SUSTAINABILITY

Our sustainability journey began in 2015 when we invested in replacing all cups at our water stations with compostable cups. Since 2016, we have partnered with a specialist waste management team, Clean Event, to help divert waste from landfill.

• We provide water on course and at the start line as part of our duty of care to keep 30,000 participants well-hydrated and all of those water stations including the finish chute use fully compostable cups.

• We work with a specialist waste management team that thoroughly clears all parts of the event to ensure no waste is left behind. The team does another sweep after the event has finished and twice again over the succeeding two days, ensuring all rubbish is sent to the correct waste streams.

• All the collected waste is hand-sorted into waste streams, including organics, recycling (cardboard, plastic, glass, etc) and general waste. The sorted waste is then taken to the appropriate facilities to be recycled, composted or sent to landfill.

• Stormwater drains at and around all water stations are covered to prevent any cups going out to sea.

• All official food vendors are required to use compostable packaging as part of their service agreements.

• Hospitality site holders are encouraged to use either compostable packaging or reusable serviceware.

• Event signage is reused where possible, with most signage being unbranded & undated for this purpose.

• Any usable leftover food from our Schools Zone is taken to the Auckland City Mission.

• Any unused medals are taken to a scrap dealer to be turned into materials for new products.

Sustainability is a key priority across our events portfolio and we continue to make improvements to reduce each event’s environmental footprint.

Since the 2016 event, we have diverted, on average, 72.4% of waste from landfill. That waste is split approximately as: 

23-26% organics

48-51% recycling

20-27% landfill 

From there…

Our organics are sent to Envirofert where it is processed into compost and sold to a variety of commercial growers.

Our recycling is sent to Visy, where it is sorted into various categories for example, by types of glass and plastic - and then processed into recycled materials and new products.

Have all hospitality site holders using compostable or reusable serviceware.

Gather accurate data to calculate our carbon footprint.

Create an action plan to reduce the event's carbon footprint in line with our overall emissions reduction.

Reach carbon neutral certification by the 2030 event.

We appreciate that sustainability is as important to you as it is to us, so we are grateful for your help in minimising waste wherever possible

• Be a tidy Kiwi – take your waste home for disposal, or put your waste in the correct bin!

  • We have three bin types:

    🟢 Green bin: Compost - any food scraps or items marked as compostable, such as plates, napkins, cups and utensils

    🟡 Yellow bin: Recycling – plastic bottles, glass bottles, cardboard, aluminum cans

    🔴 Red bin: Landfill – plastic wrap, polystyrene, plastic bags & plastic plates. If you are unsure then put your waste in this bin and our amazing sorting team will separate the waste so it goes to the correct place

• Alert event staff to any waste issues, such as full bins. We have a large team of waste staff so if you see a bin that is full let a staff member know so we can get it cleared as quickly as possible

• If you are a team with a hospitality site then bring only compostable or recyclable items. That means no polystyrene, plastic or paper serviceware (plates, cutlery & cups). Even better, bring reusable items and take them away with you to be reused. 

Stuff’s Sustainability Commitment

Southern Cross Round the Bays is part of Stuff Events. Stuff is a proud member of the Climate Leaders Coalition and has committed to a 25% reduction in scope 1* and 2* emissions by 2025. We're also working with our partners and suppliers to get a better picture of our scope 3* emissions so we can do our bit in this area too.

Click here to read about Stuff’s sustainability journey and what we’re doing to reduce emissions.

*Emissions are broken down into three categories by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in order to better understand the source.

Scope 1 – All direct emissions from the activities of an organisation or under their control. Including fuel combustion on site such as gas boilers, fleet vehicles and air-conditioning leaks.

Scope 2 – Indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organisation. Emissions are created during the production of the energy and eventually used by the organisation.

Scope 3 – All other indirect emissions from activities of the organisation, occurring from sources that they do not own or control. These emissions usually represent the greatest share of the carbon footprint, covering emissions associated with business travel, procurement, waste and water.