The Mount Maunganui Industry Environmental Accord has been signed by 31 businesses within the industrial zone, who have all volunteered to take measures above and beyond what’s required of them to measurably reduce environmental impacts. 

Genera, an Accord signatory, is a Tauranga family-owned business with almost 50 years of operations across multiple countries. It specialises in providing innovative and compliant fumigation and pest management services, protecting the environment while safeguarding essential industries and their trading pathways.  

The business has reported a huge reduction in methyl bromide emissions at Port of Tauranga, even as fumigation workload has increased, due to operational enhancements. 

“Genera is at the forefront of innovation, developing world-leading technologies that drive meaningful environmental improvements, exceed customer expectations and stay ahead of evolving regulatory requirements,” said Genera CEO Robbie Ramlose.  

The achievement

Methyl bromide is an effective, versatile fumigant used to kill unwanted quarantine pests from import and export cargo. However, it’s an ozone depleting substance and efforts are being made to reduce both the use and emissions of the gas. 

In recent years, Genera has achieved remarkable results in minimising emissions while maintaining high standards of operational efficiency and compliance. In 2024, it conducted 2,870 fumigations across various containment spaces – this was a significant increase from 1,672 fumigations in 2022. Despite this uptick in activity, Genera’s operational enhancements enabled them to significantly reduce the environmental impact of its fumigation practices. 

“The total methyl bromide emissions on port have reduced from a high of 78,000kg in 2019 to slightly over 800kg in 2024 – an overall reduction in our emissions in excess of 98%,” confirms Robbie. 

Key contributors to the emission reductions

This dramatic reduction in emissions is due to several factors, including smarter fumigant usage with investment in accurate monitoring systems, coupled with the invention and implementation of Genera’s own novel recapture and destruction systems for methyl bromide. 

At the Port of Tauranga, Genera successfully elevated recapture rates to consistently achieve greater than 90%, compared to conservative measurements of 30% in 2021. This improvement was achieved through decoupling recapture and destruction systems to provide fast, efficient and compliant recapture on port, while centralising the destruction process for a more effective operation. 

“Genera’s success story at the Port of Tauranga is a testament to our dedication to innovation, compliance, and collaboration,” says Robbie. “These achievements have positioned Genera as an industry leader in sustainable fumigation practices and reinforced our commitment to environmental accountability.” 

Genera intends to continue its commitment to sustainable, environmentally friendly biosecurity solutions. “The progress at the Port of Tauranga and throughout New Zealand is just the beginning of our journey towards a more sustainable future.”  

Priority One will continue to report on other notable progress in the industrial zone, so to keep up to date with these stories, along with other news on sustainability, innovation and infrastructure, sign-up for our fortnightly newsletter here.