Community Decarbonisation Fund

Upbeat music plays quietly in the background as an aerial view of a roof covered in solar panels is seen. 
See a lady in a high vis jacket opening the side of an EV van. The van has the words ‘Meridian. The Power to Make a Difference’, on the passenger door, and Satisfy Food Rescue written on the side door. 

See a waitress with the name badge ‘Michaela’, picking up plates in a busy restaurant. See two people fixing a bike outside a shed. 
 
Voice over: Climate change can’t be solved by one company, one person, or one community. We need to work together to make a difference. 
 
See three large wind turbines spinning on a cloudy day. See an aerial shot of a hydro dam generation station surrounded by bare landscape and hills. 
 
Voice over while you see the following changing scenes: As New Zealand’s largest generator of renewable energy, we’ve partnered with our Certified customers to help selected community groups reduce their carbon emissions. 
 
See an electric van driving down a road with Everybody Eats written on the side. Meridian and turbine logo can be seen on the passenger front door. 

See a sign on the street. The sign says ‘Everybody Eats. Pay-as-you-feel (Koha) 3 course meal’. There is a print out of tonight's menu attached to the sign. There is an arrow on the sign pointing towards the restaurant entrance. 

See chefs passing food to a waitress in a restaurant who is delivering the food to customers. 
 
Narrator continues to speak as the scenes change below: Meridian’s Certified product allows business customers to match the electricity they use from the grid with an equivalent amount generated by one of Meridian’s hydro dams or wind farms, which have been certified as producing 100% renewable electricity. 

And 100% of the net proceeds from our Certified product goes into Meridian’s Decarbonisation Fund which invests in meaningful community projects that help reduce carbon emissions. 
 
See Electric van pull into driveway that has been sign written with Satisfy Food Rescue on the side. The van also has Meridian, a turbine logo, and Power to Make a Difference written on the passenger door. Written along the side of the van is ‘Thanks to Meridian’s Community Decarbonisation Fund’, and ‘100% electric’. 
 
See five workers in Satisfy Food Rescue high vis vests unloading a van of food in banana boxes into a warehouse. 
 
See an aerial shot of a wind farm showing many wind turbines turning, and a vast green landscape in the background. 
 
See an aerial shot of large transformer pylons and electricity cables stretching across a lake and up a hill. 
 
See a hydro dam building, lake and large pipes flowing down to the generation building. 
See large wind farm working on a cloudy day. The supporters certified logo shows on screen. This is an oblong logo with Certified Renewable Electricity Generation written inside along with the turbine logo. See meridian.co.nz/certified also comes on to screen. 

See an EV ute driving quickly past with Nga Manu Nature reserve written on the side, along with the Meridian name and logo. 
 
See the EV ute pull out of the Nga Manu Reserve property and drive along the road. 

See the outside of a shed with a sign EcoMatters Bike Hub. Then see a bike go past a white EV van that has a sign with – Thanks to the Meridian Decarbonisation Fund – on the side. 
 
See two people outside the EcoMatters Bike Hub fixing a bike while surrounded by many more bikes and signs. The signs say ‘used bikes for sale’, ‘ Welcome’, and ‘Menu - help $0, Advice $0, Use our tools $0, Koha most welcome.’ 
 
Kath Prins – General Manager, Waipuna Community, Youth & Child Services, speaks to the camera: We can be more sustainable as an organisation and we can cut some costs so we can put that money back into our young people. 
 
See solar arrays on the Waipuna Community building. See the outside of the Waipuna building and the colourful cartoon artwork along the side of the building. The sign says Waipuna Community, Youth and Child Services. St John of God Hauora Trust. 
 
Narrator speaks over the following scenes: In 2023, the fund distributed $1.1 million to 14 community projects around the country. 
 
See many solar panels covering the top of the Waipuna building. 

The words appear on screen – 2023. $1.1m distributed, 14 community projects, and a map of New Zealand with 14 locations highlighted across the country as to where the projects are. 
 
Brent Bielby – Team Lead Bikes, EcoMatters speaks to camera. He is standing outside the EcoMatters bike hub and their EV van: We’re able to save on fuel costs and the money we save we’re able to put back into supporting more people getting on bikes. 
 
See Brent loading a bike into the EV van next to others. See arial shot of the EcoMatters EV van driving away from the Bike hub. See many bikes lined up outside the hub. 
 
Narrator continues to speak as the scenes change: The fund helps community organisations make the switch to sustainable energy solutions. 

From electric vehicles that reduce carbon emissions. 

See Satisfy Food Rescue van up close with someone opening the back door. 
 
Phillipa Hunt – Founder/Chairperson - Satisfy Food Rescue, speaks to camera: We were able to purchase a brand new EV van, which has been fantastic, that has allowed us to grow our operations so we’re supporting more people in need. 
 
See the Satisfy Food Rescue EV van pulling away from the warehouse and see workers packing boxes of fruit inside the warehouse wearing high vis vests. 
 
Narrator speaks while the scenes change: To solar arrays that harness the power of the sun, these changes make a big difference in our communities. 
 
See aerial shot of the top of a building at Nga Manu Nature Reserve covered in solar panels. 
See the top of the Waipuna building covered in solar panels. 

See two more buildings at Nga Manu Nature Reserve with solar panels on the roof, surrounded by bush and a lake. 
 
Anna McKenzie Hawea – General Manager – Nga Manu Nature Reserve speaks to the camera: Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to put solar panels on three of our buildings and with the money we’re saving from that, we can put that back into our conservation projects that are the core of our kaupapa. 
 
Narrator continues to speak as the scenes change: At Meridian we’re committed to doing good things with our energy. 

And thanks to our Certified customers together, we’re creating a brighter, more sustainable future for all kiwis. 
 
See an aerial scene of a wind farm and six large wind turbines working on top of a hill surrounded by bush. 
See close up of the top of a wind turbine looking out over the mountains, river and green farmland. 

See Anna McKenzie Hawea getting out of the Nga Manu Nature Reserve ev ute and walk past the camera smiling. 
 
See two workers from Everybody Eats carrying boxes of food across a Wellington street. The Everybody Eats EV van is in the background. 
 
See Brent Bielby from EcoMatters load a bike into the EV van. See two waitresses at the Everybody Eats restaurant, listening to a chef and smiling. 
 
See the end screen in blue and teal. The Meridian turbine logo is spinning on the bottom right hand side of the screen and the words on screen read ‘Meridian. The Power to Make a Difference’