Over a decade of sustainability collaboration with Instep

9 September 2025

For more than a decade, Instep, an organisation supporting businesses in environmental reporting has been a trusted sustainability collaborator of the New Zealand National Fieldays Society (the Society), playing a key role in helping us lead with environmental responsibility across all aspects of our operations — especially at Fieldays, the event the Society owns and operates.

Since 2012, Instep has supported the Society through a comprehensive Carbon & Sustainability Programme, providing annual calculations of our greenhouse gas emissions profile, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Recently, the Society publicly disclosed its Scope 3 emissions — indirect emissions across our wider operations — to demonstrate our commitment to transparency and encourage other organisations to recognise the importance of this reporting. Instep’s reporting adheres to internationally recognised standards such as ISO 14064-1 and ISO 20121 — the same frameworks used by major global events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup.

With this data, we can set and track ambitious goals for energy efficiency, waste diversion, and fossil fuel phase-out. Instep has also awarded NZNFS GOLD-level certification for sustainability performance and continues to guide us as we align our efforts with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We are committed to five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — Climate Action, Quality Education, Good Health and Well-being, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Partnerships for the Goals. Each goal is supported by targeted actions and forms a core part of our organisation’s sustainability efforts, guiding how we set objectives, track progress, report outcomes, and refine our strategies. This structured approach also informs our carbon budget and action register, creating a continuous cycle of improvement.

This year, as part of a pilot initiative, a new Fieldays Sustainability Awards, in association with Instep, celebrated exhibitors making a positive impact at the four-day event. The trial proved a success based on feedback from exhibitors invited to take part. Plans are now underway to expand the framework, ensuring that all Fieldays exhibitors will have the opportunity to enter in future.

With Instep’s guidance, Fieldays continues to make steady progress on our sustainability journey, taking meaningful steps to reduce our impact while hosting the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event — supporting New Zealand’s primary industries every step of the way.