Local power lines company, Unison Networks (Unison) joined the 20 Degrees waka in Rotorua in April 2025, partnering with Sustainability Options to help whānau across Rotorua achieve warmer, drier, healthier homes. The 20 Degrees collaborative programme was launched in 2020 and continues to grow its impact through community-led housing support.
In Rotorua, the 20 Degrees partners now include Unison, Bay Trust, Rotorua Trust, Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, EECA, and Rotorua Lakes Council. Unison’s sponsorship is further building momentum, by strengthening the programme’s capacity to impact more whānau through community workshops, home assessments, and minor repairs and maintenance.
Unison Group General Manager Customer, Commercial and Regulatory, Jason Larkin said the partnership with Sustainability Options is a natural fit.
“Unison delivers electricity to more than 119,000 consumers across Rotorua, Taupō and Hawke’s Bay, and supports a variety of community-led initiatives aimed at enhancing energy wellbeing throughout our regions.
“We’re proud to be joining forces with Sustainability Options, alongside other partners to support the 20 Degrees programme here in Rotorua, helping whānau live in warmer, drier and healthier homes.
"This partnership builds upon our experience, providing hands-on assistance to empower communities, facilitate improvements to home environments, increase energy literacy, and promote overall wellbeing," Mr Larkin said
Lee Siegle, a Sustainability Options lead team member, said it is always motivating to add another partner to the 20 Degrees waka.
“There are an estimated 30,000 homes in the Bay of Plenty that are in need of repair to enable them to reach 20 degrees on a winter’s night. The immense need that we see on a daily basis takes a collaborative approach, it cannot be solved by one funding stream or a single solution; the more partners we have on board, the greater impact we are able to make. He waka eke noa, ‘we are all in this together’.
“We are grateful for each of our sponsor’s contributions towards creating warmer, drier, healthier homes in our shared communities. By working together with whānau and sponsors, we are not only creating healthier homes, but also building capacity and independence and inspiring hope,” Lee said.
Many homes are cold, damp or mouldy, leading to preventable respiratory and cardiac conditions. The World Health Organisation recommends maintaining a healthy indoor temperature of 20 °C for young, elderly and unwell occupants. Since 2020, the 20 Degrees programme has reduced hospitalisations, boosted school attendance, and improved employment outcomes.[1]
The 20 Degrees programme first involves a free home assessment. This is available to anyone interested, living in the Bay of Plenty. Home assessors look at what might be affecting the health of a home. This involves checking insulation, heating, moisture, draughts and more. A key part of the visit is sharing education on how to keep heat in, prevent mould, discuss affordable and energy efficient heating options, and how to effectively ventilate the home.
The kaupapa of the programme is a hand up, not a handout, by building whānau capacity through accessible expertise on home performance. Following a house assessment, assessors create a step-by-step action plan working with whānau, building their confidence to get their homes healthier. Depending on funding and donation availability, the support provided to whānau may include curtains, heaters, insulation, kids beds and clothing, landlord advocacy, minor repairs and maintenance, draught proofing, blankets, heating and more.
Story of impact:
Simon and Miriam* thought they were buying a nice home in a safe neighbourhood in Rotorua, with good schooling for their four young boys. But when they moved in, they discovered what they’d actually bought was a house that, amid a terminal diagnosis, would plague their health, finances and wairua for years to come.
Miriam said that “when [Sustainability Options] came along, it had been a very, very, dark time for us. Phil [the home assessor, and co-founder of Sustainability Options] came and said, ‘look, we’re going to do this. We’re going to do that.’ There’s not many people that go out and do what you guys are doing for families.”
The 20 Degrees programme journeyed alongside Miriam and Simon to repair and replace the following:
● Gib and wall insulation supplied for bedroom renovations of which the whānau have done the mahi.
● Simon and Miriam also arranged plastering, painting and plumbing work to be done for their bathroom renovation and floor repair.
● A heat pump was installed along with curtains and rails to replace vertical blinds. Window latches were fitted along with draught proofing on windows and an extraction fan in the bathroom.
Miriam said “we can’t thank you guys enough for everything you’ve come and done for us. We’re so much happier. We feel like we can actually live in the house now … this is all such a blessing. It gives you positivity and reason to believe that there are good people out there, marvellous people.”
Thanks to the 20 Degrees collaboration, the following activities have been carried out in Rotorua since the beginning of this year: 155 home assessments completed, 69 heaters donated, 203 curtains installed, 10 heat pumps installed, 7 homes received insulation, 13 beds donated, 11 cots donated, 136 safety equipment for children donated, and 10 free community workshops have been run.
*Pseudonym used for privacy reasons.
If you are interested in having a free home assessment, attending a workshop, or would like to support or collaborate with us in any way, please email 20degrees@so.org.nz.
[1] Refer to the Healthy Homes Initiative Five Year Outcomes Evaluation November 2024: https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Environmental-health/Healthy-Homes-Initiative-Five-year-outcomes-evaluation.pdf
