per-capita greenhouse gas polluters in the developed world. This is due to the fact that we generate electricity largely by burning high-emission coal and we use energy inefficiently.

Australia's total emissions are similar in magnitude to those of the United Kingdom and France, yet those countries have much larger populations. ⁵

In New Zealand likely climate change impacts include:

• higher temperatures, more in the North Island than the South, (but still likely to be less than the global average)
• rising sea levels
• more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts (especially in the east of New Zealand) and floods
• a change in rainfall patterns - higher rainfall in the west and less in the east. ⁶

So, everyone should do what they can to help support an ecologically sustainable future and minimise the impacts of global warming.

Links for More Information on Climate Change:

If you'd like to read through some more information on Climate Change and Global Warming you may find the following sites to be a good start.

• WWF-Australia, Climate Change www.wwf.org.au/ourwork/climatechange
• Department of Climate Change - www.climatechange.gov.au
• NZ Ministry for the Environment - www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/climate/about/impacts.html
• Climate Change Information New Zealand - www.climatechange.govt.nz/index.html
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - www.ipcc.ch/