Corporate Responsibility
Carbon
Our Approach
ANZ is committed to reducing the carbon impact of its operations. We have committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by December 2009 in both Australia and New Zealand. The pie chart below shows the breakdown of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Australia and New Zealand.
Breakdown of Greenhouse gas emissions
Electricity is the biggest single component of ANZ's greenhouse gas generation and is therefore the major focus of our emission reduction strategy. We are reducing our carbon footprint from electricity in two ways: by reducing the amount of electricity we use and considering investments in renewable energy projects.
The second-biggest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions is travel. We are replacing our car fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles, and are introducing new technology to replace the need for air travel wherever possible.
What we are doing
Going Carbon Neutral
ANZ has announced plans for its Australian and New Zealand operations to be carbon neutral by the end of 2009. As part of our approach, we will seek to acquire our electricity, which accounts for the majority of our carbon footprint, from renewable energy sources.
While this approach involves substantial up-front investment, it is ultimately the more environmentally sustainable approach. By investing in renewable energy rather than merely purchasing carbon credits, ANZ can reduce its carbon emissions while supporting the financing needs of a variety of renewable energy projects.
An example of this investment in renewable resources is our new building in Melbourne's Docklands, due to be completed in late 2009. This building will generate its own electricity using natural gas, solar and wind power.
Many of the Pacific Island nations where ANZ operates are particularly vulnerable to the effects of temperature change and rising sea levels. The past year has seen the launch of solar powered branches in Kiritimati Island, Kiribati and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and the world's first solar powered ATM, located in the Solomon Islands.
Reducing Energy Consumption
ANZ's approach to reducing the carbon impact of our energy use is two-pronged. As well as investing in renewable energy sources, we have also pledged to reduce the overall amount of electricity we use.
Smarter Use of Transport
After electricity, the next highest contributor to ANZ's carbon footprint is transport, both by car and by air.
ANZ has adopted a new car fleet policy in Australia to reduce our impact on the environment and save costs. Since August 2008, four-cylinder vehicles have become ANZ's preferred standard for tool-of-trade cars. By switching to these more fuel-efficient cars as current leases expire, ANZ will cut greenhouse emissions and demonstrate commitment to sustainable sourcing.
With the growth in our Asia/Pacific operations, ANZ has seen an increase in international air travel. We are committed to developing ways of reducing our reliance on air travel wherever possible. One way we are doing this is by using advanced videoconferencing technology such as TelePresence.
TelePresence delivers high quality, real-time, life-like, face-to-face interactions between people anywhere in the world. ANZ is the first financial organisation in Australia to adopt TelePresence technology. It's reliable, easy to use and a viable alternative to travel.
Reporting on our Carbon Footprint
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) provides institutional investors with a "one stop shop" for information about how over 1000 global companies are responding to the challenges posed by climate change.
ANZ continues to be honoured as "Best in Class" for our approach to climate change.
Case study: A virtual conference
In April 2008, ANZ held a senior management conference involving 650 delegates from around the world. Normally, holding a conference like this would involve all the delegates coming together in one place, resulting in considerable greenhouse emissions due to the air travel involved.
Instead, we hosted the conference virtually, linking people across six different locations. We saved an estimated 450 tonnes of greenhouse gases by adopting this approach.
Progress in 2008
ANZ continues to make progress in achieving reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions per FTE for across both Australian and New Zealand businesses.
In Australia ANZ has achieved a 5% reduction per FTE for the year 2008. This is a reflective of the commitment to our carbon reduction strategy in line with our Carbon Neutral goal. This equates to an actual overall reduction of 489 tonnes in comparison to the previous year. Had we maintained our greenhouse gas per FTE at 2007 intensity levels ANZ would have generated an additional 9,824 tonnes of carbon.
In New Zealand the two year carbon reduction target was achieved with a 7% reduction per FTE for the period ending September 2008.
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The future
We are continuing to work towards our goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire Australian and New Zealand business by December 2009.
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