Innovations

Stephen Moore helping a school group identify freshwater invertebrates. Image - Birgit Rhode

carboNZero^CertTM Holdings

This year, our wholly-owned subsidiary carboNZero Holdings significantly improved its financial performance; total certifications increased by 29%. Thanks to ISO 14065 JAS-ANZ accreditation, the company was contracted to undertake its first audit under the Negotiated Greenhouse Gas Agreements.

To date carboNZero Holdings has undertaken over 95% of all the voluntary accredited greenhouse gas certifications across Australia and New& Zealand. Three of the UK CEMARS® certified clients were in the top 10 companies (out of 2000) for improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions under a mandatory scheme regulated by the Environment Agency.

Investment in a new software platform will enable the development of additional environmental certification products beyond carbon and a more integrated service offering for clients.

On 1 July 2013, carboNZero Holdings merged its existing services with those of Enviro-Mark® to extend the range and value of products and services available to clients. The new company is now called Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited.

Enviro-Mark®

The Enviro-Mark programme continued to maintain its strong position in the New Zealand market with 175 clients (similar to the number of clients for ISO 14001 certifications) making it one of the leading Environmental Management Systems in this country. The focus for the year has been to deliver increased value to existing members. Initiatives included enhancing audit capacity (providing greater flexibility for clients in regard to audit timing and costs), and running events and training sessions to build capability within member organisations. The newly introduced ‘Enviro-Mark for Absolute Beginners’ workshops and our flagship seminars ‘Get the Green Advantage’ were consistently well-attended. Retention in the programme has remained high at over 85%. Over 65% of the programme members have at least Gold-level certification, which means they have gone well-beyond Bronze entry-level compliance requirements and have set up objectives and targets to enable continuous environmental improvements within their organisations.

Specialist laboratory services

We have several specialised laboratories, each with dedicated staff, that provide essential support to much of our research. All of these labs – ecological genetics (EcoGene), toxicology, environmental chemistry, soil contamination, mineralogy and soil physics – also provide fee-based services, developed from our research and analytical expertise, to a range of clients. In collaboration with the University of Canberra we launched EcoGene Wildlife DNA services in Australia and are now providing services from facilities in Canberra and Auckland.

Clients for laboratory services are mostly government agencies, local government, other CRIs and universities but work is also undertaken for developers and consultants. All these commercial services are closely aligned to our Core Purpose so are instrumental in benefitting New Zealand; they also derive additional benefit for Landcare Research from capital investment in laboratories.

Innovative lysimeter technologies

Following the on-farm success of our channel lysimeter, which is now operated by Otago Regional Council, we developed a prototype pipe lysimeter that has the potential to measure nutrient leaching over a much larger scale than existing devices. The prototype pipe lysimeter has been installed on a prominent Canterbury dairy farm and is operating very well, intercepting all soil water drainage events in the first six months of operation. Results have been presented to regional council, industry, and research agencies resulting in joint funding applications for further development.

We also developed a new suction-cup lysimeter for NIWA. Unlike other standard suction-cup lysimeters in common use, which sample both mobile and immobile soil water, our new design only samples the mobile water responsible for carrying contaminants through the soil profile.

Funded from commercial investment and PSAF. Suction lysimeter: commercial funding from NIWA.

‘Proof-of-Freedom’ from TB

Using a quantitative ‘proof-of-freedom’ framework largely developed by us, AHB/TBfree New Zealand revoked the Vector Risk Area status for 32 management units totalling 400,000 ha, effectively declaring that TB had been eradicated from vectors in those areas. As the national aim is to declare an average of 166,000 ha TB free each year from 2011–2026, the TB programme is comfortably on track to meet or exceed its eradication targets.

Predator-Free New Zealand

Technology and knowledge transfer will be vital in progressing the Predator-Free New Zealand concept at community, local and regional scales. In addition to our work with national and local government, we work with numerous NGOs and community-led groups that are part of the Sanctuaries of New Zealand Network. We host the Sanctuaries website and coordinate an annual workshop for sanctuary stakeholders.

Research to develop cost-effective, environmentally-sensitive and humane pest management strategies and control products specifically targets the needs of community groups as well those of commercial contractors working for DOC, AHB/TBfree New Zealand and local government. Products such as traps, baits and toxins are licensed to commercial partners in the New Zealand market to speed their availability.

Biological indicators of water quality

Much of the water quality monitoring at local scale is carried out by community groups who contribute to local projects and regional freshwater goals. Landcare Research is making relevant science available through a newly developed online Freshwater Invertebrates Identification and Information Resource. Invertebrates are a sensitive indicator of water quality and contamination. As water quality in many areas continues to decline, this type of resource can help councils, community monitoring groups and the general public understand how declining water quality affects freshwater ecosystems. These invertebrates are important indicators for monitoring how effective environmental policy and community and industry management efforts are and where remedial action is required.

Expert evidence in resource management

All parties to court proceedings have the right to access relevant scientific advice and evidence. Landcare Research is a repository of specialist knowledge that may not be available elsewhere, and so our staff and research findings are often used in expert, impartial evidence for resource consent applications or appeals, regional or district council resource consent hearings, and Environment Court appeals. For example, our research has been used in legal decisions that have provided greater protection in district plans for threatened eastern dryland ecosystems of the South Island.

Also this year, we supplied information to all parties considering proposed agricultural development on a significant area of frost flat, a naturally uncommon ecosystem. Development was rejected and the area protected. Taupō District Council, DOC and Wildland Consultants used our research as evidence in working with the owners, Stevenson Holdings, to negotiate a reasonably satisfactory outcome for all concerned.

Similarly, our research on naturally uncommon ecosystems influenced a court decision not to allow dams on the upper Hurunui River because of the importance of Lake Sumner and its margins.

National Land Resource Centre

To foster greater use and uptake of science, and address the needs identified by stakeholders the NLRC has continued to develop the website providing users with the most current and up-to-date science information and news from across and beyond the science community in a friendly and engaging way. It incorporates a unique geo-referenced search capability allowing users to find science, resources and organisations active in their region.

New methods for communicating complex data are exemplified by a video showing the successive waves of urban expansion onto high-class rural land around Auckland between 1990 and 2008, a visual interpretation of a 2012 study that we led.

Wellington Link seminars

The monthly Landcare Research Link seminars in Wellington continue to attract an ever-growing audience from central government policy teams at both senior and advisory levels. These sessions provide an easy, relaxed opportunity to discuss completed work, and generate interest in future projects and dissemination opportunities.

Topics covered this year include Māori cultural values for fresh water, the use of one of our Nationally Significant Databases and Collections to help identify Psa, land use change and surveys on land owner behaviour, collaborative processes to set environmental limits, computer gaming to engage communities in pest control, ‘big’ environmental data and a mini-series for ecosystems services topics. These events were hosted by MPI, MfE, DOC and the National Library.

Workshops, newsletters, videos

We organised a wide range of workshops for stakeholders and end-users in the wider community. The most significant of these workshops were training in biocontrol of weeds techniques and identifications, pest management (‘Biosecurity Bonanza’), grass species identification, quantifying and valuing ecosystem services, forest management approaches to mitigate risk of post-harvest landslides, and organising the annual Sanctuaries of New Zealand conference and workshop.

We produced 12 different newsletter series (print or e-newsletters). Each focuses on the needs of particular client, stakeholder and end-user groups. These newsletters are received very positively.

Short informative video clips are another engaging way to present topical science. On our YouTube channel, video clips are listed under our four National Outcomes and 12 playlists. In addition, we contribute scientific knowledge transfer to videos produced by AHB/TBfree New Zealand and DOC.

Key Performance Indicators

MBIE’s external Stakeholder Survey found that 95% of respondents for Landcare Research had adopted knowledge or technology from Landcare Research in the past three years (97% in the previous survey)
92% of respondents are satisfied with their experience of accessing knowledge or technology from Landcare Research (93% in the previous survey)

For the year ended 30 June:	2010	2011	2012	2013
Knowledge transfer
New or improved products, processes & services	70	80	73	64
Contract reports	185	190	144	141¹
Conference presentations	222	287	279	292
Publications on technical information & research results	349	374	371	277²
Science presentations to stakeholders & community groups	220	271	259	229
Staff invited to participate in stakeholder meetings or workshops	193	281	259	237¹
Staff invited onto national advisory groups	41	38	61	60
Business development & commercialisation
Patents granted	1	1	0	1
Licensing arrangements	2	2	1	2
Joint ventures	1	1	3	2
Spinoff companies formed	0	0	13	0⁴

¹ In addition, we provided a further 313 progress reports to clients.
² Decrease due to fewer published conference presentations being recorded although staff made as many presentations as in previous years. Fewer book chapters were also published.
³ carboNZero Holdings commenced operating as our fully-owned subsidiary company on 1 July 2012. (Sirtrack was sold during 2011/12).
⁴ On 1 July 2013, carboNZero Holdings and the Enviro-Mark Programme were merged to become Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited.