ht internship report

Daphné BARBOTTE Filière Générale

Internship supervisor: Andrew SCANLON Internship mentor: Cédric PASSARD Handing in of report: 26 September 2011

International mobility year

Internship report

Hobart, Australia 4 April – 24 June 2011

Internship Report, Hydro Tasmania, April-June 2011

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Andrew Scanlon for agreeing to give me this internship; thank you for trusting me and giving me such a great opportunity. Thank you to the Sustainability team for their warm welcome, and especially to Nicole Sherriff for her support and mentoring during those three months. Thank you also to Ron Steenbergen for introducing me to Hydro Tasmania and helping me get the internship. Finally, thank you to Cédric Passard for agreeing to follow me during the time being.


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Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5

1. Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s largest renewable energy generator ............................................ 7

2. The multi-dimensionality of sustainability, a leadership challenge ......................................... 10

2.1. Sustainability at Hydro Tasmania ........................................................................................... 10

2.2. Development of an environmentally friendly program ......................................................... 11

2.2.1. Climate Change response ............................................................................................... 11

2.2.1.1. Adaptation: Climate Change Response Strategy ....................................................... 11

2.2.1.2. Mitigation: Energy and Greenhouse Programme (EGP) ............................................ 13

2.2.2. Environmental quality monitoring ................................................................................. 15

2.2.2.1. Environmental Management System audit ................................................................ 15

2.2.2.2. Water monitoring ....................................................................................................... 16

2.2.3. GreenBiz.......................................................................................................................... 16

2.3. Promotion of sustainability’s social dimension ...................................................................... 18

2.3.1. Employee wellbeing as a priority.................................................................................... 18

2.3.2. Consideration of external stakeholders .......................................................................... 19

3. “International sustainability”, how to become a leader beyond Australian borders ............... 21

3.1. Building a sustainable industry .............................................................................................. 21

3.1.1. Development of the hydro industry worldwide .............................................................. 21

3.1.2. Knowledge sharing ......................................................................................................... 22

3.2. Earning international recognition .......................................................................................... 23

3.2.1. Sustainability reporting .................................................................................................. 23

3.2.2. Sustainability awards ..................................................................................................... 24

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 25

Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 26

Appendixes .................................................................................................................................. 27

Appendix 1: “The power of Nature” .................................................................................................. 27

Appendix 2: Sustainability Code ......................................................................................................... 27

Appendix 3: Environmental Policy ..................................................................................................... 28

Appendix 4: Industry response in the climate change and sustainability spaces .............................. 29

Appendix 5: Climate change best practice comparison 2007-2011 (based on 2008 data) ............... 34

Appendix 6: Sustainability best practice and Hydro Tasmania status ............................................... 35

Appendix 7: Entura staff commuting survey ...................................................................................... 37

Appendix 8: Paper reduction strategy 2011 ...................................................................................... 38

Appendix 9: GreenBiz presentation ................................................................................................... 40

Appendix 10: Screenshot of the new GreenBiz webpage .................................................................. 42

Appendix 11: Smart printing posters ................................................................................................. 43

Appendix 12: ‘Smart Paper Use’ brochure ......................................................................................... 44

Appendix 13: Calendar of annual sustainability events ..................................................................... 46

Appendix 14: First GreenBiz team meeting ....................................................................................... 47

Appendix 14a: Meeting agenda ..................................................................................................... 47

Appendix 14b: Meeting minutes .................................................................................................... 48

Appendix 15: First GreenBiz newsletter ............................................................................................. 49


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Introduction

The climate change issue was globally tackled for the first time in 1992 with the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international environmental treaty aiming at stabilising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. Although this treaty was enforced by the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, climate change concerns strongly started reaching public audience a few years ago only.

Presently scientists agree that climate change is largely the consequence of human activities, most of all in developed countries, and that this change is producing significant physical effects. There are two main categories of human responses to climate change: adaptation and mitigation. Both types of response are complementary and essential in helping to reduce the risks of climate change.

Adaptation measures are developed to reduce the adverse climate change effects that are

already occurring. They aim is to decrease the impacts of climate change on populations and the environment, by developing ways to adapt to new situations resulting from this change.

Mitigation measures aim to reduce the intensity of our contribution to climate change. It includes

strategies to reduce GHG sources and emissions and enhance GHG sinks. An efficient way to reduce those GHG emissions is the development of renewable energies.

There are five types of renewable energies: solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and finally hydro energy. Hydro power has been used since ancient times to irrigate cultures or to operate various machines. However, its most common use nowadays is as a producer of electricity.

Hydro Tasmania took advantage of this natural resource to start producing electricity in 1914,

when it was set up by the State Government as the Hydro-Electric Department (changed to the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) in 1929 and to Hydro Tasmania in 1998). The development of dams and power stations created hundreds of jobs around Tasmania as well as historical hydro villages. Yet, in its early days, Hydro Tasmania’s concern was exclusively economic, leaving all environmental considerations aside. This approach almost cost the business its newly established leadership in the renewable energy industry.

In the late 1960s, when the rivers and catchments in the central highlands had all been exploited,

the HEC began serious surveying of the rivers of the west and south-west wild regions of Tasmania, as its long-term vision was to push towards a continued utilisation of all of the state's water resources.

As a consequence, the politicians and HEC bureaucrats were able to create the upper Gordon river power development schemes, despite worldwide dismay at the loss of the original Lake Pedder flooded by the building of the HEC dams. The hydro-industrialisation of Tasmania was seen as paramount above all, and the complaints from outsiders were treated with disdain.

Following the flooding of Lake Pedder, environmental groups started organising nationwide protests against the HEC’s power over Tasmanian environment and politics. The world’s first Green Political Party was born in 1972 in Tasmania in that context.

In 1979, the HEC proposed a lower Gordon river power development scheme, which would flood 35 kilometres of the Franklin River, known as 'Tasmania's last wild river'. The protests became


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stronger and opponents to the project managed to get the Franklin River on the World Heritage listing. Although a compromise was offered by the Tasmanian government, the Gordon-below-Franklin dam project became a political nutcase.

The proposal and early works on the Gordon-below-Franklin dam ended in 1983 after the Australian High Court ruled in favour of the federal government, opposed to the construction of the dam in the name of the UNESCO Convention’s world heritage preservation principle.

The protests that erupted against the HEC during the 1960s-70s made the organisation realise the

importance of becoming environmentally aware and counting with other stakeholders when developing hydropower schemes. The protests seriously threatened both Hydro Tasmania’s credibility and durability, underlining the need to come up with a new strategy to last in the long-term.

Nowadays, Hydro Tasmania is a leading business in the renewable energy industry in Australia.

Thanks to its past experiences and the lessons learnt from them, the group has developed a strong sustainability approach favourable to a long-lasting development.

The aim of this report is to analyse how sustainability is dealt with at Hydro Tasmania, so as to

understand to what extent it contributes to maintaining the business as a leader of the Australian, and global, renewable energy industry.


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1. Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s largest renewable energy generator

Hydro Tasmania is a government-owned enterprise, owned by the Government of Tasmania since 1914. As the major electricity generator of the state of Tasmania, Australia, it currently employs over 800 people and its assets are worth around AUD 4.8 billion.

Since its first hydropower development almost a century ago, Hydro Tasmania has been a leader in renewable energy development. Hydro Tasmania is Australia’s largest producer of renewable energy as well as its largest water manager with 27 hydropower stations operating in Tasmania. The group also operates one thermal and two diesel power stations as well as a wind farm on the Bass Strait islands.

Hydro Tasmania thus uses a combination of water and wind power to harness natural energy. The group generates hydropower in Tasmania and trades electricity and energy-related environmental products (such as Renewable Energy Certificates) in the Australian market. See Appendix 1 for more.

The company also owns Momentum, the Victorian specialist electricity retailer based in Melbourne. And through its consulting arm, Entura, Hydro Tasmania shares its expertise in energy and water with businesses and governments right across the Asia-Pacific region.

Since 2005, Hydro Tasmania was a joint owner, together with China Light and Power (CLP), of Roaring 40s. The joint venture developed and operated wind farms in the Asia Pacific region, including Tasmania and South Australia. Roaring 40s was brought to a close in June 2011 and its assets were divided between Hydro Tasmania and CLP to allow both businesses to pursue their wind development objectives separately and more optimally.

The Hydro Tasmania Board has adopted high standards of corporate governance which it believes are essential to its objective of maximising a long-term and sustainable return to its shareholder, the Government of Tasmania. It has adopted an approach to good practice corporate governance to provide ethical and transparent oversight and direction in accordance with its obligations under the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 (GBE Act) and to meet the Guidelines for Tasmanian Government Businesses.

The Board has the corporate governance responsibilities of establishing the organisation's strategic direction, formulating corporate policy and monitoring its implementation, setting and monitoring risk management policies and procedures, and overseeing the prudent management of the financial affairs of the business on behalf of our owner.

Codes of ethics and sustainability guide Hydro Tasmania’s strategic planning, actions and

behaviour in its operations. Policies provide the framework for procedures and guidelines for specific areas.

Hydro Tasmania's corporate structure is pictured below: Figure 1a: Hydro Tasmania corporate structure. (The green box refers to the business I got involved in during the

internship.)

Chairman

Board of Directors (including CEO)


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The company’s vision is currently being revised and will be finalised shortly. As my internship took

place before the revision, I will consider the previous vision, which was to become Tasmania's world-renowned renewable energy business, by creating a sustainable future and increasing the value of the business through:

world-class asset and resource management;

building financial strength and delivering sustainable returns to its owners, the people of Tasmania;

developing new renewable energy projects;

being the premier employer of the most capable people in the industry;

product innovation for customers in consulting, electricity and green markets;

becoming the first carbon neutral generator in Australia;

being easy to do business with.

Hydro Tasmania is fundamentally guided by core values:

We put people's health and safety first.

We always behave with honesty and integrity.

We work together, respect each other and value our diversity.

We strive to deliver outstanding service.

We are committed to creating a sustainable future.

Our positive and determined approach ensures success.

In order to fulfil the key value of “creating a sustainable future”, a Business Sustainability section was created under the Communications & External Relations group of the company in 2003. Following the refinement of the organisation in April 2011, the sustainability section was merged with safety, becoming Sustainability & Safety, under the Corporate Services group of Hydro Tasmania. My internship related to the sustainability aspect.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Momentum Energy Finance & Risk Commercial Strategic Planning & Policy

Technical & Operations

Corporate Services Business Development

Entura

Legal Services Secretariat Business Support Business Performance


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Figure 1b: Corporate services organisational structure. (The green boxes refer to the group and sections I got

involved in during the internship.)

The sustainability team’s mission is to implement sustainability practice into Hydro Tasmania’s

business planning and activities. It involves the transparent and balanced application of economic, environmental and social considerations to business decisions and activities. Hydro Tasmania believes that these considerations enable the business to address community and stakeholder expectations and ensure long term business success.

The Business Sustainability Manager is responsible for overall management of environmental

risks for the business. However responsibility to assess risks and introduce mitigation measures is spread across the business.

Corporate services

Business services

CASPaR Information Systems

Sustainability & Safety Manager: Andrew Scanlon

Communications Human resources

Business Support

Aquatic Environment Programme

Environment & Heritage

Systems & Quality

Project Delivery

International Business

Sustainability

Sustainability Programme

Safety


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2. The multi-dimensionality of sustainability, a leadership challenge

2.1. Sustainability at Hydro Tasmania Sustainability is one of Hydro Tasmania's core values and the business is committed to creating a

sustainable future. For Hydro Tasmania, sustainability means planning for the future using open and considered business decisions and activities.

As a renewable energy business Hydro Tasmania contributes to sustainable energy developments and a sustainable global environment. They are also working within the business to integrate sustainable practices into their operations. Areas of focus are:

Economic: Hydro Tasmania’s financial practices focus on the long-term, not only of the business but also those they work with. Hence the employment of locals for international projects for example.

Environmental: Hydro Tasmania is accountable for the impact the business has on the environment.

Social: Hydro Tasmania recognises that employees are the future of the organisation. External stakeholders and the community are also involved in the planning for the future.

To embed sustainable practices into its operations, Hydro Tasmania has developed

a Sustainability Code (see Appendix 2). They have incorporated the six business principles into some key decision-making tools, such as risk management and strategic planning. They have also integrated these principles into key business activities such as generating power, stakeholder engagement and procurement and tendering.

Employees have also incorporated sustainability into their approach to daily operations in areas such as asset management, water management and trading. The challenge is to further integrate those sustainability principles.

Figure 2: Integrating sustainability in the business.


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Sustainability is a value spread across the whole business, and serves as a reference in all decision-making processes. With regards to the environmental side of it, the Business Sustainability team is committed to working towards risk management and making Hydro Tasmania employees more environmentally aware. This commitment was made official through Hydro Tasmania’s Environmental Policy (see Appendix 3).

As a member of the Business Sustainability team, the tasks I was assigned were directly related to

environmental issues. But because sustainability is an intricate concept linking economic, social and environmental concerns, I also had the opportunity to get an insight into the social aspect of sustainability, through employee and external stakeholder management.

2.2. Development of an environmentally friendly program

2.2.1. Climate Change response

Climate change has been acknowledged as a key strategic issue for Hydro Tasmania as it presents a range of risks and opportunities to the business. In the long term, changes in wind patterns and water inflows will directly impact the ability of the business to generate power, and there are likely to be many indirect and flow-on impacts. Yet in the short and medium terms, its renewable energy generation may provide opportunities to assist efforts to reduce national carbon emissions. Hydro Tasmania sees that climate change will give rise to future business opportunities as governments and businesses implement solutions to minimise impacts. The company thus needs to be best positioned to develop and assess business strategies in light of climate change risks and opportunities.

Hydro Tasmania thus developed adaptation as well as mitigation measures in order to limit the impacts of and reduce their contribution to climate change, so as to guarantee the business’s sustainability.

2.2.1.1. Adaptation: Climate Change Response Strategy

In order to last in the industry, Hydro Tasmania needs to be best positioned to develop and assess business strategies in light of climate change risks and opportunities. To that end, the first Climate Change Response Strategy (CCRS) was developed in 2007.

Before that, there were a number of business initiatives addressing climate change issues, but they were uncoordinated and with significant gaps. It was then agreed that a whole-of-business corporate climate change strategy, measured against activities of business leaders in climate change response, would best position Hydro Tasmania to address climate change risks, capitalise on climate change opportunities, and work with the community and customers to address climate change imperatives.

Hydro Tasmania’s CCRS has been based on an analysis of corporate best practice and an assessment of the core climate change related risks and opportunities facing Hydro Tasmania.

In 2007, the objectives of Hydro Tasmania’s CCRS were to:

Position Hydro Tasmania optimally to pursue and realise climate change related business opportunities consistent with the broader business strategy;


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Ensure business vulnerability to a changing climate is minimised through a comprehensive adaptation response;

Position Hydro Tasmania to demonstrate leadership in the advocacy debate in relation to new climate change policies; and

Increase business value through maximising the potential investment yield of Roaring 40s and through other renewable energy investments.

The Strategy entails Hydro Tasmania implementing an adaptation response to the core climate

risk of reduced inflows; accessing new climate change related markets with innovative products through Consulting, Trading and Business Development; and contributing effectively to the policy debate. The adoption of the strategy requires a long-term business commitment to become carbon neutral. Yet carbon neutral status has a range of benefits (brand enhancement, positioning) and implications (offset purchases, factoring carbon costs into decision making) that must be well understood. It is believed the benefits for Hydro Tasmania of making this commitment far outweigh the costs, and a staged plan was proposed for Hydro Tasmania to progressively reduce and offset emissions from the financial year 2007-2008 through to 2012 and beyond.

When I started my internship in April 2011, the existing CCRS was undergoing a review,

assessment of progress to date, as well as a reassessment of future goals. My first task as an intern was to contribute to this review by understanding current corporate best practice in the industry regarding climate change response, before assessing Hydro Tasmania’s status against this best practice.

The first step was to undertake some research on Australian energy companies and global

corporations to understand their climate change response, assessing successes and failures. The targeted companies were those who had:

Acknowledged climate change as having a significant impact on future business operations;

Publicly disclosed GHG emissions and emission reduction targets;

Established and implemented energy efficiency targets.

In addition, the Sustainability Program Manager (SPM) was interested in knowing whether these same companies were more specifically active in the sustainability space, demonstrated through:

Public reporting of sustainability actions, programs and/or targets;

Sustainability reporting (i.e. GRI);

Documentation of strategic sustainability goals.

After I had collected information on seven different companies, I met with the SPM and the International Business Sustainability Manager (IBSM), in order to figure out what best practice was nowadays in the climate change and sustainability spaces based on the information found out during my research. See Appendix 4.

However the IBSM pointed that the method followed should have been the other way around in order to be accurate: I should have researched what best practice was nowadays with regards to climate change response and sustainability measures, based on official studies, in order to then compare it to other companies’ climate change response and sustainability measures. Only once we knew what was recognised as best practice in the industry could we assess Hydro Tasmania’s status


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against it. Researching other companies’ strategies was then just a tool for Hydro Tasmania to understand successes and failures, and areas to focus on in order to become a leader in the development of climate change and sustainability strategies.

The decision was also made to separate climate change and sustainability researches into two separate tasks, so as not to get confused between the two. I now had to undertake a research for climate change response best practice and another one for sustainability best practice.

I thus undertook the research again, this time looking into reports developed by consultancies or

research centres in order to find out what was nowadays considered best practice. Best practice in corporate climate change response and world leaders were assessed by:

Review of the CERES (2008) report “Corporate Governance and Climate Change - Consumer and Technology Companies” which identified general climate change response best practice in the industry.

Review of criteria for corporate climate change leaders in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) and the Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI) (based on the international Carbon Disclosure Project).

Review of best practice for the climate strategy assessment criteria for indices that rank public listed companies on sustainability criteria, for example the FTSE4Good; and

Web searches of target companies worldwide and in Australia, and in the renewable energy sector.

I then compared the best practice that had been defined in 2007 to the results I got out of my

research, so as to determine the extent of changes and the degree to which the Hydro Tasmania CCRS had to be modified. The conclusion was that best practice in 2011 was the same as in 2007. See Appendix 5.

The same method was then followed to assess best practice in the sustainability space and

compare it with Hydro Tasmania’s current sustainability code. This work highlighted aspects of sustainability that are not currently embraced by the business’s values, leading to recommendations on those that need to be included. See Appendix 6.

After best practice was assessed, it was agreed that due to a lack of skills as well broad insight and

understanding of the sustainability and climate change policies of the business, it was getting difficult for me to go further in the reviewing process. I thus handed over the work I had done so far to the managers, who decided to hire a specialized consultant to further develop the process.

Handing over this project was also a way to allow me to approach other aspects of the Business

Sustainability team’s work, including more concrete actions allowing a greater personal fulfilment and a more interesting work experience.

2.2.1.2. Mitigation: Energy and Greenhouse Programme (EGP)

In addition to adapting to climate change through a response strategy, Hydro Tasmania

developed some mitigation measures in order to directly reduce its impact on the environment and its contribution to climate change. These mitigation measures can be found under the Energy and Greenhouse Programme (EGP).


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The purpose of the EGP is to:

effectively monitor, report and facilitate reductions in energy use and emissions in accordance with relevant legislation, company values and procedures;

advise on the procurement of carbon offsets and progress toward corporate goals;

initiate energy efficiency actions; and

generate awareness and engagement to reduce energy use and emissions throughout the business.

One of the aspects of the EGP I contributed to was the measurement and reporting on GHG

emissions. In order to become carbon neutral, Hydro Tasmania has to reduce the amount of GHG emissions produced annually. A way to initiate this reduction is to start at the employee level, investigating reductions that can be made regarding Hydro Tasmania staff commuting and work related travels, which each represented 3% of Hydro Tasmania’s total emissions in 2009-2010. To that end I took part in a survey at Entura’s Tasmanian office, asking staff how they had got to work that morning as they came in. The survey took place over two days, and showed that the most common means of transport used by Entura staff to get to work remained the car. See Appendix 7.

The results of the survey will be used for a sustainability assessment of staff commuting. The aim is to find ways to be more efficient in commuting and reduce linked GHG emissions, such as developing car-pooling options, promoting public transport services, as well as using bikes. Yet it remains a challenge as the Entura offices are located far from the city and are only accessible by a highway, dangerous for bicycle users and thus mainly accessible by car.

Additionally, I got access to a document listing all the employees who took on work-related travels during the past three months, in order to find out who the biggest flyers were within the company. By calculating how many kilometres those people travelled on each flight, I was able to finalise a list “big flyers” composed of 46 names. Now that the list exists, my colleagues will be able to calculate the associated GHG emissions and talk to those flyers, trying to understand why they flew so much and see whether it is possible to reduce those kilometres.

Because Tasmania is an island, a lot of employees often have to fly to the mainland in order to meet with partners or representatives from the other Hydro Tasmania offices. Yet, thanks to the technology available in the office, there are some cheaper and more environmentally-friendly options to hold those meetings. While some travels are essential, most of them can indeed be replaced by phone calls or videoconferences. Translating those travels into numbers and associating GHG emissions to them is a way to make employees aware of the cost of those flights, financially and environmentally, in order to make them more responsive to the other options available to them from the office.

Another way to reduce emissions is through a consistent waste management programme, since

reducing office waste reduces the linked GHG emissions. I thus got to work on the waste management programme as part of the EGP, through assisting with the development and implementation of a Paper Reduction Strategy (PRS) for the office.

The first step was to research ways in which other organisations had been successful in reducing paper use in their offices and to see which ones would be applicable to Hydro Tasmania. Thanks to the results I found, I updated Hydro Tasmania’s PRS, and defined our next actions. See Appendix 8.


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The strategy manager and I agreed that a concrete way to achieve paper reduction in the office was to improve paper efficiency by narrowing in on the largest users of paper, starting at the Hobart office, and work with them to find ways to achieve the same results with less paper. Thanks to a monthly reporting on paper use across the office which was already in place, I could easily identify the floors and teams using the most paper and meet with them. I successfully met with representatives of four different teams who understood the importance of the process and took on the responsibility of spreading a paper efficiency message to their teams.

At the same time, I met with a representative from the communications team who agreed to redesign the office’s automatic templates in order to make them fit on fewer pages, and thus largely reduce the number of pages printed by employees when using those predesigned forms. Additionally we had the idea to get the basic word standards changed, so that when opening a new Microsoft document the margins of the documents would be automatically narrower than usual, allowing more content on a page and thus, again, saving paper when printing. Yet this initiative was abandoned as it appeared a complex procedure was needed to change those word standards, which we did not have time to look after.

Additionally, I found during my research that some new printing systems had been developed, allowing a decrease in paper use. An example of such a system was a PIN & Collect system, which required the employee to enter a PIN into the printer in order to launch the printing of documents sent from the computer. Because of the high number of employees working at Hydro Tasmania (800) it would have been very laborious to create a PIN for each staff. Therefore we tried another, yet similar, system: the print to folder. Instead of printing a document directly from the computer, one sends the document to a personal folder previously created in the printer. Then one simply needs to get to the printer, select his/her folder and print – or delete – the aforementioned document. This system gives employees time to think whether they really need to print their document and prevents the apparition of uncollected paper stacks.

In total five people only took part in the trial. Overall the feedback was rather negative because of problems to print double-sided when using the print-to-folder system. As I terminated my internship a few weeks only after the start of the trial, I do not know what went on afterwards but I reckon it would have been cancelled because of its inconvenience.

During the development process of the strategy, the target and message evolved. We realised that setting a paper reduction target was reductive since we cannot get rid of paper totally anyway. It seemed that presenting it that way was missing the point, which was really to make the staff conscious of their printing, in order to anchor smart, green printing around the office and induce a long-term behavioural change. In the end, it is more about paper efficiency than paper reduction.

In addition to those programs aimed at adapting to or mitigating climate change, Hydro Tasmania

leads quality programs to make sure its action on the environment – the construction of dams and power stations – does not have a negative impact on the surrounding biodiversity and ecosystems.

2.2.2. Environmental quality monitoring

2.2.2.1. Environmental Management System audit

In order to assess its environmental impact, Hydro Tasmania chose a few years back to measure

its activities against the international norm ISO 14001: Environmental Management System (EMS). Every six months an audit is conducted at Hydro Tasmania by an external consultant in order to


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assess the business’s compliance with the ISO norms. The latest audit took place at the end of May 2011, and confirmed Hydro Tasmania maintained its compliance to ISO 14001 regarding the EMS compared to previous audits.

The aim of such an audit is to push the business towards driving risk down and increasing

environmental performance and compliance. The business’s image in public opinion as well as the various stakeholders’ safety are at stake in that assessment. Therefore, the recent reorganisation of the business structure, with the merging of safety and environment, is the best way to make the EMS programme sustainable.

2.2.2.2. Water monitoring

Water levels change due to Hydro Tasmania’s operations, as well as droughts and floods. The more the company knows about what is affected, the better they can manage the environment. In addition to the general environmental audit, Hydro Tasmania thus developed a scientific aquatic programme to control the lakes and rivers administered by the business. The aim of the programme is to make sure Hydro Tasmania’s work does not interfere in a bad way with the environment, such as causing the disappearance of threatened species, natural habitats, or demeaning the quality of the water sent to Tasmanian homes. Again, this programme enters the business’s logic of being sustainable.

At the end of June I had the opportunity to go on a field trip with two scientists from the aquatic

programme in order to do some water quality monitoring. We went to three different lakes in the central Highlands of Tasmania and took a few water samples from different locations at each lake, in addition to measuring basic water quality indicators on the spot. The samples were then brought back to a laboratory to undergo a series of tests to determine the water quality of the corresponding lakes.

Although the sampling was difficult because of bad weather conditions and the need to get a boat

to reach some of the sampling spots, this kind of trip is very important to the programme as it both allows the scientists to concretely see what they are working on, and provides Hydro Tasmania with major information that will allow an improvement of its service delivery. It permits a constant evolution and update of the sustainability program.

2.2.3. GreenBiz

GreenBiz is a casual group of Hydro staff keen to ‘make a difference’ in their workplace. In the past two or three years the team had enabled a number of environmentally friendly changes across the office, from battery recycling to the support of Earth Hour to kitchen composting. See Appendix 9 for more about GreenBiz. Unfortunately GreenBiz became less visible and active over time. One of my internship missions was thus to try and revive GreenBiz.

After getting the needed authorization to access the administration side of the Hydro Tasmania

internal website I started reviewing the GreenBiz page, which I kept updating as I went with the development of the new team and work plan. See Appendix 10. Once the page appeared more up to date, I started an internal communication campaign for the rebirth of the team. I emailed the last employees listed as members, as well as personal connections I had within the office, to ask them


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whether they were willing to be part of the new GreenBiz team. By the end of June, I had managed to get 24 members – at least one per floor in the Hobart building, plus one per other Hydro Tasmania office across the country. We wanted the new team to be totally inclusive of Hydro Tasmania staff and not only limited to the Hobart office in which my internship took place. T²his step was a success.

GreenBiz’s aim is to be a voice for environmentally friendly behaviour across the office. It thus

appeared natural to link the team to the EGP programme: one of GreenBiz’s missions is now to communicate on the EGP’s paper efficiency strategy and assist as much as possible. In addition to showing the business’s monthly paper consumption on the GreenBiz webpage, I thus developed posters raising awareness around smart paper use and paper efficiency. See Appendix 11. They were hung next to each printer in the Hobart building, and I emailed them to the GreenBiz members of the other offices so they could do the same. Since I left a few weeks later I am not totally sure about their efficiency, but I expect the posters to influence at least a few printers around the office. Additionally, I developed a “Smart Paper Use” brochure that I sent to all GreenBiz members for scattering to their colleagues. See Appendix 12. Presenting basic advice to use paper efficiently, I tried to make the short brochure nice to look at, in order to make people want to read it. I also emphasised on the fact that it is a matter relevant to everyone, and that they can thus share with GreenBiz any idea they would have to use paper in a more efficient way.

As a voice for environment, GreenBiz also supports various international and local events linked

to the environment. In addition to Earth Hour which takes place in March annually, this year GreenBiz supported World Environment Day, organised every year by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Due to a lack of time I did not have time to organise an action in Hobart in the name of Hydro Tasmania. Yet the idea the sustainability team and I had had was written down and kept to be used at another environmental celebration. Following this frustrating “unhappening”, I also put together a calendar of annual international, national and state events linked to sustainability and that are relevant to Hydro Tasmania. See Appendix 13. That way, each year, GreenBiz members can see what is coming up and decide what events to support and participate in, with enough time to prepare something.

On a local scale, GreenBiz encouraged Hydro Tasmania staff to apply for the State’s new Environment Grants. As a model for the rest of the employees, the GreenBiz team is there to support staff in any actions they would want to undertake for a behavioural change benefitting the environment.

A small action I initiated and put under the GreenBiz label was regarding recycling: I set bin labels

around the office to indicate which bins were for recyclables and which ones were not, detailing what exactly was recyclable. I handed over to the new team to make sure those labels stay in place and are updated and changed when needed. It might appear a small, insignificant action, yet now that those labels are in place people feel more obliged to recycle as they have no more excuses such as ‘I didn’t know which bin to put this in’. It I with small actions like this that the business can achieve a large and permanent waste reduction.

The first GreenBiz team meeting took place just before I left. I had the opportunity to gather most

of the team so they could get acquainted with each other. During one hour I took the new GreenBiz team through the aim of the group, the ideas I had had for next actions, as well as the documents I had prepared for them to spread around and that I described above. See Appendix 15a for agenda. The meeting was very successful and the exchanges rich. See Appendix 15b for minutes. The


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attendees seemed very motivated about being part of GreenBiz and had lots of great ideas. It was very fulfilling for me to see that: GreenBiz was the biggest project I worked on during my internship and it felt great to see some results and know my contribution had done something concrete.

After the meeting, the first action undertaken by the new team was the “Switch-off” campaign.

All team members were given “Thank you cards” to put on their colleagues’ computer screens at the end of the day if they had turned it off before leaving. On the other hand people who had not were reminded of it and told that “GreenBiz was watching”. I thought this would be an easy and fun action to start with, a good way to get the new members to slowly get into their role of environmental ambassadors, while also letting people around the office know about GreenBiz’s revival. The team agreed and was excited about this first measure.

Finally, as agreed, I drafted the team’s first newsletter to be put on the internal website the

following week. The aim was to present the new team to the business, detailing some of its past and forthcoming actions. See Appendix 16. During the meeting we agreed that regular newsletters would be produced by the GreenBiz team to be published as part of the global Hydro Tasmania newsletter.

Therefore, through a large number of various programmes, Hydro Tasmania managed to become an environmentally sustainable business. Through measures linked to global issues, as well as more local environmental monitoring and internal awareness-raising, Hydro Tasmania has strongly developed its environmental sensitivity over the past decade. Yet sustainability is also about social.

2.3. Promotion of sustainability’s social dimension

2.3.1. Employee wellbeing as a priority

In order to be socially sustainable, Hydro Tasmania strongly takes into account its employees’ health, safety and opinion. Its first value is to “put people's health and safety first”, while the sustainability code also puts the emphasis on a “safe and healthy workplace” and the respect of human rights. As safety is the number one priority at Hydro Tasmania, safety trainings are often led across the business. I had to sit in one of those trainings and take a “test” on my safety knowledge in order to validate my first level induction as a new Hydro Tasmania employee.

During the intervention a video telling the story of a man killed at work because of a lack of safety procedures was played. On the one hand the safety team tried to scare us into being more careful and safe at work, while also calling to our rationality through explaining the basic safety rules and making us analyse the risks of a few simple actions. By both making us rationally wonder about work safety and make our emotions intervene by telling a victim’s story, I reckon the safety team managed to get its message through to most, if not all of the staff.

Safety thus constitutes a key element enabling a business to last in the long-term, and therefore become sustainable. Once again this explains why the sustainability and safety teams were recently merged, following a will to achieve an integrated sustainability.

Additionally, employees’ opinion is strongly searched and taken into account. Regular employee

surveys are conducted throughout the year in order to get some feedback on the way teams are managed and other general work-related issues. Recently, as part of the sustainability code review mentioned above (2.2.1.), another survey was conducted so as to get employees’ feedback regarding the current code and seek their ideas and suggestions for its review. A number of workshops were organised to that end.


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Numerous measures are thus taken to encourage the development of Hydro Tasmania employees’ opinion over their workplace, an opinion meant to be taken into account during the various reviewing processes the company comes across. Reflecting on the staff’s state of mind will allow Hydro Tasmania to develop a better working environment and grow the business.

However, as stated by the sustainability code, external stakeholders involvement is another

element needed for the business to become socially sustainable.

2.3.2. Consideration of external stakeholders

Over the years, following its logic of sustainability, Hydro Tasmania has learnt to deal with external stakeholders. Most of the time, important discussions are related to land management. Indeed, Hydro Tasmania owns, manages and operates large areas of land, usually in environmentally sensitive locations. Often, the company enters disputes with the other land users, such as Forestry, Inland Fisheries, Sports & Recreation Tasmania, or even individuals using the land to camp or hunt. The Land Environment Program (LEP) was thus developed to foster sustainable land management policies and practices. It is focused on improving knowledge about values that need to be protected on Hydro Tasmanian land and developing management procedures for inclusion in the EMS. The LEP includes World Heritage Area policy and practice, vegetation management, land rehabilitation and contaminated sites, database development, and training.

As part of the LEP, Hydro Tasmania initiated the development of a specific strategy regarding

land use for recreation. All Hydro Tasmania sites being used for some type of recreation such as kayaking, swimming, fishing, rowing and a lot more, the company decided to work together with Sports & Recreation Tasmania in order to develop a more formal approach to recreation allowing a better use of the sites and a better management through clearer responsibilities. I had the chance to assist to the first meeting of this new project, at the Sports & Recreation offices in Burnie, Tasmania.

The aim of the meeting was for Hydro Tasmania to introduce its idea of a recreation strategy to be developed by the two entities. The business wants to move away from the current method of always saying no to stakeholders willing to use the land, towards an inclusive approach allowing stakeholders to develop project proposals to be analysed and implemented by Hydro Tasmania and Sports & Recreation. Hydro Tasmania already owns worldwide assets such as Lake Barrington, internationally recognised and used for rowing world competitions. The aim is now to develop those sites through a sustainable land management strategy in order to sell the brand. By developing recreation activities on the lands owned by Hydro Tasmania around the lakes, there would be some major social capital creation highly benefiting the company. Sports & Recreation’s role would then be to support Hydro Tasmania in its recreation projects, as an expert in Tasmanian recreation management. Yet, the question of maintenance is an important issue remaining and that needs to be examined thoroughly in order to enable the release of such a recreation strategy.

Additionally, Hydro Tasmania has long been engaged in the community in general, especially by

annually sponsoring an Environment Award in the Young Achiever Awards competition. Each year, the Young Achiever Awards encourages young Tasmanians to submit projects that will help their community. There are nine different categories such as Sport, Science, or Environment. For the past ten years, Hydro Tasmania has been sponsoring the Environment Award, giving the winner a consequent grant that will allow him or her to pursue and further develop its project. The Awards ceremony took place in early April and I got a ticket to sit at the Hydro Tasmania table. During the


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evening the finalists of each category were presented and the winner announced. It was very inspiring to see everything those young people had managed to accomplish with so little. I found this type of competition very encouraging and rewarding, and a good way for a business to educate the next generations and make them aware of the challenges awaiting them in the coming years. By getting involved with the locals when they are young, Hydro Tasmania anchors itself in the community and makes it easier to deal with the stakeholders in the future.

In the end, Hydro Tasmania has developed strategies that enroot the business in society in the

long-term. By working to be sustainable regarding all aspects, environmental, social, as well as – although not mentioned – financial, Hydro Tasmania managed to capture the essence of the sustainability concept, working with it, using it as a means to anchor itself and become a leader in the Australian energy industry.

Yet it is not enough as we now evolve in a globalised world. Hydro Tasmania has thus also been working towards being sustainable on the international stage as well.


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3. “International sustainability”, how to become a leader beyond Australian borders

3.1. Building a sustainable industry

3.1.1. Development of the hydro industry worldwide

As the largest renewable energy generator in Australia, Hydro Tasmania is also a member of the Clean Energy Council, Australia’s industry association for the clean energy industry. In addition to enabling a better coordination of the industry in Australia, the Clean Energy Council provides its members with many opportunities for international cooperation. These opportunities are mainly developed by the International Policy team of the Clean Energy Council, as well as through the numerous events and conferences organised annually. The main event of the kind is Clean Energy Week, grouping the traditional Clean Energy Council National Conference and ATRAA, Australia’s largest solar conference. Clean Energy Week took place for the first time in May 2011 and, as a member of the Clean Energy Council, Hydro Tasmania sent some representatives to Melbourne for the conference.

Including thousands of delegates from all around the world, the key to networking during Clean

Energy Week is to be visible. Entura being Hydro Tasmania’s consulting branch, most of their work is done for developing countries in Southeast Asia, making the consultancy the most international branch of the Hydro Tasmania group. Entura thus appeared to be the most relevant business to represent Hydro Tasmania at Clean Energy Week, and was granted a stall in the exhibition centre of the conference. The good location of the stall as well as the presence of a motivated team gave the business a great visibility which permitted some consequent networking with representatives from other companies and government entities worldwide.

Before working with Hydro Tasmania, I spent nine months as an intern with the Clean Energy Council. I had thus been a part of the organisation of Clean Energy Week since the inception, which is why my manager at Hydro Tasmania agreed to send me to the conference along with the other employees. It was for me the opportunity to see the achievement of the long preparation I had been around, as well as a chance to catch up with former colleagues and people met at previous conferences, while networking with new people.

At the end of the week, some school groups came to the conference as part of the kids’ work on renewable energy in class. They were moving around to different parts of the exhibition to learn about the different energy technologies presented: solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, energy efficiency, and new technologies. On the last day, the speaker for the bioenergy world was missing and I thus volunteered to replace her. I got briefed about what to say to the kids about bioenergy in general, as well as regarding the current projects in Victoria. I then spent the day welcoming a dozen groups and talking to them about bioenergy. I very much enjoyed doing this. It was interesting to interact with the kids, and quite fulfilling to teach them something. Because the rest of the week I had not really been able to do anything concrete apart from networking, I was happy I could do this. It made me feel useful.

Overall Clean Energy Week was a success both for the represented companies and the renewable energy industry in general. Hopefully it will allow, along with the other conferences, a better coordination of the various stakeholders in order to foster the development of the industry worldwide.


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Following this logic of international industry development, Hydro Tasmania is also a member of the International Hydropower Association (IHA). The IHA was formed under the auspices of UNESCO in 1995, as a forum to promote and disseminate good practice and further knowledge about hydropower. IHA currently has consultative and/or observer status with all United Nations agencies addressing water, energy and climate change. See www.hydropower.org.

In 2008, Hydro Tasmania sent a representative – Andrew Scanlon, Sustainability Manager – to the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum aimed at revising, updating and expanding the IHA’s Sustainability Assessment Protocol 2006. The growing interest in hydropower at the time, as a result of increasing requirements for a low carbon economy, energy security and improved water management, induced the revision of this document, which was finalised in November 2010. The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol is a “sustainability assessment framework for hydropower development and operation. It enables the production of a sustainability profile for a project through the assessment of performance within important sustainability topics” (Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol – Background Document, November 2010). Its aim is to allow a better coordination amongst the hydropower stakeholders, and guarantee international standards in order to foster the sustainable development of the industry.

By strongly getting involved in the IHA, Hydro Tasmania sets itself as one of the leaders of the

global hydropower industry. In addition to its visibility at international conferences, this status grants the company the guarantee to be recognised and thus become sustainable on the international stage. Yet, targeted lesson sharing is also an element contributing to Hydro Tasmania’s permanence on the international stage.

3.1.2. Knowledge sharing

As a member of the Hydropower Network Forum, gathering Hydropower companies form around Australia and New Zealand, Hydro Tasmania promotes the regular exchange of information and lessons learnt between the various members of the forum. Every two years, workshops are held at one of the members’ head offices to gather each company’s experience regarding various topics and together think of ways to deal with common problems the members come across when implementing hydropower projects.

I took part in the latest forum, which occurred at the Hydro Tasmania office in April 2011.

Representatives from three Australian and one New Zealander companies, as well as Entura, gathered to discuss their experiences and opinions on matters such as project implementation, stakeholder management, or water quality issues. A two-day field trip was also organised to show the attendees some of the Hydro Tasmania projects discussed during the workshops, as an illustration of ways some of the issues were dealt with.

This kind of forum is very useful to reflect on the industry’s common issues and share difficulties,

solutions, and lessons learnt. It allows companies to work more efficiently as the sharing of information from a business very often prevents another one from going through the same trouble, saving some time and money, and harmonising the working standards of the renewable energy industry across the region.

http://www.hydropower.org/


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After the Forum, Hydro Tasmania received two members of the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), undertaking an Australian tour in order to learn about the hydropower industry and bring back some new knowledge to their country.

After picking up the delegation up north in Launceston, Hydro Tasmania’s Project Delivery

Manager and I took the government officials on a discovery of some of the company’s main hydro catchments and power stations all the way down to Hobart. The next day, back in the office, four different speakers came to talk about the main elements surrounding the development of hydropower projects from different perspectives.

A former State Minister of Energy came to talk about the development of hydropower projects around the state, and the political and social issues surrounding it, especially in the 60s-80s when the first strong protests occurred (see introduction). He highlighted the need to deal with stakeholders from scratch instead of trying to implement a project while ignoring their requests, which had been Hydro Tasmania’s mistake back then.

Then, an economist dealt with the debt issue for Hydro Tasmania resulting from some of the main projects; before a geography professor held a strong speech against Hydro Tasmania’s action, seen as a destructor of the environment. Finally Hydro Tasmania’s Energy Resources Manager presented the business from a technical approach to highlight its role in the national energy market.

The following discussions tackled Lao’s economic development and social and cultural heritage concerns associated with the development of new hydropower schemes. As Lao is facing some protests against one of their projects the same way Hydro Tasmania did in the 70s, the exchange was very rich and full of advice for the Lao government not to make the same mistakes as Hydro Tasmania did back then. It also underlined the evolution of the company’s concerns regarding the environment, and the benefits they got from adopting the new sustainable approach.

In the end, through the energy put in developing the hydropower industry worldwide as well as its wish to create a more harmonised and experienced sector, Hydro Tasmania strongly contributes to making the industry sustainable worldwide. By trying to build an industry essence, Hydro Tasmania is a major contributor to the development of international standards to manage and develop the sector. This action grants the business permanence on the international stage on the long-term, making it an internationally recognised sustainable business.

3.2. Earning international recognition

3.2.1. Sustainability reporting Each year Hydro Tasmania measures and reports progress against sustainability targets and

against the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. They aim for the best practices as laid out in these international standards. The 2010 GRI reporting achieved the highest application level, A+.

Hydro Tasmania’s annual reporting performance is assured by external consultants, proving to be

challenging and a good source of feedback for improvement in the processes and systems that come under scrutiny. It also provides greater confidence for readers that what is reported is accurate, transparent and balanced.


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Thanks to these high standards of reporting, Hydro Tasmania has proven to be a leader on the international sustainability stage, as testify a number of awards won over the past years.

3.2.2. Sustainability awards

Since its inception, the Hydro Tasmania sustainability programme has achieved great results in greening the business and proved to be successful in developing measures to make it become sustainable and viable on the long-term. The following awards won by Hydro Tasmania enroot its leadership in sustainability on the international hydropower and renewable energy stage:

2010 Tasmanian Award for Environmental Excellence, Large Business Sustainability category for the sustainability program.

2009 Australasian Reporting Bronze Award for the Annual and Sustainability Report.

2009 Australasian Fleet Managers Association’s Fleet Environment Award, which recognised Hydro Tasmania’s achievements in reducing emissions from vehicular fuel use.

Highly commended at the 2009 ESAA Sustainability Report Award.

2007 ESAA Sustainability Report Award.

Highly commended at the 2006 ESAA Sustainability Report Award.

2006 Tasmanian Award for Environmental Excellence, Large Business Sustainability category for the sustainability program.

Finalist of the 2006 Banksia Environmental Award.

2005 ESAA Sustainability Report Award.

2005 Tasmanian Award for Environmental Excellence.


2001 Blue Planet Prize 2001, granted by the IHA.


In the end, in addition to being active on the international sustainability stage, Hydro Tasmania

has been officially and extensively recognised as a sustainable business itself. Already a sustainability leader of the Australian renewable energy industry, Hydro Tasmania has gradually managed to become “internationally sustainable”, guaranteeing its position as a major actor of the hydro, and renewable energy industry in general in the future.


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Conclusion To conclude, thanks to its extensive sustainability programme working to cover all three

dimensions of sustainability – environmental, social and financial – Hydro Tasmania has managed to significantly improve its credibility and chances to become permanent on the Australian renewable energy market. By managing to capture the multi-dimensionality of the sustainability concept in its totality, the company has been able to further expand and become a sustainability leader both nationally and internationally. It seems the vision of becoming Tasmania’s world-renowned renewable energy business has been greatly achieved, which explains the current reviewing of this vision.

Yet some challenges remain to become totally sustainable and accepted from, if not everyone, at least the majority, if ever possible. As a hydropower projects manager, Hydro Tasmania will always be confronted to issues such as ecosystem damage, loss of lands, threatened species management, flow releases and shortages, relocation of communities, recreational use issues, cultural heritage preservation, and wild areas disappearance.

The biggest challenge remains to consistently integrate sustainability into business planning and practices. Although the company has captured the multi-dimensionality of the concept, its sustainability program still tends to focus on the environmental side of things. The challenge is now to move the focus from only environmental issues to more social and financial dimensions as well.

In addition, Hydro Tasmania’s international consulting work is also an element of sustainability: it is by managing to apply Australian standards and expectations in an international context that the business will fully become a leader on the international stage. To that end, it needs to increase its influence over partner countries, through major consulting and lobbying.

I enjoyed very much my internship at Hydro Tasmania as its sustainability program is one of the most developed I came across. It genuinely tries to capture the essence of sustainability and understand people’s demands in order to become everyone’s hydro reference, a renewable energy manager working for its people. Considering the strong opposition the business got in the early years, of which I would probably have been part of at the time, it did very well in taking the criticisms into account to become stronger. Hydro Tasmania learnt a number of lessons from its past errors and I reckon this constitutes one of its major strengths. It makes it more aware of the risks and issues surrounding its work, which allowed the development of a new sensitivity to stakeholders and environmental matters. Instead of being all about money, Hydro Tasmania now also cares about people and nature, entering the sustainability wave to become one of its leaders.

Being able to go on the field a number of times was also a great opportunity, which allowed me to better understand Hydro Tasmania’s work and see different aspects of it.

Yet it remains a large organisation, with more than 800 employees. As such, it is challenging to manage and it remains difficult to be aware of everything. Things take time to come into place. Although I did enjoy my time with Hydro Tasmania, I did not get used to being in such a large company. I just felt like one extra piece that did not make a big difference because of the number of other pieces there were. Communicating with the rest of the business, especially, was very complicated. Even the smallest initiative or message to spread requires a number of approvals that almost dissuades one from initiating projects. As an active person always looking to do new things, and not very patient, I got annoyed with the pyramid of authorizations that you need for almost anything. Yet I know this system is proper to big organisations, and inevitable. This is why I realised that in the future I would rather work in a smaller entity, in order to have more responsibilities and more visibility.


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Sources

Hydro Tasmania website (www.hydro.com.au)

Hydro Tasmania Climate Change Strategy Development Proposal, April 2007 (Confidential)

Climate Change Response Strategy, November 2007 (Confidential)

Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol – Background Document, November 2010

http://www.hydro.com.au/


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Appendixes Appendix 1: “The power of Nature” (Available on-line at

http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/documents/Power-of-Nature_APR2011_web.pdf)

Appendix 2: Sustainability Code

http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/documents/Power-of-Nature_APR2011_web.pdf


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Appendix 3: Environmental Policy


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Appendix 4: Industry response in the climate change and sustainability spaces

Industry response – Climate change and sustainability

1. AGL (Australian Gas Light Company)

AGL is Australia's leading renewable energy company and largest private owner, operator and developer of renewable generation assets. Head office: Level 22, 101 Miller St North Sydney NSW 2060

Tel: (02) 9921 2999

Postal Address: Locked Bag 1837 St Leonards NSW 2065

Website: http://www.agl.com.au/

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment AGL recognises that climate change is a critical issue and that greenhouse gases in our atmosphere need to be stabilised to minimize dangerous climate change. AGL recognises that extreme weather events and changes in weather patterns arising from climate change present risks to its business, in terms of physical impacts to energy infrastructure as well as financial risks associated with changes to energy demand. GHG emissions management AGL started reporting its emissions under the NGER Act. Its activities accounted for 56.3 MtCO2e in 2009/2010. (Intensity 58% below Aus average). The target set for 2010/2011 is to be 50% below the national intensity. AGL also supports the government-proposed long-term national emission reduction target. AGL has published a detailed Greenhouse Gas Policy which outlines its goals and strategies for providing leadership to reduce the GHG intensity of energy across the supply chain throughout the economy. Energy Efficiency targets AGL doesn’t have any public EE targets for the business. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Sustainability is a value of AGL, mentioned in the Code of Conduct.

100% offset of emissions associated with office electricity use and vehicle fleet.

6% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 2000 levels from the Loy Yang A power station and Torrens Island Power Station under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) by the end of 2010.

Average paper use per person reduced by 17% in 2009/10 compared to 2008/09 (46 tonnes).

Increased use of recycled paper (4% at the beginning of 2009/2010, 97% at the end of 2009/2010).

Environmental risk management and water management.

Customers: EE products and services (new models of EE light bulbs, hot water systems and other devices), energy saving tips; EE Diagnostic Tools such as the AGL Energy Challenger which provides businesses with information about EE rating and benchmarks as well as ways to improve energy management; and a carbon emissions calculator supported by carbon management services.

Community engagement: being a value member to communities through long-term power generation; employee volunteering

AGL Blog: features informed commentary and an exchange of views on AGL, the Australian energy industry and broader carbon, sustainability and corporate affairs topics.

Sustainability reporting

AGL recognises the need to balance the demand for reliable energy with a responsibility to preserve the environment. Read AGL sustainability report 2010.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index: the annual sustainability report meets the requirements of an ‘A+’ GRI Application Level.

Documentation of strategic sustainability goals

Board Safety, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Committee Charter to assist the Board in enabling AGL to operate its businesses safely, ethically, responsibly and sustainably.

Health, Safety and Environment Policy to commit all employees, leaders and contractors to the protection of the environment while conducting AGL activities.

AGL Environmental Principles to minimise business impacts. 2. Origin

Origin Energy is a major Australasian integrated energy company involved in gas and oil exploration and production, energy retailing and power generation. Head office: Level 45, Australia Square 264 - 278 George

Tel: (02) 8345 5000 Fax: (02) 9241 7377

Postal address: GPO Box 5376 Sydney NSW 2001

Website: http://www.originenergy.com.au/

http://www.agl.com.au/

http://www.agl.com.au/Downloads/Greenhouse%20Gas%20Policy.pdf

http://www.agl.com.au/Downloads/AGL%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf

http://www.agl.com.au/business/energy-efficiency/Pages/energy-saving-tips.aspx

http://www.agl.com.au/business/energy-efficiency/Pages/energy-efficiency-diagnostic-tools.aspx

http://www.agl.com.au/business/energy-efficiency/Pages/energy-efficiency-diagnostic-tools.aspx

http://www.agl.com.au/business/energy-efficiency/Pages/carbon-calculator-for-business.aspx

http://www.agl.com.au/business/energy-efficiency/Pages/carbon-calculator-for-business.aspx

http://www.aglblog.com.au/

http://2010.aglsustainability.com.au/Index.aspx

http://www.agl.com.au/Downloads/Safety%20Sustainability%20and%20Corporate%20Responsibility%20Committee%20Charter.pdf

http://www.agl.com.au/Downloads/061011_Health-Safety-and-Environment-Policy_Corporate_About-AGL.pdf

http://www.agl.com.au/Downloads/Environmental%20Principles.pdf

http://www.originenergy.com.au/


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Street Sydney NSW 2000 a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment Recognising the issues brought by climate change, Origin wrote a paper about ‘Climate Change - its impact on the Australian Economy, Directors and Business’. Origin questions the industry’s ability to adapt to climate change impacts, such as a rise in costs due to a carbon price, therefore committing to contribute to a policy and industry response to climate change that delivers an effective pricing regime for carbon. GHG emissions management Origin has been reporting voluntarily since 2001. In 2010, Origin emitted 46.7 MtCO2e. Origin aims to reduce the GHG emissions intensity of their electricity supply chain to 10% less than the National Electricity Market by 2020 (currently at 2.6% below the NEM level), as well as reduce the GHG emissions intensity of their gas production by 15% below the 2007 level by 2012 (in 2010 the reduction had already reached 27.4% of the 2007 levels). Origin also committed to reduce or offset all GHG emissions from their non-energy producing sites. Energy Efficiency targets Origin doesn’t have any public EE targets for the business. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Origin is committed to identify opportunities for the reduction and re-use of waste, minimising the consumption of resources and generation of waste materials as far as reasonably practicable across the company.

Encourage and recognise employee-led sustainability initiatives.

Customers strategy: reduce their GHG emissions -GreenPower options, energy sustainability brochure

Community strategy: reduce adverse impact on environment; reduce business GHG emissions; maintain community support for the company’s activities.

EE tips to households and businesses (heating and cooling, kitchen, hot water, laundry, lighting, plug-in appliances, air conditioner…).

Carbon offsetting: Carbon Reduction Scheme (green LPG and green gas) and Carbon Offset Calculator.

Origin sustainable events program: in conjunction with EPA Victoria and Melbourne City Council Origin has developed a program to enable people to create more sustainable events and manage their impact on the environment.

Ecostore to discover more ways to help reduce your impact on the environment and save money at the same time.


Origin annual sustainability report 2010

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index: the annual sustainability report meets the requirements of a ‘B+’ GRI Application Level.

Documentation of strategic sustainability goals

Health, Safety and Environment policy and management system.

3. TRUenergy TRUenergy is one of Australia’s largest integrated energy companies, providing gas and electricity to over 2.5 million household and business customer accounts throughout the country.

Head office: Level 33, 385 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000

Tel: (03) 8628 1000

Postal address: Locked Bag 14060 Melbourne VIC 8001

Website: http://www.truenergy.com.au/index.xhtml

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment TRUenergy recognises that the business’s biggest challenge is to adapt to and manage CC, understanding it requires significant changes to the way to conduct the business, the technologies used to generate energy and in the relationships with the customers. GHG emissions management TRU has been voluntarily reporting their GHG emissions since at least 2005. In 2007, they became the first Australian energy utility to commit to long-term, ambitious GHG reduction targets through the launch of its Climate Change Strategy, supporting the national target of a 60% reduction by 2050. To date, they remain the only energy business to make this promise. TRUenergy have also taken a lead role in advocating for the early introduction of a carbon trading scheme to tackle CC. TRUenergy is a member of the Australian Greenhouse Office Greenhouse Challenge Plus Program to help identify its emissions footprint and manage an action plan to reduce it. Given a supportive policy framework, TRUenergy intends to reduce emissions across its portfolio by:

capping carbon intensity with reductions commencing by 2010

cutting emissions intensity by 1/3 of 2007 levels (1.2 tonnes/MWh) by 2020

reducing emissions by 35% by 2035 on a 1990 baseline (proportional to market share)

reducing emissions by 60% by 2050 on a 1990 baseline (proportional to market share)

committing not to build any greenfield, traditional technology, coal-fired power stations.

Achievements already include a 370,000-tonne reduction on GHG emissions at the TRUenergy Yallourn power station in just the past four years.

http://www.originenergy.com.au/files/ClimateChangeItsimpactontheAustralian.pdf

http://www.originenergy.com.au/files/ClimateChangeItsimpactontheAustralian.pdf

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/PDF/Energy%20and%20cost%20savings%20brochure.pdf

http://www.originenergy.com.au/1544/GreenPower

http://www.originenergy.com.au/files/os_esustainability.pdf

http://reports.originenergy.com.au/sustainability/our_communities/5-year-strategies/

http://www.originenergy.com.au/2405/Energy-efficiency

http://www.originenergy.com.au/files/SMEfs_OfficeEnvironment.pdf

http://www.originenergy.com.au/carbon/?_qf_p1_1_display=true&p=

http://www.originenergy.com.au/2704/Carbon-reduction-scheme



http://www.originenergy.com.au/2837/The-sustainable-event

http://www.originecostore.com.au/

http://reports.originenergy.com.au/sustainability/about_this_report/scope_of_document/

http://www.originenergy.com.au/1780/files/HSEPolicy.pdf

http://www.originenergy.com.au/1780/files/HSEManagementsystem.pdf

http://www.truenergy.com.au/index.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/About/climate_change_strategy.xhtml


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Energy Efficiency targets TRUenergy has an EE focus across the whole business, from generation assets to offices to customers – but no specified targets. An example of this concern is the current construction of Australia’s most energy efficient gas-fired power station in NSW. When complete, Tallawarra will produce 70% less GHG emissions than traditional coal-fired plants. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Operational improvement program to improve the environmental performance of the business.

Waste and water management.

Implemented environmentally friendly printing methods for all marketing materials,

using recycled paper and soya-based ink.

Signed a substantial agreement with Solar Systems to build the world’s largest and most efficient solar power station in northern Victoria. The new power station will assist to reduce Australia’s GHG emissions by approximately 400,000 tonnes per year.

Clean energy investments to help drive the business to further reduce its emissions. These investments in clean energy are anticipated to deliver a further 700 MW of clean, efficient energy, enough to power over 330,000 homes.

Green energy for customers (GreenPower, Carbon Offsetting, Natural Gas Vehicle Program, Smart Meters).

Support community programs to reduce GHG emissions: community partnerships to meet GHG targets.

EE tips and tools for households and businesses.

Management of CLP’s interests in Roaring 40s RE joint venture.

All TRUenergy heavy industry operations are certified to international Environmental Management Systems standard ISO 14001, requiring further, systematic assessment and monitoring of their environmental performance against established targets.


TRUenergy annual Social and Environmental Report 2009.

Annual measurement and reporting of the GHG emissions and mitigation strategies. Documentation of strategic sustainability goals Sustainable Procurement Policy to strengthen the quality and cost effectiveness of the products and services it procures. New procurement procedures underpin this Policy, including tendering and ongoing contract management measures to ensure safety, health, environment, quality and financial competencies consistently meet TRUenergy standards.

4. Meridian New Zealand

Meridian Energy is the largest state-owned renewable energy (wind and hydro) generator in New Zealand.

Head office: Level 1 33 Customhouse Ouay Wellington, 6143 New Zealand

Tel: +64 4 381 1200 Fax: +64 4 381 1201

Postal address: PO Box 10840 Wellington, 6143 New Zealand

Website: http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment Meridian recognises the potential financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change. GHG emissions management Since 2001, Meridian NZ conducts a detailed annual GHG inventory. In 2009/2010 they emitted 83,308 tCO2e. After intra group offsetting, this number lowered to 78,463 tCO2e. Energy Efficiency targets Meridian doesn’t have any public EE targets for the business. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Annual emissions management plan.

Emissions trading: VER (Verified Emission Reductions) sales to international companies that seek to offset corporate carbon emissions.

Ensuring future energy needs can be met with renewable energy.

Water management.

Community engagement to involve them with energy issues.

Engaging employees on sustainability issues, supporting them to make great business decisions with a long-term view.

Kid Power Competition: kids and families from all over NZ submitted ideas for saving money and power every day.

EE tips for households and businesses and Energy and Cost Savings brochure. Sustainability reporting Annual report 2010, including a GRI index. Documentation of strategic sustainability goals Developing RE generation fact sheet.

http://www.truenergy.com.au/About/operational_improvement_program.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/About/clean_energy_investments.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/Residential/GreenEnergy.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/Residential/Learn_more_about_GreenPower_options.xhtml

http://truenergy.com.au/carboncalculator/Default.aspx

http://www.truenergy.com.au/meters/index.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/Energy_Efficiency/energy-efficiency-at-home.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/Energy_Efficiency/business_efficiency_tips.xhtml

http://www.truenergy.com.au/downloads/TRU_SEsnapshot_web2009.pdf

http://www.truenergy.com.au/About/operational_improvement_program.xhtml

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/our-power-stations/our-environment/emissions-trading/

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/PDF/Tips%20Booklet.pdf

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/your-home/energy-and-cost-savings/at-home/

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/your-home/energy-and-cost-savings/at-work/

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/PDF/Energy%20and%20cost%20savings%20brochure.pdf

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/PDF/reports/MeridianEnergyAnnualReportforyearending30June2010.pdf

http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/PDF/reports/emissionstrading/devrenewenergy.pdf


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5. SKM

Head office: 100 Christie Street St Leonards, Sydney NSW 2065

Tel: +61 2 9928 2100 Fax: +61 2 9928 2500

Postal address: PO Box 164 St Leonards, Sydney NSW 2065

Website: http://www.skmconsulting.com/

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment SKM recognises climate change has the power to affect the way in which businesses operate in the long term, raising risks and challenges that have to be managed. In order to prepare for the impacts, businesses need to develop sustainable risk management strategies to protect their long term assets and business strategies. SKM offers leading skills and experience to help government and private sector clients respond to climate change imperatives. GHG emissions management In 2008 SKM announced a target to reduce GHG emissions by 30% per capita by 2011 (from 5.58 tonnes per person in 2008 to 3.91 tonnes per person in 2011). Energy Efficiency targets SKM doesn’t have any public EE targets for the business. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Environmental sustainability is a business value.

Embed sustainability into the approach to each and every project, to the choices of projects to work on, and the clients to work with; translating sustainability thinking into all aspects of business operations.

Appointment of a Chief Sustainability Officer, key driver of a 'Sustainability Institute' for the training of Client Managers, Sustainability Practitioners, and Project Managers.

Environmental Planning & Management

Environmental Engineering

Natural Resource Management

Water Engineering

Spatial

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

Foster a sustainable development through international aid.

Development of a climate change adaptation toolkit.

Sustainability by Design toolkit to provide a structured, repeatable process, and practical tools for project teams to apply sustainability thinking to their projects.

Community programs focusing on environment, communities in need, and disaster relief, through pro-bono service by SKM staff, working closely with community organisations.

Cleaner Seas Project in Cairns

2008 business achievement award winner (Environmental Business Journal). Sustainability reporting 2009-2010 Annual Review Documentation of strategic sustainability goals

Policy on Sustainable Development

Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) focus areas: governance and policy, management system, incident recording system.

Community and Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee at Board level 6. ANZ Bank

Head office: 833 Collins street Docklands VIC 3008

Tel: +61 3 9273 5555 Website: http://www.anz.com.au

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment ANZ is responding to climate change because it poses potentially serious risks, not only to the environment and our way of life, but also to the economy and more particularly, the clients. Therefore, the most valuable contribution ANZ can make to the issue of climate change is to assist clients to understand and manage their impact on the environment and the risks and opportunities posed by a carbon-constrained economy. ANZ and climate change GHG emissions management In 2009/2010, ANZ emitted 239,507 tCO2e in Australia, 25,030 tCO2e in NZ, 18,508 tCO2e in India and 40,297 in Asia-Pacific-Europe-Americas. Full emissions profile. ANZ targets a 6% reduction in Australia and a 2% reduction in NZ in 2 years. Energy Efficiency targets

Reduce energy used in premises per FTE by 6% in Australia and 2.5% in NZ.

Reduce paper consumption per FTE by 10% in both Aus and NZ.

Reduce water use per FTE by 10% in Aus.

Increase the amount of recycled waste by 10% in both Aus and NZ. b. Sustainability Strategy

http://www.skmconsulting.com/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/2007-08AnnualReview/chief-executives-message/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/SKM-and-Sustainability/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Environmental-Planning--Management/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Environmental-Engineering/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Natural-Resource-Management/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Water-Engineering/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Spatial/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Australia/Water--Environment/Communication--Stakeholder-Consultation/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Knowledge-and-Insights/Achieve-Articles/2009/A-risk-based-approach-to-climate-change.aspx

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/SKM-and-the-Community/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/2009-10Annualreview/water-and-environment/cleaner-seas/default.htm

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Markets/Global/Water-and-Environment/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/2009-10Annualreview/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/Site-Documents/AboutUs/EHS/sustainpolicy.pdf

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/EHS-Overview/

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/EHS-Overview/Governance-and-Policy.aspx

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/EHS-Overview/Management-System.aspx

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/EHS-Overview/Management-System.aspx

http://www.skmconsulting.com/About-Sinclair-Knight-Merz/EHS-Overview/Incident-Reporting.aspx

http://www.anz.com.au/

http://www.anz.com/resources/a/f/af1cc5804f22082e9126b36edaf3a73e/ANZ-Climate-Change.pdf?CACHEID=29b493804f1d3eeaa59db558b54e5b8d

http://www.anz.com/resources/2/d/2d0fcd0045f2f9099c36ff26f4485eaf/2010-Environment-GHG-Inventory.pdf?CACHEID=2d0fcd0045f2f9099c36ff26f4485eaf


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Sustainability actions and programs

Plays a leading role in supporting the RE sector. RE projects = 1/3 of the project finance power portfolio. ANZ is a leading RE financier.

Environment Management System (EMS).

Environmental risk management (clear policies and guidelines; screening tools and resources; staff training and education).

Stakeholders and employees engagement.

Contributing to sustainability through volunteering.

Supporting urban sustainability in Asia. Sustainability reporting

ANZ participates in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a voluntary program which collects, on behalf of institutional investors, information about how companies around the world are responding to the challenges posed by climate change.

Shareholder and Corporate Responsibility review 2010

GRI Index: the annual sustainability report meets the requirements of an ‘A+’ GRI Application Level.

Environmental performance report Documentation of strategic sustainability goals

Corporate Responsibility (CR) Committee Charter Purpose: identify new opportunities to contribute to economically, socially and environmentally responsible development.

ANZ Sustainable Procurement Policy

Environment Charter

7. BP BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.

Head office: 1 St James's Square London, SW1Y 4PD UK

Tel: +44(0)20 7496 4000 Fax +44(0)20 7496 4630

Postal address: Website: http://www.bp.com

a. Climate change response CC acknowledgment The scale of the climate change challenge is such that it can only be met through policymakers acting to provide a clear, stable framework for the private sector to invest and for consumers to choose wisely. BP supports policies that can address climate change while also making it possible for society to meet growing demand for secure and affordable energy.

GHG emissions management Between 1998 and 2001, BP reduced its emissions of GHG by more than 10% compared to 1990 levels (2010 was the initial target). New target: hold emission at 2001 levels through 2012. BP directly emitted 64.9 MtCO2e in 2010, 8 million tonnes less than in 2002. There have been some rises in certain areas of the business over the last few years. Energy Efficiency targets Drive for plant efficiency and utilization but no set targets. b. Sustainability Strategy Sustainability actions and programs

Development of an internal emissions trading scheme which began in 2000 and was the first global greenhouse emission trading system of its kind anywhere in the world. Simple process to encourage business participation.

Assess the carbon costs of activities.

Develop wind and solar/natural gas and hydrogen to reduce GHG emissions.

Support communities, preserve the environment.

Seek to increase energy efficiency across BP by requiring existing operations to incorporate energy use in their business plans, and to actually implement technologies and systems to improve it.

Support technology and policy research to find solutions to climate change.

Develop efficient fuels and lubricants.

Risk management, restructuring, values, individual performance and rewards.

Conduct education and outreach; technical recruiting and employee training and development = sustainable workforce.

Community engagement.

Environmental management – oil spill response.

Waste and water management.

Manage impact on communities. Investment in development programs.

BP energy lab (energy calculator, energy journey, energy quiz, EE tips in the house/everyday life, energy facts)

HSE charting tool and sustainability mapping tool Sustainability reporting Sustainability review 2010 Country sustainability reports Site reports: sustainability reports at operational level Documentation of strategic sustainability goals

Code of conduct > Environmental and social practices

http://www.anz.com/resources/9/0/9082128044763e83a756effb15aad448/Greenpeace2.pdf?CACHEID=9082128044763e83a756effb15aad448

http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/customers/responsible-business-lending/policies-guidelines

http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/customers/responsible-business-lending/#tab_tab02



http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/environment/engagement-best-practice/

http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/community/volunteering/

http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/framework/urban-sustainability/

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/96/96910/agm2010/2010%20Shareholder%20and%20Corporate%20Responsibility%20Review.pdf

http://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/reporting-performance/gri/

http://www.anz.com/resources/a/0/a0a5d78045efc3c6933ef326f4485eaf/2010-Environment-Indicators.pdf?CACHEID=a0a5d78045efc3c6933ef326f4485eaf

http://www.anz.com/resources/4/0/40e9b5004d2fa4f4a2efb6766a918285/CR-Committee-Charter.pdf?CACHEID=e60827804d2bd8b885e89d69785e67b9

http://www.anz.com/resources/9/2/926f25804d2fa2e39ea0be766a918285/Sustainable-Procurement-Policy.pdf?CACHEID=4417b3804d2bd45081999969785e67b9

http://www.bp.com/

http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle800.do?categoryId=9036321&contentId=7067103

http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~uctpich/BParticle.pdf

http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9021524&contentId=7040020




http://www.bp.com/productlanding.do?categoryId=3319&contentId=7066749&nicam=vanity&redirect=www.bp.com/energylab

http://www.bp.com/iframe.do?categoryId=9036038&contentId=7066737

http://www.bp.com/productlanding.do?categoryId=9036035&contentId=7066750





http://www.bp.com/hsechartingtool

http://www.bp.com/sustainabilitymappingtool

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/e_s_assets/e_s_assets_2010/downloads_pdfs/bp_sustainability_review_2010.pdf

http://www.bp.com/subsection.do?categoryId=9036067&contentId=7066970

http://www.bp.com/subsection.do?categoryId=9036077&contentId=7066969

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/C/coc_en_full_document.pdf



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Appendix 5: Climate change best practice comparison 2007-2011 (based on 2008 data)

Best Practice established in 2007 Best practice elements in 2011 (December 2008 report)

Corporate climate change strategy – a whole of business plan for how it will address climate change.

Board Oversight Board is actively engaged in climate change policy and has assigned oversight responsibility to board member, board committee or full board.

GHG emissions accounting, targets and program for reduction.

Management Execution

Chairman/CEO assumes leadership role in articulating and executing climate change policy.

Top executives and/or executive committees assigned to manage climate change response strategies.

Executive officers’ compensation is linked to attainment of environmental goals and GHG targets.

Assessment of climate change operating and physical risks, and management and adaptation strategies in place.

Public Disclosure

Securities filings and/or MD&A disclose material risks and opportunities posed by climate change.

Public communications offer comprehensive, transparent presentation of response measures.

Lobbying and policy influence, industry ‘thought’ leader on climate change

Emissions Accounting

Company conducts annual inventory of direct and indirect GHG emissions and publicly reports results.

Company has an emissions baseline by which to gauge future GHG emissions trends.

Company has third party verification process for GHG emissions data.

Development of business opportunities that contribute to climate change solutions.

Strategic Planning & Performance

Company sets aggressive absolute GHG emission reduction targets for facilities, energy use, business travel and other operations, and achieves these targets on schedule.

Company has implemented company-wide programs to improve the energy efficiency of its operations.

Company currently purchases renewable energy for a significant portion of its energy use and has set targets to increase future renewable energy purchases.

Company pursues strategies to maximize opportunities from product and service offerings related to climate change.

Company has assessed supply chain GHG emissions, engaged with suppliers on controlling emissions, addressed climate impacts of materials/packaging and improved logistics to reduce emissions.

Contributions to community and employee education, outreach and capacity building on climate change issues.

Still relevant to Hydro Tas but not globally designed as best practice criteria.

Formation of strategic partnerships to collectively address climate change


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Appendix 6: Sustainability best practice and Hydro Tasmania status

SUSTAINABILITY BEST PRACTICE

‘Sustainability in the electricity utility sector’ report (WBCSD)

Best practice Hydro Tasmania status

Guiding vision and Goals √

(Our Sustainability Vision)

Holistic perspective ?

Precautionary approach ?

Essential elements √

(Economic Performance; Ecosystems and Heritage; Employees)

Adequate scope X

Practical focus ?

Openness ?

Effective communication √

(Our Commitments; External Stakeholders)

Participation ?

Ongoing assessment √

(Our Commitments)

Institutional capacity ?

Efficiency √

(Our Commitments; Assets and Resource Use)

ESAA Sustainable Practice Framework

ESAA Sustainability Principles HT sustainability code

1. Maintain good corporate governance practices Governance

2. Deliver value to shareholders, customers and the community

External Stakeholders

3. Provide a safe, secure and reliable energy supply

4. Engage key internal and external stakeholders on significant sustainability matters

External Stakeholders

5. Maintain and enhance workforce health, safety, wellbeing and development

Employees

6. Develop and implement climate change responses

7. Improve environmental performance and resource efficiency

Assets and Resource Use + Ecosystems and Heritage

8. Foster and support community programs External Stakeholders

9. Promote measurement and reporting of sustainability performance

“Our Commitments”

HT principle not in ESAA principles: Economic Performance.

UNGC principles on Social Responsibility (covering all ISO 26000 aspects) (An Introduction to Linkages between UN Global Compact Principles and ISO 26000 Core Subjects, November 2010) - Principles found in HT’s sustainability code Human rights

1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. => “Employees” section of the HT Sustainability code.

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/8.1/UNGC_ISO_Final.pdf

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/8.1/UNGC_ISO_Final.pdf


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36

2. Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour

3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

4. Businesses should uphold the elimination of forced or compulsory labour. 5. Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labour. 6. Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of

employment and occupation. Environment

7. Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.

8. Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

9. Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-corruption

10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Appendix: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines for electric utilities Key elements to ensure the sustainability of a business (criteria specific to electric sector): Economic section:

Economic Performance

Market Presence

Indirect Economic Impacts

Availability and Reliability

Demand-Side Management

System Efficiency

Research and Development

Plant Decommissioning Environmental section:

Materials management

Energy management

Water resources and use management

Biodiversity

Emissions, Effluents, and Waste management, reporting and reduction

Products and Services

Compliance

Transport Social section: - Employment

Employment (long-term skilled workforce, retirement management, health and safety)

Labor/management relations

Occupational health and safety

Training and education

Diversity and equal opportunity

Human rights - Society

Stakeholder participation and information

Management of impacts on affected communities

Corruption

Public Policy

Anti-Competitive Behavior

Compliance

Disaster/Emergency Planning and Response

Customer Health and Safety

Product and Service Labelling

Marketing Communications

Customer Privacy

Programs to improve/maintain electricity access

Provision of Information: address barriers to an access and a safe use of energy

http://www.globalreporting.org/NR/rdonlyres/2B316BC6-A5EC-49E3-B8BA-58B2EBA02D3C/2823/ReportingGuidelinesandEUSS.pdf


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Appendix 7: Entura staff commuting survey

Staff commuting survey at Entura Cambridge 31 May / 2June 2011

Transport Car alone Car share Bus Motorbike Bike Total

Number of people 138 9 27 1 4 179

Percentage 77,09% 5,03% 15,08% 0,56% 2,23% 100,00%

77%

5%

15%

1% 2%

Staff commuting at Entura

Car alone

Car share

Bus

Motorbike

Bike


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38

Appendix 8: Paper reduction strategy 2011 Background The Energy and Greenhouse Program (EGP) was set up to drive energy and emissions reductions at Hydro Tasmania and to report on usage and savings made. One area identified by the EGP with potential to reduce both energy consumption and emissions is printer paper use. The graph below shows the Elizabeth St office’s total monthly printer paper use since July last year. The EGP began efforts to reduce Hobart office’s paper use in October by reporting team’s paper use and encouraging them to set targets and make reductions.

Aim The EGP aims to significantly reduce the amount of paper consumed by printers/scanners at Hydro Tasmania and to keep it down. Achieving this goal will have additional benefits relevant to business goals; for example increase staff awareness of sustainability in the office, realise financial savings, reduce emissions associated with waste coming from Hydro operations, action the new business brand and provide a positive example for staff and clients. Previous Actions To date efforts to reduce paper use has involved increasing awareness of paper consumption by giving presentations to teams in the Elizabeth St office on their paper use, encouraging teams to set reduction targets and sending out monthly progress reports. Another initiative involved a local artist displaying her artwork, themed around paper wastage in the foyer (see her website).

These efforts have been a successful introduction to engaging staff to reduce paper use, and as with most behaviour change initiatives, long term outcomes require ongoing awareness and engagement. Success in Other Organisations Globally paper use is a small but significant step towards actioning sustainable business operations. The following companies demonstrate paper reduction opportunities that Hydro Tasmania could learn from and replicate.

Organisation Actions Financial savings Paper savings

BANK OF AMERICA

On-line forms - instead of printed

$ 10,000,000 + postage and storage savings

Reduction of ATM paper weight

$ 500,000/year + storage, handling, transport, labour

Double-sided printing campaign

18% reduction in copy paper use in one year 32% reduction in computer paper use between 2000-2004

Sending of postcards to notify customers of a report’s online availability, instead of printing and sending the report

$ 20,000

OXFAM

Redesign of publications £ 40,000

50% paper use reduction between 2006-2009 = 37 tons of paper

BARCLAYS CAPITAL

Paper efficiency measures

£ 200,000

2006: 55kg/employee 2008: 22kg/employee

Redesign of presentations from single-sided A4 to double-sided A5

7.7 million sheets of paper

Swipe cards at printers to commence printing

48.1% reduction in paper use

Hydro Tasmania Hobart Office - Paper Use (Sheets)

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11

http://www.rosiehastie.com/index.php?/project/in-progress/


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STANDARD LIFE 50% reduction target by 2012

2009: 23% reduction

GENERAL MOTORS

Electronic system to share information and updates with stakeholders.

2.2 billion pages of paper annually 8,000 printed binders

UN DEPARTMENT FOR GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

Encourage the use of digital documentation over printing. January 2010: launch of the e-Subscription portal whereby users can receive documents electronically. Coupled with the increased use of mobile electronic devices as distribution tools for published materials.

35% reduction in paper use between 2009 and 2010 = saved 58 million sheets of paper and 22.5 million gallons of water. Between 1

st quarter

of 2010 and 1st

quarter of 2011: 42% reduction in the number of page impressions, down from 46 million to 26.7 million.

Proposed Strategy

Priority Strategy Planned Action Resource Timeframe

1 Improve paper efficiency

Narrow in on the largest users of paper (either teams or processes) starting at the Hobart office and work with them to find ways to achieve the same results with less paper use

Liam O’Neill Start now – see results by end June

2 Redesign publications/forms

Discuss paper reductions in Annual Report printing and Flow magazine printing Template redesign to fit more on a page

Communications Team Pat Garnham

Before end of June

3 PIN and collect system trail

Check printer capabilities and then run them past Service Delivery before trialling on 8

th floor.

Fujitsu contractor – Michael Wilson Service Delivery

Before end of June

4 Business commitment to a paper reduction target.

top level commitment and training

public commitment through website

green team/ambassador for each level

Meet and discuss with Scanlon and then Catchpole Bring up at ELT meting (July/August) Publish commitments/ achievements Re-establish Greenbiz

Pat Garnham Renew Greenbiz following relocation in Eliz St

Before mid June (except ELT meeting)

5 Paper trading scheme

Put on hold for now but document ideas for possible later implementation


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Appendix 9: GreenBiz presentation


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Appendix 10: Screenshot of the new GreenBiz webpage


- 43 -

Appendix 11: Smart printing posters


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Appendix 12: ‘Smart Paper Use’ brochure


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46

Appendix 13: Calendar of annual sustainability events January 5: National Bird Day February 2: World Wetlands Day March 1

st Tuesday: Business Clean Up Day

1st

Friday: Schools Clean Up Day 1

st Sunday: Clean Up Australia Day

2nd

week: National Ground Water Awareness Week 2

nd Saturday-3

rd Saturday: Tasmanian State Bike Week

21: World Forestry Day 21: National Harmony Day 22: World Water Day (UN) Last Saturday: Earth Hour April 14-20: Australian Heritage Week 18: World Heritage Day (UN) 22: International Mother Earth Day (UN) May 2

nd week: Oz’ Water Week

22: International Day for Biological Diversity (UN) June 5: World Environment Day (UN) 5: Tread Lightly Festival, Hobart 8: World Ocean Day 15: Global Wind Day 20: International Ride to Work Day July Last Friday: Schools Tree Day Last Sunday: National Tree Day

August 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous People (UN) End of August: Keep Australia Beautiful Week End of Aug-Start of Sept: World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden (Stockholm International Water Institute) September Clean Up the World Campaign National Biodiversity Month 7: National Threatened Species Day 16: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (UN) 18: World Water Monitoring Day 22: World Car-Free Day On a Sunday: Australian Sustainable House Day During last week: World Maritime Day (UN) ??: National Landcare Week October 7: Australian Walk To Work Day 12: National Ride To Work Day 3

rd week: National Water Week

November 6: International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict 2

nd week: National Recycling Week

21: World Fisheries Day December 10: Human Rights Day (UN)

International events - National events - State events Sources: http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Society/world-days-list.php http://www.unac.org/en/news_events/un_days/international_days.asp http://www.environment.gov.au/about/media/events/index.html

2005-2014: United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

2005-2014: Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People

2005-2015: International Decade for Action, 'Water for Life'

2011: International Year of Forests

2012: International Year of Cooperatives

http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Society/world-days-list.php

http://www.unac.org/en/news_events/un_days/international_days.asp

http://www.environment.gov.au/about/media/events/index.html


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Appendix 14: First GreenBiz team meeting Appendix 14a: Meeting agenda

Name of meeting: GreenBiz team meeting # 1

Date: 22 June 2011 Time: 3:30-4:30 pm Location: Hobart

Invitees: Ray Massie, Tassie Strafkos, Christina Nebel, Merren Wilkinson, Nicole Sherriff, Bjorn Lunstedt, Toni

Radcliffe, Helen Locher, Lisa Crapper, Stephen Worsley, Vanessa Barnes, Joanne Halliwell, Zoe Tracey,

Rod Vogel, Melissa Kruger, Caroline Carre, Klimt Donohoe, Jacky Purves, Erika Koster, Adam D'Andrea,

Marija Rae, Stefan Continenza, Katie Izzard, Sophie Laing, Kate Renn, Daphne Barbotte.

Attendees: Ray Massie, Merren Wilkinson, Nicole Sherriff, Bjorn Lunstedt, Stephen Worsley, Vanessa Barnes, Joanne

Halliwell, Rod Vogel, Melissa Kruger, , Klimt Donohoe, Erika Koster, Adam D'Andrea, Marija Rae, Daphne

Barbotte.

Apologies: Tassie Strafkos, Christina Nebel, Toni Radcliffe, Helen Locher, Lisa Crapper, Zoe Tracey, Caroline Carre,

Jacky Purves, Stefan Continenza, Katie Izzard, Sophie Laing, Kate Renn.

Agenda items

Item Time Duration Description Presenter Paper

1 1 10’ Welcome and introduction of members All

2 10’ GreenBiz Presentation Daphne

3 15’ GreenBiz member package Daphne

3.1 - calendar

3.2 - paper use brochure

3.3 - printer posters

3.4 - bin labels

4 30’ Greenbiz Workplan - first ideas: All

4.1 - switch-off monitors campaign

4.2 - EE tips brochure

4.3 - tree painting

4.4 - Hydro bikes

4.5 - rainwater harvesting at field offices

4.6 - Env grants

4.7 - newsletter

5 10’ Newsletter #1 (team + first actions) All

6 5’ Wrap up and close All

6.1 Next meeting: one every 2 months? +/- ?

http://www.greenawards.co.uk/winners/winners_2010/grand_prix_and_best_green_ad


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48

Appendix 14b: Meeting minutes

Minutes of the GreenBiz team meeting #1 held on 22 June 2011 in Hobart commencing at 3.30pm.

Invitees: Ray Massie, Tassie Strafkos, Christina Nebel, Merren Wilkinson, Nicole Sherriff, Bjorn Lunstedt, Toni Radcliffe, Helen Locher, Lisa Crapper, Stephen Worsley, Vanessa Barnes, Joanne Halliwell, Zoe Tracey, Rod Vogel, Melissa Kruger, Caroline Carre, Klimt Donohoe, Jacky Purves, Erika Koster, Adam D'Andrea, Marija Rae, Stefan Continenza, Katie Izzard, Sophie Laing, Kate Renn, Daphne Barbotte.

Attendees: Ray Massie, Merren Wilkinson, Nicole Sherriff, Bjorn Lunstedt, Stephen Worsley, Vanessa Barnes, Joanne Halliwell, Rod Vogel, Melissa Kruger, , Klimt Donohoe, Erika Koster, Adam D'Andrea, Marija Rae, Daphne Barbotte.

Apologies: Tassie Strafkos, Christina Nebel, Toni Radcliffe, Helen Locher, Lisa Crapper, Zoe Tracey, Caroline Carre, Jacky Purves, Stefan Continenza, Katie Izzard, Sophie Laing, Kate Renn.

Matters arising

Item Description Actioned by Required date

7 Member package to be spread to all team, for team to pass around their floors.

Daphné 23 June

8 1 Kitchen products used in the building: follow up with Stefan to use vinegar and bicarb in kitchens rather than current commercial cleaners (ie dish liquid and dishwasher liquids).

Nicole, Stefan

9 Printer signs: Nicole to coordinate monthly change of signs in Eliz St and facilitate Entura/field offices to do the same.

Nicole Monthly

10 Switch-off campaign: - each GB member has been given green cards - place small calling cards on desks with monitors off to reward - consider a name and shame sheet for each floor: all names on a sheet; GB representative coordinates each person having a tick/cross regarding monitors on or off. A fun way to get the message across- needs GB representative to engage floor/team.

All Continuous

11 EE brochure: Klimt’s team have some good ideas. Liam working on floor by floor measures.

All to propose ideas

Next meeting

12 Sustainability assessment challenge across the business, using a sustainability tool.

Bjorn Next meeting

13 7 Hydro Bikes: consider application through Environment Grants. Is it relevant? Could we submit joint application with HCC? Applications close 15 July.

Joanne 1 July

14 8 Accommodation strategy: - Nicole to meet with Jayne Fergusson re: field offices and opportunity to include sustainable options (ie tank water). - Gary Gamble from Gowrie Park field office may be interested.

Nicole Next meeting

15 9 GreenBiz page in Flow: - chat with Merren regarding when the text is due - set meeting 4 weeks before it is due to prepare articles

Daphné 24 June

16 1 1st newsletter about Greenbiz revival: chat with Merren whether best approach is to send global article or wait for next Flow magazine to advise:

- Member details and contacts - Switch-off campaign - Paper efficiency campaign - What happens to the compost collected at Eliz St? - Stefan’s story - Environment grants - Greenbiz MyHydro page and resources - Invite new members and ideas - “Check out Flow for more about GreenBiz”

Daphné 24 June

17 Eco font: Klimt following up with IT. Klimt Next meeting

18 Next meeting is scheduled for 18 August 2011 (TBC).

12.1 There being no further business, the meeting closed at 4.30pm.

Daphné Barbotte Chair

23 June 2011


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Appendix 15: First GreenBiz newsletter

GreenBiz revival GreenBiz is finally back! The new team had its first meeting on 22 June 2011 and started developing new sustainability actions to encourage behavioural changes around the office and make staff more environmentally-aware. Meet your GreenBiz representatives: Ray Massie, Manager Renewable Asset Development, Business Development (L11) Tassie Strafkos, Corporation Compliance Officer, Legal Services (L10) Marija Rae, Service Officer, Corporate Services (L10) Christina Nebel, Cloud Seeding Operations Supervisor, Commercial (L9) Merren Wilkinson, Communications Coordinator, Corporate Services (L8) Nicole Sherriff, Sustainability Programs Manager, Corporate Services (L8) Bjorn Lunstedt, Environment & Sustainability System Coordinator, Corporate Services (L8) Toni Radcliffe, Management Systems Advisor, Corporate Services (L8) Helen Locher, Principal Sustainability Consultant, Corporate Services (L8) Lisa Crapper, Purchase Card & Receipt Officer, Corporate Services (L7) Steve Worsley, Contracts & Procurements Analyst, Corporate Services (L7) Vanessa Barnes, Business Improvement Officer, Corporate Services (L6) Joanne Halliwell, Business Support Manager, Corporate Services (L6) Zoe Tracey, Project Management Officer, Corporate Services (L6) Rod Vogel, Principal Engineer Asset Performance, Technical & Operations (L5) Melissa Kruger, Graduate Mechanical Engineer, Technical & Operations (L5) Vicky Carre, Civil Assistant, Technical & Operations (L4) Klimt Donohoe, Financial Analyst, Finance & Risk (L2) Jacky Purves, Internal Auditor, Finance & Risk (L2) Erika Koster, Internal Auditor, Finance & Risk (L2) Adam D'Andrea, Professional Consultant, Entura Cambridge Katie Izzard, Solutions Assistant, Entura Melbourne Sophie Laing, External Project Support Officer, Entura Brisbane Kate Renn, Research & Compliance Officer, Momentum

There isn’t anyone on level 3 yet. Step up and become a GreenBiz member!

Now that GreenBiz is back, watch out for the following first sustainability measures around the office. “Switch-off campaign” It is part of GreenBiz’s mission to make Hydro staff more aware of the environmental and financial impacts of leaving lights and electronic equipment on when they leave the office. GreenBiz members will therefore be randomly checking whether computer monitors have been turned off around the work space. If yes, they will acknowledge your efforts. If not, they will name and shame you for not being sustainable. So remember, turn off everything when you leave the office!

Paper efficiency campaign Paper represents 70% of office waste. Treating it is expensive, and environmentally unfriendly. GreenBiz thus took the challenge of making Hydro staff more aware about their printing, helping them print more efficiently and reduce paper waste. Some posters have been displayed next to all printers across the business to remind everyone of easy things to do to save paper when printing. Check out our “Smart Paper Use” brochure for more! Kitchen composting at Elizabeth Street Since January 2011, all Elizabeth street kitchen areas are equipped with compost bins. Employees are encouraged to dispose of their food waste in those bins. The waste is then regularly collected and composted by Soil First, a Tasmanian family owned and run facility licensed to process all types of organic wastes. Soil First have been producing first-grade compost for agriculture application for over 6 years. You can purchase the very high quality Soil First compost from K&D warehouse and other selected outlets under 'The Gardeners Friend' brand. Stefan, showing the path to a green business Stefan Continenza, Day Cleaner/Maintenance Officer at the Elizabeth street office, has started using bicarbonate products in kitchens, such as dishwasher liquids. Read his story on MyHydro. Help Hydro win an Environment Grant In line with Hydro Tasmania’s sustainability vision and the community initiative, GreenBiz encourages staff to propose and apply for the Dr Edward Hall Environment Grants. The grants are intended to provide financial assistance for schools, community groups and businesses to develop projects, events, or specific elements of ongoing programs that increase and enhance the environmental and sustainability values of our built and natural environments. Contact your GreenBiz representative if you would like to submit a project. But hurry up, applications close 15 July 2011! GreenBiz online The GreenBiz webpage on MyHydro had its revival as well. Check out our past and current projects, discover what it involves to become a member, download some useful documents, and find out what is being said during our team meetings!

Check out the next Flow for more about GreenBiz.

« Be the change you want to see. » (Ghandi)

Be part of the change too!

We always need more innovative ways to be sustainable. Share your ideas with us!

Our team will never be too big. Don’t hesitate anymore, join GreenBiz now!

http://myhydro/WorkingAtHydro/environment/GreenBiz/Documents/Smart%20paper%20use%20brochure.pdf

http://www.soilfirst.com.au/index_004.htm

http://www.hobartcity.com.au/Environment/Energy_Efficiency_Guidelines_and_Incentives/Dr_Edward_Hall_Environment_Grants

http://myhydro/WorkingAtHydro/environment/Greenbiz/Pages/default.aspx