Carbon Points for Members

Your monthly Carbon Points target is equivalent to the average carbon footprint in New Zealand. It includes per capita shares of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by households as well as by the business sector and other sources.

According to government data, New Zealand's net emissions per capita in 2021 were 10.9 tonnes of CO2e, or 0.91 tonnes of CO2e per month. Based on this, we have set your monthly Carbon Points target at 910 Carbon Points, as 1 Carbon Point is equivalent to 1 kg of CO2e emissions.

Households only accounted directly for 11% of emissions production in 2021. Consumption data, however, shows that households were involved in 69% of carbon emissions. As a climate-conscious consumer, we estimate that you can have an impact on around 58% of New Zealand's emissions through decisions that you make when purchasing goods and services. GoZero gives you the tools to make choices that support climate action when you shop. The remainder of your footprint can either be addressed by action to reduce personal emissions or by offsetting those emissions that can't be avoided.

You should therefore aim to reduce or offset around 380 Carbon Points each month and earn around 530 Carbon Points from GoZero deals. We recommend purchasing the $15 GoZero offset offer each month to cover your personal emissions, validate any actions that you are taking, and then purchase deals to earn the rest. If you are still short a few Carbon Points at the end of the month, you can also top up your account with Carbon Points from GoZero offsets, to make sure that you achieve GoZero Hero status and unlock great discounts for the following month.

Your GoZero monthly Carbon Points target will likely differ from the personal carbon footprint that you may have measured using carbon calculator tools, as it is based on average per capita data rather than your specific emissions data.

We applaud those of you who already measure and take action on emissions. However, the need to measure a carbon footprint can be an obstacle that prevents people from taking climate action. We therefore use a per capita carbon footprint estimate, to remove this obstacle and boost engagement and climate action.  

If you feel that it would be important to be able to use your personal carbon footprint data instead of the per capita value, please contact us.

The Carbon Points system is designed to accelerate action on carbon emissions. Hitting your target means you have done enough to address your per capita share of New Zealand's emissions and qualify for rewards from GoZero Climate Action Businesses.

Hitting your monthly Carbon Points target is not the same as being net zero. To claim net zero status, businesses must precisely measure and address their specific greenhouse gas emissions. GoZero does not provide net zero certification, as other organisations are already doing this job well. We are primarily focused on removing barriers to action and ensuring that as many people and businesses are taking action to reduce their emissions.