Sustainability
Our approach to sustainability
At Mainfreight, our vision of being a 100-year company is about building a business that endures for generations. It is a mindset focused on making responsible decisions every day, leaving things better than we found them, and safeguarding the future of our people, communities, and planet.
We are committed to providing a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all team members while striving to exceed environmental standards wherever practical. We recognise that transport and logistics generate carbon emissions, and we take responsibility for reducing our environmental impact over time without compromising the quality and reliability our customers expect.
Sustainability, safety, health, and environmental responsibility have long been embedded in the way we operate. These principles continue to support our success and guide our future. While our initiatives may vary across countries to create the greatest local impact, our commitment remains the same: to continuously improve, expand our efforts where practical, and contribute positively to the communities in which we operate.
Mainfreight Sustainability and Climate Report 2026
Annual Report 2026
Mainfreight Sustainability Policy
Our people
Mainfreight supports sustainability by investing in people. Through health and wellness programmes, fair living wages for entry-level roles, and leadership development initiatives such as Outward Bound and Main Divide, we help our team thrive. We also support future generations through tertiary scholarships for the families of Mainfreight team members, strengthening communities and creating long-term positive impact.
Our community
Mainfreight supports stronger communities through education, partnerships, and volunteering. As a major sponsor of Duffy Books in Homes, we help encourage literacy and learning opportunities for children. Through our support of Stichting Present Montferland and locally organised volunteering and community days, our teams actively contribute to the communities where we live and work, creating a lasting positive social impact.
Our place
Mainfreight is committed to reducing its environmental impact through sustainable operations and infrastructure. Our investments include over 5,500 kWp of solar capacity across New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, modern low-emission vehicle fleets, rail-connected facilities, and trials of electric trucks. We also focus on responsible resource use through rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, waste repurposing, landfill diversion initiatives, on-site composting, and the adoption of electric material-handling equipment and hybrid or electric company vehicles. These initiatives help us improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and support a more sustainable future.
Our economy
Mainfreight is committed to supporting both communities and sustainable transport solutions. Through youth work skills training programmes, we help young people gain practical experience and valuable career opportunities. We continue to invest in rail infrastructure to move more freight off the roads, reducing congestion, heavy traffic, and transport emissions. Our inland container port development also helps ease pressure on Auckland’s city roads by moving container operations away from the busy port area. Together, these initiatives contribute to safer roads, more efficient supply chains, and stronger, more sustainable communities for the future.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all
Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions
We welcome the opportunity to present our global emissions inventories. Through our emissions reporting, Mainfreight continues to demonstrate best practice and reinforce its commitment to better understanding and improving its operational carbon emissions performance.
Our inventories cover Scope 1, Scope 2 and material Scope 3 emissions and are prepared using an operational control approach. It is our belief that if we can exercise reasonable influence over an emissions source then we must include it. As a result we incorporate emissions from vehicles operated by owner drivers and agents, rail providers, shipping lines and airlines that support our service offering to customers.
Mainfreight has been reporting independently verified greenhouse gas emissions since 2018, providing greater transparency and helping our customers better understand the environmental impact of their supply chains.
For full details and wider explanation of our emissions inventories, please refer to our Greenhouse Gas Inventory Reports below.
Sustainability and Information Technology
Reducing the environmental impact of IT infrastructure is important. Our data centres in New Zealand, Australia and the United States of America are as energy efficient as possible through initiatives including:- Minimising computer room space to minimise cooling requirements
- Installing efficient cooling systems
- Using virtualisation to reduce hardware required, - and heat generated – Mainfreight currently runs 48 major applications across only 12 physical servers
- Using hardware with variable energy management systems – running at full capacity only on an “as needed” basis
Future Sustainability Developments and Leadership
Mainfreight is actively committed to sustainability and environmentally friendly practices. We develop partnerships in the wider community to promote socially responsible environmental practices and show leadership in managing the use of finite resources.Our commitment to sustainability, safety, health and the environment has been, and continues to be, a fundamental element of our operating practices and our success to date.