In 2019 Taupō master glass artist Lynden Over had something of a crisis of conscience.
He decided he didn’t want to continue glassblowing unless he could operate on a carbon zero basis.
Now after two years of changes with the environment in mind, the glassblowing studio, art gallery and cafe he runs with wife Christine Robb has achieved that – and has the Toitū Envirocare certification to prove it.
They believe Lava Glass, founded in 2002, is the first glassblowing studio in the world to have done so.
But the project, something of an education in carbon accounting, has not been without its challenges.
“It’s a lot more than just planting trees,” said Over, though they have done that too – 24,000 trees in 2020 and 75,000 trees this year, natives and pines, for carbon sequestration on a 100-hectare property in Waipu, the natives part of a programme to create wildlife corridors.
“Everything had to be audited, fridges … food waste.”
Even getting the large electric furnace over from the US to replace the studio’s LPG-fired one, reducing gas use by two-thirds, had a carbon footprint that had to be calculated in.
“But it has been a rewarding journey to convert the studio to carbon zero status and know that I am able to look after the planet while following my passion,” said Over.
The act of turning sand into glass is energy intensive, using an incredible amount of heat – a furnace containing molten glass roars 24 hours a day, and a second furnace is fired up to keep the molten glass moving.
While that smaller furnace, the “glory hole”, is their last still running on gas, Over is looking at biodiesel for this part of the operation, and hopes to run tests using it later in the year.
Sustainability is important for Over and Robb, the two have converted to electric cars and waste reduction has also been a focus – 67 per cent of Lava Glass waste has been diverted away from landfill – but the move to reduce their carbon footprint has meant some sacrifices.
While businesses hit by a fall in international visitors look to increase online trade – and Covid-19 border closures meant Lava Glass lost two-thirds of its visitors overnight – the couple have decided to make certain products unavailable for overseas shipping.
“Toitū means we have to calculate the carbon on every single package,” said Robb.
“It just became unviable for some stuff because you have to pay for or reduce the carbon.
“Sending a tumbler over to the UK for example. A person in England might as well buy one made over there. For unique artworks it’s a different story, and we’re happy to pay for that, but you do have to think about every single item that you sell or make.”
Toitū’s independent auditing shows the company had to offset 90.14 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) this year.
Now it is all about reducing these emissions via their co-designed greenhouse gas emissions management plan.
Though, noted Over, there were a couple of breaks they were missing out on.
As the Taupō landfill doesn’t capture its methane, any waste from Lava Glass that does go out for council collection, incurs a higher penalty than where the methane is trapped (Taupō District Council staff are looking into methane capture options for the dump including a gas flare and gas wells), and while he knows the business gets electricity from a company generating via renewable methods, Toitū acknowledges that the national grid involves some gas and coal-fired generation so factors that in on the electricity budget.
But, said Robb, to be an internationally accepted assessment it had to be a rigorous process.
Credit: Stuff.co.nz
