Our neighbours (residents and businesses who live near our operations) are some of our most important stakeholders. Supporting and investing back into these communities across our 45 or so sites across New Zealand, and avoiding and mitigating adverse impacts are our main priorities.
Our philosophy is to ‘be the neighbour you’d want to have’. To us, this means respecting the rights of others, ensuring the safe and best practice operation of our sites, and making a positive contribution to the communities we call home.
We're part of the fabric of diverse communities across New Zealand, so we're involved in local things that matter. We like to understand the nitty gritty of what they are all about to help us deliver their needs and aspirations. We are all about creating meaningful partnerships for the future. It’s not only rewarding, it’s vital to the ongoing success of our business. And because we're there for the long term, we make multi-year commitments.
We've been working with the National Collective of Women's Refuges since 2020 on several initiatives, then in 2022 we became a proud partner.
As a proud member of the Taupō community for decades, we decided to ask how we could best provide support. The community told us they were concerned about keeping our tamariki (children) safe in our moana (lake) and awa (rivers). As a result, SwimWell Taupō launched in 2010...
Contact has been a major sponsor of the colourful Alexandra Blossom Festival since 2004. In 2008 we became Principal Partner of the Festival and Grand Procession, a street parade of locally built floats, traditionally covered with thousands of carefully applied individual blossoms. This family-friendly event is held in Alexandra and...
Greening Taupō, a conservation group which has planted over 200,000 native trees with the support of the community, has improved the environment for people and wildlife. In 2013 we provided 3000 seedlings to be planted by locals which kicked off the Greening Taupō annual community planting days. It also marked...
We are proud to support the release of karearea (NZ Falcon) on Tuwharetoa iwi land, in Taupō. We have released six karearea so far and aim to release a total of 15 birds.
Kārearea are a threatened species, with less than 10,000 remaining in the wild. 75% of juveniles die...
Lake Dunstan is a popular spot with boaties, water-skiers, fishers, paragliders, and rowers. After a suggestion from locals wanting up-to-date information about weather and conditions on the lake, we installed a webcam at the top of Clyde Dam.
The webcam provides a panoramic view over the lake updated every 15..
In 2023 we began our collaboration with the community to co-design improvements to the Old Cromwell area. This was part of Contact’s revised 2019 - 2024 landscape and visual amenity management plan (LVAMP) for the Kawarau Arm of Lake Dunstan.
New Zealand is the only place on earth that kiwi call home, so we’re pleased to support efforts to conserve this precious taonga.
Kiwi Contact is a partnership between Save the Kiwi, Contact, and Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary. It is run in conjunction with Kids Greening Taupō with support from...
Contact has worked with the Taranaki Kiwi Trust since 2020, when we sponsored Koko – a resident kiwi on Taranaki Maunga. In 2025, we extended that support into a three-year sponsorship of the Trust to undertake education and advocacy programmes. In 2023 the Trust delivered 58 training, education and advocacy...
We have around 45 sites across New Zealand including 11 power stations. We work hard to make sure our operations are safe and reduce and mitigate any issues that may impact our neighbours.
As a good neighbour we make sure we keep our community engaged in our activities. Where we have important updates to share, we hold community meetings to encourage feedback, and we provide updates via email and letters. Where a neighbour may be particularly affected, we meet with them in person. We do not have a formal grievance process, instead we assess any issues on a case by case basis.
If you live around one of our power stations or offices and want to get in touch, or you have questions about any of our operations, give us a shout on 0800 000 458 (North Island) or 0800 66 33 35 (South Island).
In addition to our regional partnerships, our employee volunteer programme enables Contact people to contribute part of their time to good causes. We call this Community Contact and each year we have 8,000 hours available to help causes all over the country.
Got a project you’d like some help with? Get in touch here on 0800 000 458 (North Island) or 0800 66 33 35 (South Island).
We love hearing about the good work happening in our communities. Although we can’t say yes to everything, we help wherever we can.
For sponsorship, community investment and other enquires contact: [email protected]
At Contact, we deliver great value. products, and service. We innovate based on customer feedback to shape the future.
We're committed to preserving natural resources for future generations of Kiwis, maintaining balance every day.
We've always got courageous and clever projects on the go to help generate renewable energy and manage our long-term impacts.
For independent complaint or pricing advice, click here. UDL & Powerswitch can help.
To read our Residential Consumer Care policy on how we'll keep you safe and connected, click here.
