Our Initiatives:
Solar
Visit SolarWeb for our Solar Power Dashboard of Energy we have generated since July 2020 and CO2e offset at the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
Generation Per Year:
3kW Array installed September 2019
2019 – 1,039.7kWh
2020 – 3,593.9kWh
Remaining Panels installed to bring array to 5kW peak installed in February 2021
2021 – 6,830.3kWh
2022 – 7,922.9kWh
2023 – 7,831.8kWh
Running Total 2019-2023: 27,218.6kWh or 27.22MWh
On 21/08/2023 23,576.2kWh was reached which financially is the equivalent of the cost of the Solar Package less the Grant received from the Christchurch City Council back in 2019.
Going forwards the Solar is now generating us both financial and environmental savings on top of recovering what we spent which is a fantastic outcome!
Resource Recovery
We utilize a local specialist Scrap Metal company to recycle our Scrap Metals, Batteries and Aluminum Cans.
This improves our environmental footprint by diverting waste from Landfill along with financially supporting the Society.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Over the last few years we have upgraded our Workshop with Energy Efficient LED Lighting replacing old HID (High Intensity Discharge) Sodium or Mercury Lighting along with Fluorescent Tube Lighting.
This has benefitted us not only in low energy consumption and bills but also means the lighting will not need to be replaced for a number of years.
We have also undertaken to upgrade all the lighting in our Signal Box, Ferrymead Station & Carriages with Heritage Aesthetic LED Lighting that provides beautiful luminance but also reducing consumption.
Ticketing
We issue Recyclable Edmondson Style Cardboard Tickets for our services and only issue a Thermal Paper receipt to customers on request.
This reduces non recyclable thermal paper wastage for receipts that customers do not want or need in most instances.
CRS Sustainability Initiatives Fund
The Canterbury Railway Society Incorporated is proud to be one of the first (if not the first) Heritage Railway Society in New Zealand to introduce the ability to contribute towards reducing or offsetting the Carbon Emissions related to your journey with us!
At the point of purchasing your ticket you can choose to contribute $1.00 towards our CRS Sustainability Initiatives Fund which goes towards Carbon Reduction opportunities around our operation, along with Offsetting remaining Carbon Emissions related to our operation which includes your train ride.
Any excess will be only used towards other Sustainability Initiatives/Improvements around the CRS Site e.g.: Solar Installations/Maintenance, Rainwater Collection, Waste Minimisation and Environmental Improvements like Plantings and Waterways Maintenance.
This enables us to do more in making our Little Railway as lighter impact as possible on the environment whilst still providing the same great Heritage Railway Experience we all know and love.
Each year we will detail here what we have offset for the previous 12 months along with any activities we undertook so everyone can see where their contributions have gone.
(2022 was lower than planned due to starting the fund later in the year and poor advertising of its availability.)
2022 – $4.00 raised
2023 – $26.00 raised
This has been used for reducing our footprint in both our Electrics Shed with new LED Lighting along with LED Lighting in our Workshop – 2023.