Greens’ coal ban worthy aim: Synlait

A Green Party plan to end industrial coal use by 2030 would be “tough” for many New Zealand industries but is a target that is worth aiming for, Synlait Milk said.

Halting the use of coal in process heat by then would be “pretty ambitious” even for a company like Synlait which doesn’t compete in price-sensitive global commodity markets like most of the dairy sector and many other local industries, said Hamish Reid, the company’s director of sustainability and brand.

Synlait had been aiming to be off coal at its Dunsandel plant in Canterbury by 2030 or 2032 through a combination of electrification, biomass and other on-site generation, he told BusinessDesk.

But other firms competing on price in global markets would find it hard meeting the target, which the Green Party announced at the weekend as part of its pre-election roll-out.

“We are operating in markets where the margins are higher so we can afford to build those additional costs into our business,” Reid said.

“That is not that easy for other companies in our industry and in other industries in the wider economy.”