ESG Snapshot: Issue 90

This week's highlights include:

• It's back. The WA government let its 2023 climate change Bill lapse - now a Greens MLC has reintroduced it.
• Standardised and harder. A Queensland Bill would standardise solar farm assessments - and make assessments of wind and solar farms more difficult.
• Waste strategy ignores carbon. A Queensland paper on a new five-year waste strategy makes no mention of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Federal waste demands. With the Greens likely to be Senate gatekeepers, a new report shows what they expect to see in any waste and recycling bills.
• New ACCU projects. Brickworks and Melbourne Water can now earn ACCUs from new projects, and so can a waste to energy plant in the Latrobe Valley.
• REZ inquiry. A NSW parliamentary inquiry into renewable energy zones has scheduled its first hearings.
• Rural slavery. Top Australian and international anti-slavery officials have given evidence to a NSW parliamentary hearing on the experiences of migrant workers in regional NSW.
• Scope 3. A top international carbon credits integrity body has issued a new code to increase corporate action on scope 3 emissions (international news).
• Plus job listings from A to Z. The a2 Milk Company is recruiting for a sustainability role, and so are Zoos Victoria and Zurich Financial Services.

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

Labor's landslide election victory ensures all existing climate and environmental programs will be retained, and Australia will continue to pursue its bid to co-host the COP31 climate talks.

New climate commitments made by Labor during the election include a program to subsidise the purchase and installation of household batteries.

Labor will also once again pursue the establishment of a federal EPA, and will again attempt to pass major reforms to the EPBC Act.

A new report from InfluenceMap on corporate engagement with Labor's Future Made in Australia plan reveals that the FMIA measures have secured corporate support across the Australian economy, with the exception of the fossil fuel and automotive sectors.

"Due to the scale of financial support on offer, the FMIA plan is the subject of intensive advocacy by corporate interests," says InfluenceMap, which analysed 185 consultation responses from 58 companies and industry associations on various FMIA policy measures.

The analysis found roughly half (47.5%) to be supportive of the climate measures in the FMIA.

In comparison, only 35% held supportive positions on the climate and energy consultations conducted by Labor in its first year of office, before it introduced FMIA legislation and policy, InfluenceMap says.

Labor and the Coalition senators have criticised a decision by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson to finalise and release the report of a Greens-chaired Senate committee inquiry into waste and recycling in the final stages of the election campaign.

The Greens recommendations in the report, which was released on 24 April, provide insights into the party's likely approach to dealing with any waste and recycling legislation introduced in the next Parliament.

The Greens recommend nationally harmonised landfill levies, and the introduction of mandatory product stewardship schemes for plastics and packaging, batteries, and PV systems.

They also suggest that the federal government consider using the NSW Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025 as a template for the development of national, mandatory stewardship schemes.

They also recommend that the Australian National Audit Office conduct an audit of the administration of the Recycling Modernisation Fund.

A new, federally-backed ReMade in Australia scheme has been officially launched.

Products that display the ReMade in Australia logo must have a minimum of 20% recycled content. Half that recycled content must be Australian-made, which will increase to 100% in 2030.

The scheme will officially start operations later this year.

The Clean Energy Regulator has approved ACCU projects proposed by Brickworks, and by Melbourne Water, and will also allow credits to be earned from a waste to energy project at a paper mill.

Brickworks will earn carbon credits from its Horsley Park bioenergy facility in Sydney, which produces gas from the anaerobic digestion of waste that is then used at its brickworks.

Melbourne Water will earn carbon credits from a dedicated food organic waste facility at its Werribee Western Treatment Plant.

A waste to energy project at Opal's Maryville paper mill in the Latrobe Valley, which will significantly reduce gas consumption at the mill, has also been approved to earn credits.

ASIC has released a notice stating that administrators have been appointed for the Planet Ark Environmental Foundation. The first meeting of creditors will be held on 8 May.

Statutory development - clean energy project approvals. Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie has introduced the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.

A summary of the Bill by law firm King & Wood and Mallesons says it will constitute a "major proposed shift" in how renewable energy projects are assessed and approved in the state.

"Whilst these proposed reforms represent a key step in standardising renewable energy project assessment in Queensland ... they also present significant new hurdles that proponents of wind and solar projects (and their investors) will need to grapple with, including retrospectively in some cases," the law firm says.

"Further to all wind farms becoming subject to impact assessment on 3 February 2025, it is now proposed that all solar farms also be subject to impact assessment (which is rigorous, lengthy and subject to third party appeal rights)," it says.

The responsibility for assessing large-scale solar farm applications will shift from local governments to the State Assessment and Referral Agency, K&WM adds.

Proponents of wind farms and large-scale solar farms will be required to complete a Social Impact Assessment and establish a legally binding Community Benefit Agreement with relevant local governments or stakeholders, before lodging their development application, it adds.

The requirements for social impact assessments and community benefit agreements will apply retrospectively to projects already undergoing assessment.

The Bill has been referred to state Parliament's State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee for consideration.

Consultation opportunity - waste strategy. The state government is consulting on a proposed new waste strategy for 2025 to 2030, with the discussion paper making no mention of climate change, or of the waste industry's potential to help reduce carbon emissions.

The strategy notes that a review of the state's waste levy is scheduled for FY26, which will in part consider the ramifications for Queensland if NSW increases its waste levy. Comments are due by 26 June.

The Queensland Conservation Council has launched legal proceedings calling for the Land Court to refuse an application to extend the life of an existing Bowen Basin coal mine by 20 years.

Bowen Basin Coal Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Jellinbah Group, is seeking approval to extend its existing Lake Vermont coal mine.

The Conservation Council alleges that the proposal fails to appropriately deal with the environmental impacts of the project, including greenhouse gas emissions.

"Based on the production estimates provided in the EIS,the project’s total lifetime carbon emissions would be 348 million tonnes of greenhouse gas," the Council says.

If approved, Lake Vermont could become the sixth biggest emitting coal mine in Queensland by 2028, it says.

The Queensland government has instigated a parliamentary committee inquiry into the use of personal e-mobility devices, such as e-scooters and e-bikes, to improve safety and address community concerns.

The NSW Natural Resources Commission has released its final report for the NSW invasive species management review.

A parliamentary committee inquiry into the impact of Renewable Energy Zones on rural and regional communities and industries will hold its first hearings on 13 May (in Sydney) and 16 May (Dubbo).

The latest NSW Biodiversity Credit Supply Fund reverse auction closed on 30 April, with results to be published later this month.

The targeted auction sought in-demand credits within the Central West Orana renewable energy zone, or within 50 kilometres of the zone.

Credits purchased through the Supply Fund will be re-sold to proponents in the REZ to meet their offset obligations, or to other credit buyers seeking to buy credits for philanthropic or strategic purposes.

Proceeds from the sale of the credits will be re-invested in the purchase of more credits to provide long-term investment in biodiversity and credit supply.

Meanwhile, results of the March 2025 reverse auction seeking in-demand credits in the Cumberland sub-region have been published.

The auction received 10 bids, and more than 100 credits totalling around $4.5 million were approved for purchase. Credits covered the:

• Cumberland Plain Woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion
• Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion.

Transcript is now available from a 30 April hearing conducted by a parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery risks experienced by temporary migrant workers in rural and regional NSW.

Witnesses included the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner, the Australian Anti-slavery Commissioner, and the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.

Submissions closed on Friday to a parliamentary committee inquiry into infrastructure for electric and alternative energy source vehicles.

The NSW EPA has started public consultation on its statutory five-yearly review of the licences for Sydney Water's 23 sewage treatment systems across Greater Sydney and the Illawarra.

Heidelberg Materials Australia Resource Recovery Pty Ltd (formerly Hanson Landfill Services) has applied to the EPA for a development licence for a new landfill cell at its Wollert landfill. 

EPA Victoria chief executive Lee Miezis is leaving the organisation to take up the position of Parks Victoria CEO.

Joss Crawford, the EPA's executive director for operations, will stand in as acting EPA chief executive.

Statutory development - state development coordination and facilitation. The Legislative Council has passed with amendments the State Development Coordination and Facilitation Bill, which is designed to streamline development approvals.

The Bill has now returned to the House of Representatives for its consideration of the amendments.

Statutory development - native forest logging. The state government has introduced the Conservation and Land Management Amendment Bill 2025, which will enshrine in law the state government's ban on commercial native logging in WA.

Statutory development - climate change. Greens MLC Brad Pettitt has introduced a Climate Action this Decade Bill 2025. The Bill would provide for:
• the establishment of a target of zero net emissions by 2050 for Western
Australia and for the state government.
• the setting of interim targets for 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045 and 2050 for
Western Australia and for the state government as point targets and
five-yearly emissions budgets.
• the determination of net emissions for Western Australia and for the state
government.
• the development of an emissions reduction strategy to enable emissions
reduction targets to be met.
• the development of a climate adaptation strategy to assist with adaptation to
the impacts of climate change.
• the development of sector adaptation plans for particular sectors to enhance
the capacity of stakeholders to manage the impacts of climate change on the
sector.
• annual reporting to inform the Parliament and the community about Western Australia's progress in achieving its emissions targets.

The Bill is almost identical to a climate Bill introduced by the Labor government in 2023, which it subsequently allowed to lapse, Pettitt told the Upper House.

Green hydrogen and ammonia could be exported to Europe from WA's Mid West, according to the report of a Trilateral Hydrogen Hub Feasibility (TrHyHub) study.

The study - conducted by the WA government, the Port of Rotterdam, and a German solar energy institute - investigated the feasibility of hydrogen exports from Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has approved an amendment to Cleanaway's licence for its Banksia Road Putrescible Landfill Facility to allow the disposal of PFAS-contaminated waste.

Veolia and Purearth are the beneficiaries of three new state government grants to expand food organics and garden organics (FOGO) recycling infrastructure in WA.

Veolia has received $1.55 million to expand its FOGO services at its Landsdale facility and $597,500 for its North Bannister compost facility.

Purearth will use its $1.51 million grant for new infrastructure at its organic composting facility, which will enable it to process an additional 80,000 tonnes of FOGO annually.

WA's Zero Emissions Vehicle rebate scheme will not accept further applications after 10 May, the state government has announced.

The ZEV rebate scheme was announced in the FY23 State Budget and provided a $3,500 rebate. As of 31 March, 11,868 ZEV rebate applications have been paid, totalling $41,538,000.

A landmark new study published in Nature outlines a process to attribute specific climate damages to individual fossil fuel companies.

The study describes a "transparent, reproducible and flexible framework that formalises how end-to-end attribution could inform litigation by assessing whose emissions are responsible and for which harms".

"Drawing quantitative linkages between individual emitters and particularised harms is now feasible, making science no longer an obstacle to the justiciability of climate liability claims," the study says.

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has launched a Scope 3 Action Code of Practice, designed to increase corporate action on scope 3 emissions.

"Increased action on scope 3 emissions is critical to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, yet the global ‘scope 3 emissions gap’ – the shortfall between corporate scope 3 emissions reduction targets and what they are achieving – is growing when it needs to be closed," the VCMI says.

"The Code provides a framework for companies to establish their scope 3 emissions gap, disclose the barriers they are facing, list measures implemented to overcome the barriers they hit, and take action on unabated scope 3 emissions using high-quality carbon credits," it says.  

Those providing supporting statements for the Code include former UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres.

Meanwhile, VCMI has also released research findings by global consultancy Ramboll on Scope 3 decarbonisation challenges.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has published proposed amendments to the international IFRS S2 Climate-related disclosures standard.

The Science-based Targets Network has launched a public consultation on the second version (V2) of its technical guidance for land science-based targets.

"This version incorporates new science, introduces greater flexibility for companies and expanded targets to address a broader range of land-related impacts," the SBTN says.

The new methods are expected to launch in 2026. 

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