• New ventures launched this week
• Reality of carbon trading is sinking in
• Going green is “smart” for business

Several new ventures in the field of carbon trading demonstrate how NZ entrepreneurs are rapidly grasping the money-making potential of this fledgling market. Orcon founder Seeby Woodhouse chose St Patrick’s Day to launch Green Carbon, a new carbon credit trading company, adding he now intends to focus all his business endeavours in the field of climate change and eco-sustainability. Green Carbon will help businesses calculate their carbon footprint, then advise on the purchase of carbon credits to achieve carbon neutrality.

Woodhouse, who sold Orcon last year for $19m, says the mission of Green Carbon is to help NZ businesses “change the way they think about the environment” and make positive steps towards a low-carbon economy. He believes solutions to climate change will come from a combination of “commercial realities and consumer desires,” rather than Govt legislation and intervention.
Woodhouse adds it’s only a matter of time before “smart” companies realise going Green is good for business. This is because consumers increasingly want to buy products that are eco-friendly and sustainable, which is creating a growing expectation retailers and manufactures must be responsible for their “environmental output.” National Party Leader John Key attended the launch of Green Carbon in an apparent move to reinforce just how seriously his party takes the environment. Key describes Green Carbon as “a great example of how NZ entrepreneurs can tap into the economic opportunities posed by a carbon conscious world.”

Meanwhile another new company, Global Carbon Credits, has started signing contracts with landowners around NZ to assess, manage and market the carbon offset potential of their land. Managing Director Ross Garrick says the company has been approached by several businesses seeking to measure their carbon footprint and offset their emissions through carbon sink projects or the purchase of carbon credits.

At the same time, an international carbon trading company, GreenAir, has started signing deals with NZ foresters to obtain rights to credits from their forests. Chairman Himanshu Dua says the company will help NZ forest owners access the international carbon credit market. GreenAir expects to commercialise at least 3m tonnes of forestry carbon credits in NZ.

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