Engineers For Social Responsibility

Who we are

Engineers for Social Responsibility Inc.

We are an independent group of engineers who consider that being knowledgeable in the field of technology means that they also have a special obligation to the public at large.

About Us
Events
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Next event: Balancing the energy trilemma EECA Chief Executive Dr Marcos Pelenur will join us on Wednesday 15th October, explaining how energy efficiency and renewables are key to balancing the energy efficiency ‘trilemma’. Dr Pelenur will share his views on this and the current focus and priorities for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Find Out More
Upcoming event: Strategic Lighting for a Brighter Tomorrow Bryan King, the Executive Director of the Lighting Council of New Zealand, will speak to us on Wednesday 19th November about opportunities to advance safety, energy and environmental outcomes with lighting. Find Out More
Video coming soon: Navigating Low-Carbon Building Design – Journeys of France and New Zealand On Wednesday 20th August we heard Anais Guennoc and Julio Ortiz discuss the Environmental Regulation RE2020 which has been introduced in France, making it one of the first countries to adopt legislation with regulatory thresholds on whole-of-life embodied carbon for buildings. What lessons can be learned for the building and construction industry in New Zealand? Find Out More

Submissions

From time to time ESR makes submissions to Local Bodies or to Government, on issues of concern. These submissions are listed here and can be accessed for perusal.

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Submission in response to proposed changes in NZ ETS Regulations 2025 This submission relates to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) consultation document, Proposed changes to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) regulations 2025. In this document the MfE raises a number of specific issues. But we consider that there are also much more important steps that need to be taken so that we can… Read more
Effect of AM Network closure on disaster communications Letter to Hon. Mark Mitchell, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery, on effect of AM network closure on disaster communications Read more
Heavy Vehicle Traffic ESR Submission to Parliament on Traffic Congestion Charging ESR made a submission to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee of Parliament on the Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill 2025 to sensitively support the use of congestion charging in a way that doesn't penalise the poor Read more

Members’ Papers and Media

From time to time ESR members prepare papers that provide useful guidance on particular topics, or invite us to attend and view webinars from like-minded organisations. Opinions provided in members’ papers and video media do not represent the official viewport of ESR.

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Upcoming event: Quantifying the contribution of climate change to extreme weather events When an extreme heat wave, torrential downpour, or massive wildfire occurs, how do we know whether and how much of a role climate change played? Resilient River Communities are hosting this presentation by Dr. Kristina Dahl on 31st October, covering the basics of climate attribution science. Read more
Browse ESR’s YouTube channel Discover ESR on YouTube — your gateway to visionary insights and boundary‑pushing ideas. Dive into sharp analysis and content that challenges the status quo. Subscribe now — inspiration for your next engineering breakthrough could be just one video away. Read more
Join the conversation on LinkedIn Join the movement with Engineers for Social Responsibility on LinkedIn! Be part of a community by sharing ideas, sparking dialogue, and championing ethical innovation. Connect now - we welcome your contribution to thought leadership on technological issues that will have an impact on our environment and society. Read more

Newsletters

We publish a Newsletter from time to time, with news of ESR activities, articles and discussion on topics of interest.

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August 2025 CONTENTS - Eight reasons to be hopeful amid global challenges - IRENA Report excerpts - The renewable energy revolution - Grid forming batteries and syncons to bolster NSW grid - ‘Plastic crisis’ hitting health from infancy to old age - Economic assumptions no longer relevant. Read more
June 2025 CONTENTS - Don't blame renewables - Climate projects can bring big economic benefits - Tide is turning in Europe and beyond in favour of nuclear power - AI can help us protect the planet - Electric scooters and a salt battery push in China - WA gets first-ever home battery rebate and loan scheme -… Read more
April 2025 CONTENTS: From sewage and scum to swimming in ‘blue gold’: how Switzerland transformed its rivers - UK scientist wins prize for invention that could help avert ‘phosphogeddon’ - Nearly 100% of lithium recycled in latest research - UQ researchers set new solar cell world record - Plants are losing their appetite - WMO report documents… Read more

Climate Fact Sheets

Engineers for Social Responsibility and the Sustainable Energy Forum are concerned about the consequences of human-induced climate change and global warming and the need for widespread understanding of the facts and underlying science. Our combined organisations have prepared a series of discussion sheets and further papers will be published soon. Each paper is peer reviewed by top professionals with specialist knowledge about the topic being described.

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Renewable Energy Renewable energy is energy derived directly or indirectly from sunlight, wind, rain, tidal flows and ranges, waves, and thermal energy stored in the oceans, which are naturally replenished over fairly brief periods of time. Geothermal energy is also regarded as renewable because of the extremely large amounts of heat available from the earth’s core. Major… Read more
New Zealand Energy Security And Climate Change This paper sets out the case for taking early and effective action to improve New Zealand’s energy security, and doing so in a manner which minimises New Zealand’s future greenhouse gas emissions Read more
Climate Change – Living in a Warmer World Planet Earth has experienced large shifts in climate over time. In the depths of the last Ice Age, around 20,000 years ago, average temperatures were about 5°C lower than they are today. It looks now as though global warming is likely to heat up the world between 2 and 6°C by the year 2100. Read more