ESG Snapshot: Issue 63

This week's highlights include:

• The whole package. A new federal paper examines three policy approaches to minimise packaging waste, and identifies one clear winner.
• Waste to resources. An overhaul of a South Australian environment policy could lead to a waste hierarchy revamp and mandatory waste planning.
• NFF chief takes up renewables role. National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar is leaving to take up a key renewables post.
• Hydrogen pricing. Countrywide Hydrogen is the first beneficiary of a Tasmanian scheme designed to grow the state's green hydrogen industry.
• PFAS. NSW's Parliament has instigated a new inquiry into PFAS.
• Price guarantees. The South Australian Opposition wants to amend a climate Bill to introduce electricity price guarantees.
• Nature top-up. If Queensland's Miles government is returned, it will provide an extra $90 million for natural capital initiatives.
• Big and green. Alcoa's Portland smelter could soon have a 1GW battery system operating nearby, and a 1.2GW offshore wind farm in the vicinity.
• Reef win. A new crediting method will incentivise better management of grazing lands in Great Barrier Reef catchments.

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

Consultation opportunity - minimising packaging waste. DCCEEW has released a consultation paper on reforming packaging regulation.

It puts forward three options:

• strengthening the administration of the existing 'co-regulatory' arrangement (option 1).
• introducing national mandatory requirements for packaging circularity that apply to each packaging business, involving bans on problem materials and chemicals, mandatory recyclability performance requirements, and minimum recycled content thresholds (option 2).
• introducing a mandatory, industry-funded extended producer responsibility scheme that would require industry to meet mandatory obligations, or to invest in supply chain improvements (option 3).

A net benefit assessment in the discussion paper finds finds that option 3 most comprehensively meets key circularity policy principles. Comments are due by 28 October.

The federal government has appointed National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar as Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.

The Commissioner's office facilitates the resolution of complaints about large-scale renewable energy infrastructure, and promotes best practice planning and development.

Mahar joined the NFF in 2013 and became its CEO in 2016.

The federal government has announced a series of events that will run in tandem with its Global Nature Positive Summit, which starts in Sydney on 8 October.

They include events hosted by the Australian Land Conservation Alliance, the Katoomba Group, UNEP FI, the Nature Positive Initiative, Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand, Terrain NRM, and Telstra.

The federal and Queensland governments will contribute $14 million towards a proposed $36.8 million facility in Townsville capable of annually producing 110 megalitres of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel.

The federal government will provide $9 million through ARENA, and the Queensland government will contribute $5 million to establish feedstock supply chains.

Jet Zero Australia has formed a consortium of partners to support delivery of the project, with the technology to be supplied by LanzaJet, and Qantas, Airbus and Idemitsu Kosan being among the key investors.

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has approved the mandatory Standard AASB S2 on climate-related disclosures.

The move follows the passage of federal legislation that will phase in a mandatory regime of climate-related disclosures.

The AASB has also approved the voluntary Standard AASB S1 on general requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information.

Both AASB standards are very closely based on international IFRS standards.

Eco-Markets Australia has approved a new Grazing Land Management (GLM) methodology under the Reef Credit Standard.

The methodology allows landholders to generate Reef Credits by improving grazing practices to reduce fine sediment runoff, which is a critical step in protecting the Great Barrier Reef. It was developed by Verterra in collaboration with environmental project developers AgriProve and GreenCollar.

Grazing is the largest land use in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area, covering 73% of the land. Reef credits can potentially also be stacked with carbon credits to further boost income associated with implementing more sustainable land management practices.

Court case - greenwashing. The Federal Court has ordered Vanguard Investments Australia to pay a $12.9 million penalty for making misleading claims about its ESG exclusionary screens.

The claims related to investments in the Vanguard Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund.

ARENA has released its latest General Funding Strategy, which guides how the agency provides financial assistance in accordance with its statutory requirements.

Submissions have now been made public to a Senate committee inquiry into offshore wind consultation processes.

Pacific Green Energy Park Portland Pty Ltd has made an EPBC referral for the construction and operation of a massive 1GW/2.5GWh battery energy system near Portland, in western Victoria.

Pacific Green's Portland Energy Park - to be located near Alcoa's Portland aluminium smelter - will comprise four 250MW battery 'parks'.

Meanwhile, Minister Chris Bowen has made a preliminary decision to grant a feasibility licence for the 1.2GW Spinifex wind farm, which would be located off the Victorian coast.

Proposed by Alinta Energy and Parkland, the wind farm would be located off the coast of Port Fairy, reasonably close to Alcoa's Portland aluminium smelter.

If a feasibility licence is granted, the proponents would need to undertake consultation, conduct detailed studies, and develop management plans.

Grant opportunity - energy supply chains. Applications for round one funding under the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chain Diversification Program will open in November, the federal government has announced.

Grants are available for R&D projects and feasibility studies to develop more diverse supply chains for solar PV, hydrogen electrolysers, and batteries.

Up to A$25 million will be available under the first round, with grants ranging from A$100,000 to A$2.5 million.

Transcript is now available from a 20 September hearing conducted by a Senate committee inquiry into waste and recycling policies. Representatives from the NSW EPA, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, and the Boomerang Alliance were among those giving evidence.

The Senate Select Committee on PFAS has scheduled its first hearing for 13 November.

The Senate Select Committee on climate risk and insurance premiums has scheduled hearings for today and tomorrow.

Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson is visiting Laos to represent Australia at the East Asia Summit's 18th Energy Ministers Meeting.

The Assistant Minister will use his visit "to strengthen ties with ASEAN partners and discuss the challenges and opportunities in the region’s energy transition, as well as the economic potential presented by the global transition to net zero".

Meanwhile, the Lao government, with support from the Australian government and the Global Green Growth Institute, has hosted a carbon markets forum to foster the country's participation in international carbon markets.

Engineers Australia has released a report titled Making a clean transition, that provides advice for engineers moving from fossil fuel industries to the renewables sector.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Sustainable Futures and the Australian Energy Market Operator have released a report on Australian electricity workforce requirements out to 2050, based on the 2024 Integrated System Plan.

The CRC for High Performance Soils has awarded a $919,840 grant to a team at Newcastle University, led by Professor Ravi Naidu and Dr Yanju Liu, to investigate the conversion of biosolids to biochar for agricultural use.

Open consultations:

• Support for transformational investments. Treasury is inviting feedback by 4 October on a new "front door" for major, transformational investments, which could entail coordinated engagement with relevant agencies, and facilitating public financing.
• Battery Breakthrough Initiative. Comments on an ARENA consultation paper on the proposed $523.2 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative are due by 7 October.
• PFAS. Submissions to a Senate select committee inquiry into PFAS are due by 19 December.

Award opportunity. Nominations are now being accepted for the 36th annual Banksia sustainability awards. Entries must be submitted by 6 December.

The Miles government has pledged to boost its investment in the Queensland Investment Corporation's Natural Capital Fund from $45 million to $135 million, if it wins this year's state election.

QIC's Natural Capital Fund, which was launched in 2022, incentivises agricultural landholders to also create income through the emerging natural capital market.

The Queensland Natural Capital Fund made its first investment in late 2022, becoming an equity partner in a sugar cane farm. The property is managed for sugar cane production, alongside activities including soil organic carbon sequestration, and biodiversity and water quality improvement projects.

In addition, the government has made a new pledge of $23.5 million for a six-year pilot of a stewardship payment program for eligible private landholders, as well as $20 million to provide advice and support services to landholders participating in natural capital markets.

The Queensland government already has a $500 million Land Restoration Fund in place, which is focused on land-based carbon credit projects.

The state government has also announced it will transfer its 60% ownership of North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo) to the Queensland Future Fund.

This will allow the QIC to manage its NAPCo investment with a broader mandate of marrying food production with the need to address climate change and biodiversity loss, according to the state government.

Grant opportunity - critical minerals exploration. The state government is inviting applications by 11 December for critical minerals exploration grants of up to $250,000.

Renewable Energy Partners Pty Ltd has made an EPBC referral for the 900MW Proserpine wind farm, which would be located between Bowen and Mackay. The wind farm would be built in two stages.

A review of NSW's energy savings and peak demand reduction schemes, newly tabled in Parliament, says energy saved by the energy savings scheme (ESS) in 2022 equated to 4,016GWh of electricity and 217GWh of gas.

"These energy savings reduced bills for households and businesses by an estimated $513 million, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3.22 million tonnes," the IPART review says.

"Activities that have taken place before 2023 will deliver an estimated 18,928GWh of electricity savings and 928GWh of gas savings over the 10 years after 2022," the review adds.

The peak demand reduction scheme created an estimated 4.77MW of peak reduction capacity for the summer of 2022–23, which is estimated to be available over the seven following summers.

In conjunction with the Renewable Fuel Scheme, the three schemes are known as the Energy Security Safeguard schemes.

The Legislative Council has established a Select Committee on PFAS contamination in waterways and drinking water supplies.

The committee will examine matters including regulatory aspects and the capacity of NSW agencies and water utilities to detect, monitor, report on, respond to and mitigate against PFAS contamination.

The EPA has launched a drop-off trial for embedded batteries at 21 council recycling centres.

Embedded batteries are small batteries that often can't easily be removed. They are found in products including e-scooters, vapes, electric toothbrushes, shavers, remote-controlled toys, bluetooth speakers and headphones, and smart watches.

Batteries are made of highly combustible materials including lithium-ion and have been linked to a significant rise in fires at homes and waste facilities.

Statutory development - Environmental Trust. Parliament has passed a Bill that expands the membership of the Trust to six members, including an Aboriginal person appointed by the Minister.

The state government has placed on exhibition an application by Snowy Hydro Ltd to initially use diesel instead of gas to fuel a new 750MW power station near Kurri Kurri.

The power station will be commissioned late this year, but delays in construction mean the gas pipeline won't be ready until late next year.

Grant opportunity - business food waste. The EPA is offering business food waste partnership grants, with applications closing on 14 November. Grants of up to $200,000 are available.

EnergyCo NSW has selected ACEREZ, a consortium of Acciona Concesiones, Cobra and Endeavour Energy, as the preferred network operator to deliver the Central-West Orana REZ transmission system.

Open consultations:

• Forestry. The Independent Forestry Panel, which is examining the sustainability of current and future NSW forestry operations, is inviting submissions by 13 October.
• Problematic plastics. Comments on an EPA draft action plan on plastics are due by 4 November.

The state government has appointed a committee to advise on the Environment Effects Statement and public submissions on the Victorian aspects of the Marinus Link project.

The committee is part way through a 13-day hearing that will conclude in mid-October.

Consultation opportunity - organic waste. The EPA is consulting on a proposed guideline for organic waste processing facilities. Comments are due by 25 October.

The state government has announced that two projects will pilot its new, streamlined Renewable Energy Approvals Pathway (REAP).

The two projects are the Equis 224MW Bell Bay wind farm and the Cellars Hill wind farm.

Countrywide Hydrogen will become the first recipient of support under the state government's $8 million Green Hydrogen Price Reduction Scheme, following the execution of a funding agreement.

Countrywide Hydrogen, which is a subsidiary of ReNu Energy Ltd, will receive funding on a per kilogram basis of green hydrogen sold to end-users to cover the gap between the cost to produce the green hydrogen and what end-users are able to pay.

The company has three renewable hydrogen projects under development in Tasmania, and two in Victoria.

The state government has released its inaugural annual Climate change activity statement.

The state government has confirmed that the state's Recycle Rewards container deposit scheme will start in mid-2025, with TasRecycle Ltd announced as the scheme coordinator, and TOMRA Cleanaway Tasmania named as network operator.

TasRecycle is a not-for-profit entity formed by Lion Pty Ltd, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Asahi Beverages. The companies have extensive experience in managing container refund schemes, with one or more of them involved in every Australian jurisdiction that has a container refund scheme. 

Grant opportunity - advanced manufacturing. The state government is offering grants of up to $100,000 to support advanced manufacturing enterprises.

Consultation opportunity - waste to resources. The EPA has launched a review of the state's Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy, which dates from 2010.

The discussion paper canvasses views on matters including:

• broadening the policy to include circular economy and climate change mitigation objectives.
• expanding the waste hierarchy to include downcycling, energy recovery, and thermal treatment of contaminated materials.
• prescribing in the updated policy an intention for regulatory decisions to support 'highest value' reuse.
• establishing a product stewardship legislative framework.
• making it mandatory for large supermarkets and food manufacturers to donate unsold edible food to charities.
• mandating that commercial and industrial businesses separate food waste and other recyclables.
• requiring businesses to prepare waste reduction plans.
• banning the landfilling of solar PV panels, wind turbines, clothing, mattresses, batteries, and a broader range of e-waste.
• further reducing licence fees for waste depots that capture landfill emissions.

Comments are due by 20 December.

Statutory development - emissions and renewables targets. The Opposition has signalled it will move amendments to a government Bill that would establish new emissions reduction and renewable energy targets.

The Opposition says it will seek the addition of a "residential power price guarantee target", which would legislate a target of reducing power prices for the average household by the end of 2027.

It also proposes the introduction of a similar small business power price guarantee target, and a grid reliability guarantee.

The government described the proposed amendments as "meaningless and obstructive politicking".

Open consultations:

• Container deposits. Comments are due by 25 October on a draft Environment Protection (Beverage Container Deposit Scheme) Amendment Bill 2024.

Rio Tinto has lodged a works approval application for its $215 million BioIron pilot plant near the Kwinana industrial strip, which would produce up to one tonne of pig iron per hour.

BioIron uses raw biomass and microwave energy instead of coal to convert Pilbara iron ore to metallic iron.

When combined with the use of renewable energy and carbon-circulation through the use of fast-growing biomass, BioIron has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 95%, compared with current blast furnace technology.

The pilot plant would operate for up to five years.

New listings are in blue.

The international Assessing Transition Plans Collective has released a framework for assessing the credibility of transition plans.

Topics included in the framework include "red flags" and granularity.

Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa have made a formal proposal to an International Criminal Court working group, in which they propose adding the crime of ecocide to the Court's establishing treaty, known as the Rome Statute.

The Rome Statute currently specifies four core international crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

The three Pacific nations define ecocide as "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts".

MSCI has released new report on The state of integrity in the global carbon credit market.

InfluenceMap has released a new report on Global leaders in climate policy engagement, which singles out for praise 41 companies in various sectors.

Of the 41 qualifying companies, 23 are based in Europe, with nine headquartered in the US, and eight in the Asia-Pacific. 

The UK government has appointed Rachel Kyte as the UK's Special Representative for Climate, filling a role that had been left vacant for over a year.

Kyte has extensive international climate experience, with previous roles including special representative of the UN Secretary-General, and chief executive of Sustainable Energy for All.

The inaugural edition of a new International Energy Agency report series on the State of energy policy shows that governments around the world have earmarked almost US$2 trillion in direct investment support for clean energy since 2020.

This is almost triple the amount committed following the 2007-08 financial crisis. The report finds that around 80% of the direct government spending allocated was in China, the EU and the United States.

The report is accompanied by an Energy Policy Inventory that lists more than 5,000 energy-related policies worldwide.

The Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform (SSBP), a coalition of companies that have pledged to purchase inaugural volumes of green steel, is inviting bids to meet the platform's demand for at least one million tonnes per year of green steel by 2028.

Platform members include Amazon, Invenergy, Microsoft, Nextracker, and Trammell Crow Company.

Australian news items in all issues of ESG Snapshot can be searched by relevant Sustainable Development Goal category. To do this, click on the '17 SDGs' link at the top of this web page, or on any of the SDG keys below.

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