Businesses in the large battery supply chain have the chance to lead the way on sustainability by coming on board as sponsors of Battery Stewardship Aotearoa, which is set to be the country’s first product stewardship scheme for batteries.
Stakeholders in transport, energy, technology, recycling, and mobility worked together as an industry group, the Battery Industry Group (B.I.G) since 2019, to design a national solution for large batteries. Now, the scheme is moving forward to the delivery phase, expanding its stakeholders beyond industry to a much wider cross section of organisations and people.
“The scheme is recognised by stakeholders as future-ready and the design has been formally submitted to the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport for accreditation as a product stewardship scheme for a priority product,” says Dominic Salmon of 3R Group, the Battery Stewardship Aotearoa project managers.
“Significant resource has already been invested to get to this point. Sponsorship of the next phase will ensure the submitted scheme design is updated and ‘push play’ ready,” he says.
Strategic advantage
Sponsorship is far more than helping fund the scheme’s forward momentum, Dominic says. “This is a strategic advantage for business to be ready for regulation, strengthen their ESG position, protect against risk, and reduce cost and complexity.”
Those first in the door will benefit from early visibility, a smooth compliance transition and can meet Global Battery Passport requirements, Dominic says. “In short, this is the chance to be ready for regulation and not simply respond to it.”
As a sponsor, your funding will ensure the scheme is ready to be activated under the amended regulatory framework while also helping leverage potential government co-investment. Put simply, this is an opportunity to help build the solution before compliance becomes the expectation, Dominic says.
Foot on the accelerator
Recent trends in surging EV and hybrid vehicles sales, as well as political parties making solar and battery solutions part of their policies for re-election, highlights the rapid adoption of large batteries in New Zealand’s energy matrix.
“The number of large batteries in New Zealand continues to grow at pace. There’s little doubt large batteries will be a prominent feature of the country’s energy future. With that comes the need to plan for managing them at their end of life so they retain their value rather than becoming a problematic waste stream,” Dominic says.
Let’s talk
“Significant resource has already been invested to design the product stewardship scheme. We’re looking for investment in the next stage of development to get the scheme launch ready, with three tiers of sponsorship available.
“Organisations wanting to discuss the opportunity to be seen as a leader in battery stewardship, are invited to get in touch,” Dominic says.
