Since 1998 has been on a sustainable journey. Following are some key milestones and highlights.
InterCity Group's key sustainability milestones include:
1998 - introduced paperless ticketing, reduced paper use by 80% in first year.
2000 - adopted automation strategy aimed at reducing manual transactions involving paper..
2001 - moved to fully electronic business transaction by introducing automated invoicing and stopping paper voucher collection from trade customers.
2002 - committed to new vehicles voluntarily meeting latest European emission standards. This has continued since this date and represents an investment in excess of $20 million.
2003 - Began applying coating to outside of vessels to improve fuel efficiency. The coating allows sea growth to slip off when the vessel is moving. Result was a 10% reduction in fuel consumption with corresponding reduction in emissions.
2004 - removed interior walls at head office to allow more efficient air conditioning and natural light distribution, reducing annual power consumption by 7%.
2004 - Fullers Bay of Islands was founding signatory to Northland Sustainable Tourism Charter.
2005 - invested $100,000 in new digital contact handling system to integrate phone, email and fax into digital format. Reduced office paper by 25 per cent.
2006 - upgraded server systems and implement new server sharing software, a project worth $3.6 million. Reduced server numbers from 13 to three driving an IT power saving of 70 per cent a year.
2006 - became the premium sponsor of Kiwi Encounter at Rainbow Springs Nature Park in Rotorua, a key hatchery in Department Of Conservation's Kiwi recovery programme.
2007 - developed and introduced emission reduction plan. This resulted in annual power consumption savings of 15%. It also included a goal for all company cars to reduce emissions by 20% per vehicle within 3 years. This is being achieved by downsizing or adopting vehicles with lower emission profiles as each vehicle comes up for renewal. We are on track to achieve this goal.
2008 - moved into new Auckland office and voluntarily funded, at a cost of $100,000, new air conditioning and electrical systems upgrades to minimise power consumption.
2008 - trialling new fuel filtering technology on vessels that will provide a 12% reduction in fuel use.
2008 - undertook winter code sharing between brands, resulting in winter emission reductions of 50%.
2009 - In August, Fullers GreatSights Bay of Islands launched the newest edition to its Bay of Islands fleet - Ipipiri, a 46m (circa 160 foot) luxury catamaran, purpose build for overnight cruising. With our sustainable journey in mind, Sydney based Incat Crowther a world leader in small ship design, incorporated some significant sustainable practises into the build.
From Euro 5 engines that met the latest European emission standards to utilising twin hauls that provide maximum stability and minimum wake. The vessel has also been fitted with onboard sewage treatment plants, full waste water capture, positive pressure air flow systems to minimise the need for air conditioning, full onboard recycling, low flow showers to save on water to the use of many local Northland suppliers. For more information about Ipipiri click here
2010 - In October, Fullers GreatSights Bay of Islands received a Qualmark Enviro-Gold Award in recognition of its high standards in environmental practices.
2010 - In October, InterCity Coachlines, Newmans Coachlines and GreatSights New Zealand received a Qualmark Enviro-Bronze Award in recognition of its high standards in environmental practices.