ESG Snapshot: Issue 64

This week's highlights include:

• Biodiversity certificates. DCCEEW has released its first draft method for earning biodiversity certificates.
• Hazardous chemicals. DCCEEW has released proposed standards for hazardous chemicals including PFOS and PFOA.
• Pumped hydro. The NSW government is seeking comments on plans by Yancoal for a renewable energy hub.
• Allies. Australia will participate in a major US program to slash energy storage costs, and ARENA will sign an MOU with the US Department of Energy.
• Less plastic. Stringent policies to curb plastics production and demand could reduce plastic leakage into the environment by 96% by 2040, says the OECD.
• New jobs. The WA government has appointed a new EPA Chair, and Green Industries SA now has a permanent chief executive.

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

Consultation opportunity - earning biodiversity certificates. The federal government's advisory Nature Repair Committee has released its proposed inaugural method for earning biodiversity certificates under the Nature Repair Act 2023.

The "replanting native forest and woodland ecosystems method" would allow certificates to be earned through projects that replant native forest and woodland ecosystems.

Projects would need to be carried out in specified regions, which have historically experienced widespread land clearing. The draft method sets rules on matters including eligible land and project activities. 

A project under the method can be combined with a carbon project, to get biodiversity and carbon benefits from the same location.

DCCEEW has also released a biodiversity assessment instrument that would apply to all biodiversity methods, and would prescribe requirements for measuring and assessing biodiversity.

Comments are due by 30 October.

Minister Chris Bowen and US Secretary for Energy Jennifer Granholm have met on the sidelines of a G20 energy meeting in Brazil.

The two ministers announced that Australia would become an international collaborator of the U.S DOE's Long Duration Storage Shot, which aims to reduce the cost of grid-scale energy storage by 90% by 2030, for systems that deliver 10+ hours of duration.

The ministers also committed to signing an MOU between the US Department of Energy and ARENA before the end of the year. In addition, they will this month hold an inaugural Dialogue on Engaging Tribal and First Nations Peoples in the Energy Transition.

APRA will later this year release an update on the methodology it is using for its insurance climate vulnerability assessment, a Senate committee inquiry into climate change and insurance premiums has heard.

APRA's assessment aims to gauge the potential impact of climate change on household insurance affordability in the decades out to 2050, and the results will be published in the first half of 2025. 

The federal government has welcomed a European Commission proposal to extend by one year the transition period for enforcing the EU's anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), following months of pressure from trading partners.

The National Farmers Federation also welcomed the delay, but the Greens accused the federal government of "undermining global efforts to fight deforestation".

Consultation opportunity - hazardous chemicals. DCCEEW has released proposed IChEMS standards on internationally recognised chemicals of concern and lower-concern chemicals, and proposed variations to existing standards.

Chemicals covered by the proposals include PFOS, PFOA, hexachlorobenezene, and PCBs. Comments are due by 25 October.

Six projects have been awarded a total of $50 million to improve the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef, through the $200 million Landscape Repair Program.

The projects will aim to reduce sediment flowing to Reef catchments by restoring eroding gully systems, rehabilitating streambanks, and improving groundcover through grazing land management.

The six projects are being delivered by six Regional National Resource Management (NRM) groups.

The Insurance Council of Australia has released a report on Advancing nature positive insurance in Australia, prepared in conjunction with EY.

The report notes that in the five years since the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires, insurers have paid out almost $20 billion in natural disaster claims from 14 declared catastrophes and seven significant events.

"Climate change and nature loss are creating insurability challenges," it says.

"There are a growing number of opportunities available to Australian insurers to advance nature-positive insurance," it adds.

Engineers Australia, through Engineering Education Australia (EEA) and Deakin University, will launch a suite of hydrogen energy micro-credential training courses to upskill the engineering workforce.

Training courses cover hydrogen handling, hydrogen fuel cell operation, safety and maintenance, hydrogen electrolyses, and hydrogen in the built environment.

The Australian National Audit Office has released an Emissions Reduction Plan describing the actions it is taking to reduce operational emissions and contribute to the APS Net Zero 2030 target.

The plan notes that ANAO plans to participate in a whole of Australian Government renewable electricity purchasing arrangement currently being established by the Department of Finance.

Open consultations:

• Battery Breakthrough Initiative. Comments on an ARENA consultation paper on the proposed $523.2 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative are due by 7 October.
• Minimising packaging waste. DCCEEW has released a consultation paper on reforming packaging regulation, with comments due by 28 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.

Parliament has been dissolved ahead of the 26 October state election.

New government agency annual reports include CleanCo's FY24 annual report, which notes it signed renewable energy agreements with new customers including North Queensland Airports, BHP, Mitsubishi Alliance, Aurora Group, and Vinidex.

The total capacity of its renewables PPAs has reached 1,071MW, of which 631MW is now in service.

CleanCo's integrated portfolio, including owned assets and projects where it has offtake agreements, generated 3,065GWh of clean energy in FY24, an increase of 652GWh compared with FY23. Its owned assets generated 1,959GWh. 

Meanwhile, the annual report of the Department of Energy and Climate shows that renewable energy as a percentage of total energy consumed in Queensland has grown from just 7% in FY17 to 28.2% in FY24.

The federal government has decided that that the X-Elio's proposed 420MW Sixteen Mile solar farm near Chinchilla does not need EPBC approval. The project will also comprise 120MW/240MW of storage.

Consultation opportunity - coastal management. The state government has released a draft of a new Coastal Management Plan. Comments are due by 27 November.

The EPA has extended existing arrangements that exempt specified facilities, including petroleum refineries, from the state's ban on discharging PFAS-containing fire foams. The exemptions apply only to fight a fire that is catastrophic or potentially catastrophic.

The exemptions had been set to expire late last month, and will now expire at the end of June next year.

RES Australia has withdrawn its EPBC referral for the proposed 476MW Barneys Reef wind farm near Gulgong, within the Central-West Orana REZ.

The state government has placed on exhibition Yancoal's proposal for a $1.8 billion renewable energy hub, comprising a major pumped hydro project and a 320MW solar farm on the site of its Stratford open-cut coal mining complex.

Mining operations at the site are due to conclude by the end of the year.

The Banksia Foundation has announced finalists for the 2024 NSW sustainability awards. Categories include the net zero action award (finalists are Sydney Metro and Taronga Conservation Society), and the large business sustainable leadership award (finalists are Endeavour Energy and Hawkesbury City Council).

The award ceremony will be held on 15 November.

Grant opportunity - waste reduction. Councils in the NSW waste levy area can apply for waste solutions grants of up to $200,000, while groups of two or more eligible councils can apply for up to $400,000. Applications close on 12 December.

Initial submissions to the Independent Forestry Panel are now available.

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.

Renewable energy developer BrightNight has received state government approval to start construction on the $700 million Mortlake Energy Hub in the state's southwest.

The project will combine a 360MW solar farm with a 300MW battery. It was approved under the state's fast-track Development Facilitation Program.

A major expansion of Gippsland Water's composting facility will increase the plant's capacity to process organic waste by 70,000 tonnes to 250,000 tonnes.

The $12.2 million upgrade of the facility is being funded by a combined $4.8 million from Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund and the federal Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund.

The state government has issued a declaration for the 2GW Gippsland offshore wind transmission project, which describes procedures and requirements for the project Environment Effects Statement.

The declaration applies to the construction of an overhead transmission line from the proposed onshore connection hub to the proposed grid connection
substation near the Loy Yang Power Station, in the Latrobe Valley.

It also encompasses the onshore connection hub and the Loy Yang grid connection substation.

With Solar Victoria funding, the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre is offering online and in-person training for plumbers and fourth-year apprentices on new building efficiency standards, and designing and installing hot water system heat pumps.

The state government is consulting on draft planning controls to secure three Strategic Extractive Resource Areas to help secure access to rock, sand, stone, clay and gravel.

Open consultations:

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

The City of Hobart has released a new Climate ready Hobart strategy,

The state government has appointed Josh Wheeler as the new chief executive of Green Industries SA (GISA).

Wheeler has been acting in the position since March, and was previously head of GISA's governance and corporate business functions.

Open consultations:

• Container deposits. Comments are due by 25 October on a draft Environment Protection (Beverage Container Deposit Scheme) Amendment Bill 2024.
• Waste to resources. The EPA has launched a review of the state's Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy, which dates from 2010. Comments are due by 20 December.

The state government has appointed Darren Walsh as the new Chair of the WA EPA, after last year appointing him to the board.

Walsh previously served as independent Appeals Convenor to the Environment Minister from 2003 to 2006. He holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Science.

Former Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety executive director of resource and environmental compliance, Karen Caple, has also been appointed to the EPA's board.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has refused an application by Brajkovich Landfill & Recycling (Malaga) Pty Ltd to amend its landfill licence so that it could accept and bury asbestos containing material at its existing landfill in Mirrabooka.

New listings are in blue.

Comprehensive policies to curb plastics production and demand could reduce plastic leakage into the environment by 96% by 2040, according to a new OECD report. 

Without stronger policies, plastics production and use are projected to increase by 70%, from 435 million tonnes in 2020 to 736 million tonnes in 2040, with only 6% of plastics coming from recycled sources, the report says. 

Pollination Group has issued a new report on the State of voluntary biodiversity credit markets, based on a survey of 16 major suppliers of biodiversity credits.

Key findings include that between US$325,000 and US$1.85 million worth of voluntary biodiversity credits have been sold globally to date, representing up to 125,000 hectares of nature regenerated, protected and stewarded.

CDP has released a new report on commitments and actions of prominent cattle and soy producers, and another on supply chain strengthening.

The supply chain report includes a Telstra case study.

Investment and projects in low-emissions hydrogen are growing, but policies to stimulate demand in key sectors, says the International Energy Agency's latest global hydrogen review.

Meanwhile, the EU has released terms and conditions for its next renewable hydrogen auction.

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.

Click to search via SDG