Clients & Projects
Some of the clients we've worked with include:
>> Recent Projects
Project: Kerbside Wheelie Bin Provision Feasibility Study
For: Hurunui District Council
TNC was asked to advise Hurunui District Council on the feasibility of moving from a bag-based rubbish and recycling system to a three wheelie bin system for rubbish, recycling and organics. The process included the consideration of:
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Advantages and disadvantages of moving to a new system, including the impact on rural ratepayers.
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Probable impacts on volumes and household behaviour of a change in system.
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Analysis of national and international trends in managing kerbside waste, and key learnings from these.
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Calculation of carbon impacts of a change of system.
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Estimation of capital costs in the proposed system, including transfer station upgrade requirements.
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Estimation of likely operational costs for the new system.
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Suggestion and evaluation of different cost-recovery models.
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Overall assessment of feasibility and provision of a recommendation for council.
Project: Mobile Skin Cancer Screening Service Business Plan
For: Lions Club New Zealand
Lions Club New Zealand engaged TNC to lead the development of a business plan for the proposed Lions Club Skin Cancer Screening Service. This service involves the deployment of two or more mobile units for providing initial skin cancer screening in New Zealand.
The business plan was prepared to:
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Clarify and articulate the intentions of LNZ with the service.
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Confirm the service design and elements so all parties understand what is being proposed.
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Articulate and provide evidence of need and validate the service design as the best practicable solution to meet this need.
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Provide confidence to potential funders and partners of the value and desirability of the service.
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Assist in focusing development activities and laying out a plan for ensuring successful service deployment.
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Set targets for the development process and eventual service outcomes.
Project: Identifying Biodiversity Support Measures and Incentives for the Canterbury Region
For: Ministry for the Environment
The Environment Canterbury (ECan) project, undertaken by Carina and TNC focused creating a better understanding of the potential suite of support and incentives that may be deployed as part of a future approach to indigenous biodiversity management across the region.
Project: Design of Product Stewardship Schemes for Veterinary Medicines and Household Pest and Weed Control Products
For: Agrecovery
True North Consulting has been contracted to Agrecovery to guide the design and implementation of new product stewardship schemes for Veterinary Medicines and Household Pest and Weed Control Products in line with the declaration of these products as 'Priority Products' by government under the Waste Minimisation Act.
This design work includes:
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Keeping the industry informed as to progress towards regulated product stewardship.
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Forming a stakeholder advisory group for veterinary medicines to facilitate coordination and a cross-industry approach.
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Establishing processes for managing commercially-sensitive and confidential information required for development of the scheme.
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Building an understanding of industry priorities, needs and key drivers.
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Undertaking qualitative and quantitative analysis on veterinary medicines. Understanding the types and volumes of products and packaging, and the handling requirements for each.
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Understanding users and channels to market.
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Mapping existing services, activities and behaviours in terms of product and packaging waste management.
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Determining fair and reasonable criteria for prioritising products to focus on, and selecting focus products for development.
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Undertaking small-scale pilot trials and sharing of trial data as appropriate.
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Identifying existing barriers to effective product stewardship for veterinary medicines and their packaging, and opportunities to address and remove barriers.
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Identify potential collection, recycling or safe disposal options.
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Determining initial design requirements for a product stewardship scheme and creating a plan for finalising development, determining appropriate funding mechanisms and including all products over time.
Project: Strategic Planning
For: Ecocentral
True North Consulting has been contracted to guide the strategic planning process for 2021 to 2025 with Ecocentral's board and senior management team. This includes refining mission, vision and values, facilitating strategic planning workshops and assisting in creating operational plans from strategic initiatives identified.
Project: Business Start-up Support Services
For: Ministry for Social Development
True North Consulting is contracted to the Ministry for Social Development to assist in the development of new client business plans, and to provide vetting services for start-up business plans before accessing government support. This also involves working directly with a range of clients to help develop business plans and prepare them for business execution, as well as mentoring business owners.
Project: National Resource Recovery – Fibre Investigation and Response: Market and Situational Analysis with Recommended Options
For: Ministry for the Environment
The Ministry for the Environment is progressing work to minimise New Zealand’s waste. Part of this work programme is the National Resource Recovery (NRR) Project, which aims to recharge New Zealand’s recycling system by exploring options to improve waste infrastructure, services and education. This work will assist both central and local government in providing a sustainable and circular solution for New Zealand’s recovered fibre by creating pathways to divert more resource from landfill and minimise harm from waste.
True North Consulting and Eunomia were contracted to work with government (central and local), iwi, industry, and other key stakeholders to:
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Deliver a market and situational analysis of the current international fibre (paper and cardboard) situation as it relates to New Zealand.
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Determine which short-, medium- and long-term options are available to central and local government to respond to the current fibre issue and increase New Zealand’s resilience to external market forces.
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Facilitate a multi criteria analysis (MCA) decision-making workshop with key stakeholders.
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Based on criteria established in the workshop, develop a ranked short-list of options available to address the current international fibre situation. Priority options were accompanied by respective implementation pathways.
Project: Provision of Strategic Waste Expertise
For: Climate Change Commission
True North Consulting has been contracted to the Climate Change Commission to provide strategic guidance on the Commission’s work on providing advice for waste emissions in the first emissions budget. True North Consulting will help progress the work and assist in delivery of Board papers and contracts, as well as:
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Working with Commission staff to identify key opportunities for reducing emissions linked to waste
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Guiding commission staff in identifying what types of policies might unlock these opportunities
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Providing peer review of documents for Commission staff
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Identifying key stakeholders the Commission should be engaging with and engaging with stakeholders
Project: Mixed Paper & Mixed Plastics Feasibility Study
For: EcoCentral
EcoCentral commissioned True North Consulting to undertake a feasibility study to consider solutions for processing mixed paper and plastics. It is intended that the solutions identified as feasible will be deployed in Canterbury and will pursue onshore recycling of mixed paper and plastics sourced from around Canterbury, and potentially from the wider South Island. The feasibility study considered mixed paper and plastics separately, with a focus on options that synthesise the requirements of handling both waste streams. The recommended strategies are currently being prepared by EcoCentral and several have already been deployed.
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Preparation of detailed economic assessments, including end markets, capital costs and operational costs, as well as potential funding sources for all options.
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Consideration and quantification of regional economic benefits from proposed solution/s.
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Determination of optimum catchments for wastes, including consideration of transportation logistics.
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Preparation of environmental impact assessments, including potential carbon impact.
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Indications as to site requirements and potential locations.
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Preparation of detailed risk assessments.
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Provision of final assessments of feasibility against evaluation criteria.
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Provision of an integrated and comprehensive plan for EcoCentral to manage mixed paper and plastics overt the next 5 to 10 years, with 13 specific and costed strategies, supported by business cases.
Project: Rural Waste Minimisation Project
For: Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury oversaw a multi-phase project to facilitate better rural waste minimisation in New Zealand. This nationally significant project aimed to find and implement solutions to minimise rural waste and promote waste minimisation within the rural sector. The project aimed to transform the sector and ensure rural waste was no longer primarily burned, buried or stored in farm sheds. True North was engaged to manage and undertake the project.
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National and international review of options for increasing rural waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal, and a preliminary feasibility assessment of each
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Building of options including financial implications, potential risks and barriers, and benefits
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Preparing complete and detailed business cases for each preferred option
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Building a completely new and innovative business model and design to address rural waste in New Zealand, and facilitating the piloting of this model
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Monitoring project progress and liaising closely with other consultants to ensure milestones were achieved
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Maintaining oversight of the project and working closely with the wider project team
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Detailed scheduling of project processes and managing the schedule and project deliverables to ensure work was completed on time and within budget, to the required quality
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Monitoring, tracking and resolving project issues and risks
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Engaging with key stakeholders and building relationships and key contacts
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Copies of project reports are available here.
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The final recommendations for the project were successfully trialled with plans to implement the new service delivery model in 2019.
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Project reports available here.
Project: Agrichemicals Product Stewardship Process Redesign
For: Agrecovery
True North Consulting was engaged by Agrecovery, a non-profit organisation focusing on addressing persistent rural waste issues, to review and redesign their process for managing agrichemical collections. The aim was to provide better customer service, and more effective and streamlined management of the contractors carrying out the service.
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Liaising with the service contractor to build an understanding of existing processes, both limitations and strengths
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Building an optimum process map showing communication flows, decision-making requirements and database system requirements
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Working with the client and contractor to review and refine the process and achieve buy-in
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The final process was accepted for implementation and has the potential to make considerable savings in service delivery to ensure more agrichemicals are disposed of safely
Project: Zero Waste Events
For: Christchurch City Council
True North Consulting was engaged by Christchurch City Council to consider how waste sorting at public events (such as Sparks and New Years in the Park) could be achieved in an economically sustainable manner. The aim was to understand the cost drivers behind sorting and design a process for engaging a waste company to provide sorting and waste disposal services.
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Analysing event waste data and costings to understand the drivers behind costs, such as whether an event is food-focused, the amount of time attendees spend at the event, and the weather.
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Building a model to predict waste and sorting costs for future events based on these key factors.
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Building a specification and tender process for service provision for future events, and predicting the contract value based on the costing model.
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Assisting in the selection of a service provider.
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The outcome of this project was the successful engagement of a new waste service provider for Council events.
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The new provider was able to deliver on service expectations utilising the innovative service delivery model articulated in the specification.
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Based on the understanding of cost drivers and careful engagement of the provider, waste sorting at events was able to be secured at a fraction of the cost of previous service delivery options.
Project: Construction Waste Engagement and Accreditation Project
For: Christchurch City Council
True North Consulting was engaged by Christchurch City Council to better engage senior executives in construction companies in reducing waste to landfill from rebuild activity. As a result of the recommendations made, a follow-up project was launched to assess the feasibility of launching a certification service for construction companies and waste collection service providers.
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Creating a draft specification for a certification service outlining how certification would be done to 'give a tick' to those acting responsibly in terms of construction waste
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Undertaking consultation with construction companies and waste collection service providers on the draft specification
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Determining an appropriate service delivery partner
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Evaluating the business case for such a service
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Piloting the service with the selected delivery partner
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Making a final recommendation to Council as to whether the service should be progressed
Project: Environment Canterbury Regional Hazardous Waste Disposal Contract Feasibility Assessment
For: Environment Canterbury
True North Consulting was engaged by Environment Canterbury to investigate the current arrangements for hazardous waste disposal and determine the feasibility and desirability of a region-wide hazardous waste disposal service and contract.
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Interviewed Canterbury territorial authorities to understand current arrangements and determine the feasibility of a regional service
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Liaised with potential service providers to understand offerings and potential for market rationalisation
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Provided recommendations to ECAN as to the feasibility of a regional service and advice as to how current service offerings could be optimised
Project: Canterbury Earthquake Waste Timber Recycling Feasibility Study
For: Environment Canterbury / Ministry for the Environment
The project aimed to test the feasibility of, and subsequently develop a sustainable business model for the large scale collection and reuse, recycling and/or recovery of hazardous treated timber waste, with a particular focus on earthquake-related building and demolition waste.
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Developed project plan
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Successfully applied for significant funding from the Ministry for the Environment on behalf of Environment Canterbury
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Developed a project methodology for analysing and/or creating a sustainable business model for reusing, recovering or recycling waste treated timber in Canterbury
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Engaged waste owners, transportation companies, processors and potential waste users to promote collaboration and build supply chain
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Analysed international business models, technologies and trends in processing and utilising waste treated timber
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Evaluated potential business models for economic sustainability and feasibility
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Created economic models for potential service providers to test financial feasibility
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Identified a service provider as feasible that is now pursuing solution deployment in Christchurch
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Briefed Ministry for the Environment management team members on the project at the Ministry's request to assist in development of a model for future projects
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Project reports available here.
Project: Canterbury Earthquake Plasterboard Waste Recycling Feasibility Study
For: Winstone Wallboards
The Gypsum Recycling for Cement Manufacture (GR4CM) feasibility study was launched on August 1, 2011 with an overall objective of “reducing the amount of waste plasterboard entering the waste stream by 32% per annum through improved design and onsite management practices and increasing the amount of plasterboard being collected and recycled in the Canterbury region by 3,000-6,000 tonnes per annum".
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Successfully applied for significant funding from the Ministry for the Environment
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Developed a project methodology for creating an expanded recycling business model for waste plasterboard
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Analysed international business models and trends and mapped New Zealand industry for stakeholders
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Engaged local waste, demolition and construction contractors and gained participation in recycling scheme
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Created a business model to increase recycling volumes by at least 300% to 6,000+ tonnes per annum
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Project considered by the Ministry for the Environment as “one of the best run and best reported they have ever seen”
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Project reports available here.
