Earth Day 2022

The world is in a place like never before. A global pandemic, a warming climate and more frequent natural disasters.

It can be a confronting reality – especially considering there’s no quick fix.

There is no denying the mahi (work) that many people are putting into climate change action. However, as a collective, more needs to be done.

Earth Day 2022 reminds us to invest in our planet.

“This is the moment to change it all – the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate,” states the Earth Day website.

The UN announced prior to COP26 Climate Change Conference, that the world is way off track in emission reduction – with emissions hitting highs last year.

There has been a 5% increase in extreme rainfall in New Zealand alone and over a 10% increase in intense thunderstorms due to our rising CO2 emissions.

While that data may be easy to dismiss, its impacts are harder to ignore. 

Storms have cost New Zealand $800 million in the past five years, and show no sign of slowing down.

But however harrowing these times are, it is also an opportunity to start conversations – conversations that can flip the narrative. 

Aotearoa (New Zealand) has now committed to halving its 2005 net GHG emissions by 2030. This was announced at COP26 and is a considerable move from the previous promise to cut emissions by 30% by 2030.

The public sector has also pledged itself to be carbon neutral by 2025. Backed “by the $200 million State Sector Decarbonisation Fund,” the largest goals include replacing public sector coal boilers and turning car fleets electric or hybrid.

While they are great steps towards the collective goal, many of these promises take time – one of our most scarce resources in this fight against climate change. 

We need a balance between the big commitments that help our largest carbon-emitting sectors find greener ways of operating; while synchronously implementing tools that work on eliminating emissions right now.

In the US alone, 10 Million trees are cut down, 21 billion gallons of water are used and 686 million pounds of waste is created in the wake of receipts each year. Skipping these receipts could save 12 billion pounds of CO2 from entering our atmosphere. 

It’s estimated there will be 550 billion invoices circulating by 2025, and that number is set to quadruple by 2035. Currently, these count for 10% of all trees cut down and for every million invoices, there are 36 tonnes of CO2 emitted. 

Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever for businesses and agencies to lower their carbon footprint by eliminating a financial paper trail while staying fully compliant with RIPA Expenses.

RIPA works with merchants to collect the purchase data straight from the point of sale and send it through to a user's financial system. This means no chemicals, no paper waste, and no unnecessary carbon emissions.

The company sits alongside other Kiwi-made, green technology firms who are reshaping the way forward and the important conversations that go with it. 

“We need to act, innovate, and implement. It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet,” states the Earth Day website.

It's time to collectively change the narrative from what’s wrong with the world, to how we are actively protecting our earth, our economies and our people.