ESG Snapshot: Issue 52

This week's highlights include:

• ACCC advice. Draft ACCC guidance shows how companies can cooperate on decarbonisation without breaching competition law.
• Climate Authority advice. In two weeks time, the Climate Change Authority will hand important new advice to Minister Bowen.
• Coal grant. A $37.2 million grant will help a coal mine tackle the source of more than 70% of its operational emissions.
• Energy deal. The federal and South Australian governments have signed a major new climate and energy agreement.
• Blue carbon. The Clean Energy Regulator has registered the first project that will earn credits through tidal restoration (see Queensland news).
• Energy efficiency review. The Victorian government is recruiting a key position for a review of the state's energy efficiency scheme.
• Checking back. NSW is auditing whether those guilty of illegal land clearing have complied with restoration orders.
• New events. Events include a TNFD webinar recording on Boards and nature, plus an upcoming Press Club Wentworth Group talk on repairing Australia's landscapes, and an A2EP webinar on helping commercial and industrial businesses get to net zero.

ESG Snapshot - powered by the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia and curated by Earthed.

The ACCC has released a draft guide on ensuring sustainability collaborations don't breach competition law. The guide notes that if a breach of the Competition and Consumer Act is likely, entities can apply for an exemption.

The guide says low-risk collaborations include jointly-funded research, pooling information on suppliers, and pledging to meet a sector emissions target.

The draft guide also points out that the ACCC has previously granted authorisations for collaborations including industry stewardship arrangements, joint tendering by local councils for waste and recycling services and facilities, and renewable energy joint purchasing groups.

Comments are due by 26 July. A Gilbert+Tobin briefing on the guide is available here.

The Climate Change Authority is due to shortly submit key advice that will guide the development of the government's Net Zero by 2050 Plan.

By 1 August, the Authority will submit to Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen its review of the potential technology transition and emissions pathways that best support Australia's transition to net zero emissions by 2050 for 6 sectors–electricity and energy, transport, industry and waste, agriculture and land, resources, and the built environment.

It will make the review publicly available "soon afterwards".

The review is considering matters including:

• existing and prospective opportunities to achieve emissions reductions;
• which technologies may be deployed in each sector to support emissions reductions;
• how public and private finance can support and align with these emission pathways;
• barriers to implementation, such as short-term or longer-term pressures on cost and supply chains and the pace of technology commercialisation;

The review will also inform the Authority's work on Australia's 2035 targets, which is due to be submitted by October.

Kestrel Coal, Incitec Pivot, Dyno Nobel, CSBP, the Boyne Aluminium smelter, and Viva Energy will share $91 million in decarbonisation grants to heavy industry.

Kestrel Coal, which mines metallurgical coal, will use its $37.2 million to reduce ventilation methane emissions at its mine near the Queensland town of Emerald.

According to its latest sustainability report, ventilated methane accounts for 72% of its operational greenhouse gas emissions.

Incitec Pivot will use its $28 million to help fund a solar and battery storage system at its Phosphate Hill operations, and Dyno Nobel has received $9.8 million to deploy emissions capture technologies at its ammonium nitrate facility in the Bowen Basin.

CSBP has received $7.5 million to install a low emission waste gas incinerator at its Kwinana sodium cyanide plant.

Boyne Smelters will use its $5.4 million for energy efficiency upgrades at its Gladstone smelter, and Viva Energy will use its $3 million to help with electrification at its Geelong refinery.

The latest funding announcement follows grants totalling $330 million to nine projects, announced in April.

South Australia has become the first jurisdiction to sign a Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement with the federal government, involving a federal pledge to underwrite at least 1GW of new wind and solar.

The federal government will also underwrite an additional 400MW of new storage capacity, building on its previous commitment to support 200MW of storage.

The federal government is negotiating similar Renewable Energy Transformation Agreements with other states.

The federal government will provide grants totalling $13 million to critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia to boost downstream processing and strengthen Australia’s sovereign capabilities.

Queensland Pacific Metals will receive $8 million to bolster domestic nickel and cobalt production, while South Australian-based Renascor Resources will receive $5 million for its pilot purified spherical graphite project.

The grants are being provided through the International Partnerships in Critical Minerals program.

Speaking at a carbon capture and storage conference, Resources Minister Madeleine King has noted that Australia has 18 commercial-scale CCS projects either operating, planned or in the test phase.

King said the government is reviewing the CCS regulatory regime to ensure it is "fit-for-purpose in a decarbonising economy". 

The federal government is establishing 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas that will protect 7.5 million hectares of land and 450,000 hectares of sea Country.

The new IPAs augment existing IPAs that cover 87 million hectares of land and more than five million hectares of sea Country.

The new IPAs count towards the government's commitment to protect 30% of land by 2030.

ARENA will provide up to $143 million to support the roll-out of up to 370 community batteries across Australia, under its Community Battery Funding Round 1.

The batteries will have an aggregated storage capacity of up to 281 MWh, and ARENA will contribute up to $0.51/Wh in grant funding against an average cost of $1.28/Wh.

In a submission to the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute, the Business Council of Australia says it is undertaking a "granular 'ground up' analysis of emissions abatement opportunities and challenges" in the six sectors for which the government is developing net zero plans.

The BCA refers to the analysis in its submission on ASFI's Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy consultation paper.

The Centre of Decommissioning Australia has finalised its Decommissioning Forward Outlook, which forecasts oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning activity in future years.

The federal government has appointed Dr Catherine Ainsworth as Chair of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.

It has also appointed Scott Hansen as APVMA's new chief executive.

The federal government has appointed former NSW premier Bob Carr as Chair of the Heritage Council, replacing former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu.

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council has registered a blue carbon project under the federal ACCU scheme.

The pilot project is the first to be registered under the ACCU scheme's tidal restoration method, and is part of the Blue Heart initiative in the Maroochy River catchment, which is being developed by the council in conjunction with the state government and Unitywater.

Open consultations

• Reef water quality. The state government is conducting a survey for its review of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan, with responses due by 30 September.

The state government has released a major Climate vulnerability assessment that examines the impacts of future climate change on economically significant commodities.

The report, based on research over five years, notes that primary industries contribute about $21 billion annually to the state, and account for more than $13 billion (just over 10%) of the state's exports.

It examines likely impacts on 28 economically significant commodities, and also assesses likely changes in biosecurity risks.

The state government is auditing the quality and effectiveness of remediation work conducted by landholders who are subject to Remediation Orders as a result environmental offences such as illegal clearing.

Failure to comply with a Remediation Order can lead to penalties of up to $660,000 for corporations or $132,000 for individuals. Additional penalties apply for each day the offence continues.

The state government has appointed Dr Paul Grimes as Chair of its Net Zero Commission.

Other commissioners include Maria Atkinson, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, Professor Frank Jotzo, Meg McDonald, and Professor Andy Pitman.

Stromlo Energy has made an EPBC referral for the proposed 680MW Devlins Bridge wind farm, which would be located west of Narrandera.

The state government has placed on exhibition an EIS prepared by Ridgey Creek BESS Pty Ltd for a proposed $30 million, 130 MW/260 MWh battery energy storage system near Parkes.

The state government is recruiting a director for a strategic review of the Victorian Energy Upgrades program.

The review will be conducted under the auspices of Solar Victoria, which is now responsible for delivery of the VEU scheme.

Baywa R.E has made an EPBC referral for the 312MW Wimmera Plains wind farm in north-west Victoria, which will have an associated 100MW/400MWh battery energy storage system.

The EPA is calling for nominations for the 2024 Sustainability Awards. Nominations close on 31 July.  

OneSteel, trading as SIMEC Mining, has made an EPBC referral to expand magnetite production in its South Middleback Range mining area from under three million tonnes annually, to about 7.5 million tonnes.

The expansion project "represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of SIMEC Mining as it will convert a business primarily based upon hematite export to one underpinned by the production of high-quality magnetite products, necessary to produce low carbon iron", the referral says.

The EPA has recommended approval for South32's proposed expansion of the Boddington bauxite mine and Worsley refinery, subject to conditions including a 12,000 hectare biodiversity offsets package.

The mine is located within the Northern Jarrah Forest sub-region, which is a global biodiversity hotspot, and the expansion will involve the clearing of 3,855 hectares of native vegetation in the sub-region.

The offsets package will ensure no net loss in significant fauna habitat, and will result in regional scale benefits including improved ecological linkages, according to the EPA.

Proposed conditions include a requirement that the area cleared each year should be less than the area rehabilitated.

The EPA's assessment report notes that South32's expansion clearing, coupled with clearing plans over the next two decades by Alcoa and Newmont, will result in the clearing of an additional 27,806 hectares of native vegetation in the
Northern Jarrah Forest.

Horizon Power has released a knowledge sharing report on the ARENA-backed Denham Renewable Hydrogen Microgrid. 

The project, located in the coastal town of Denham, includes a 704kW solar farm, 348kW hydrogen electrolyser and a 100kW fuel cell, providing an alternative to diesel generators. It is expected to offset 140,000 litres of diesel each year.

• Google has released its 2024 environmental report, and a plastic-free packaging design guide. The environmental report discusses the role of AI in accelerating climate action, claiming that it has the potential to help mitigate 5% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, primarily by rapid data analysis, better forecasting, and optimising complex systems.
  
  Google notes that in Australia, it is involved in a project that is using AI-powered tools to map giant kelp forests and identify heat-resistant varieties, and another that is using AI-powered cameras to monitor bushfire recovery.
  
  The company acknowledges that in 2023 its total greenhouse gas emissions increased 13% year-over-year, "primarily driven by increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions".

• Orica has been named Australia's most sustainable company for impact in the 2024 Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders awards, as well as being named the sustainability leader in the resources, energy, and utilities category.
  
  Other winners include Amcor (the manufacturing category), Appliances Online (retail), AgriProve (agriculture) and Aurizon (transport).

• A recent update by the Clean Energy Regulator shows that Shell Energy has received 62,605 ACCUs for delivering energy efficiency upgrades to commercial and industrial businesses.
  
  The ACCU project was initially registered by Out Performers in 2019, which was subsequently acquired by ERM, which was in turn acquired by Shell energy.

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures has released a recording of a webinar on boards and nature - the evolving landscape for director's duties.

Speakers include TNFD executive director Tony Goldner, and Pollination Law managing director Sarah Barker.

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures has also released specific guidance for eight sectors, including chemicals, power generators, food and agriculture, forestry and paper, and metals and mining.

It also released further guidance for financial institutions and on analysing value chain characteristics.

TNFD says there has been a 30% increase in adopters of its corporate reporting recommendations since January, which brings to 416 the total number of companies that have committed to disclose their material nature-related issues to investors and other stakeholders based on the TNFD recommendations.

The International Standards Organisation has started work on a net zero standard, which is expected to launch at COP30 in November 2025. The standard will build on the ISO Net Zero Guidelines, launched at COP27.

InfluenceMap has released a new report a new report titled How the oil industry has sustained market dominance through policy influence.

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