Sustainable Design

Sustainability, and all that it implies, is becoming a driving force in government policy and mainstream business throughout the world.

For continued competitiveness, New Zealand’s primary and manufacturing industries must respond to sustainability drivers by reducing environmental impacts, using resources efficiently, improving waste and energy management and using more renewables.

Just as importantly, they must exploit business opportunities that target these drivers to create economic advantage from New Zealand’s natural resources.

Scion assists this movement by offering research and development services in the following key areas:

     
    Measuring Sustainable Design Scion is deploying various models of resource use that enable environmental impacts to be measured and monitored so improvements can be made.
     
    Climate Change Mitigation Quantifying the role of forests in greenhouse gas mitigation, and evaluating the potential effects of climate change on the environment.
     
    Optimising Land Value Scion is developing new systems and approaches to integrated land management across the rural landscape.
     
    Environmental Technologies Scion assists with the design of technologies that minimise ecosystem contamination through water recycling, energy reduction, environmental remediation, carbon recovery, and conversion of wastes.
     
    Trade & Economic development Scion is a leader in the development and application of economic forest sector models for forecasting and analysing the impacts of global policy on forest product markets and trade.
     
    Social Values Scion undertakes social science research within selected communities in areas such as sustainable biowastes management, and rural fire and biosecurity management, integrating our findings with environmental and economic research.
     
    Human Factors Scion recognises that the productivity of people is integral to sustainable economic success. We offer New Zealand’s leading and largest ergonomics research group focused on optimising system performance without compromising worker wellbeing.