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What is environmental impact reporting?Environmental impact reporting is a summary of an organisation’s impact on the environment and/or how it has reduced its impact on the environment. This report is commonly incorporated in to an organisation’s annual report.
Why report on your organisation’s environmental impact?The environment has a direct impact on the human capacity to obtain food, water, shelter, clothing, and income. Including environmental impact reporting in your annual report demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to a better environmental future.
What can you include in an environmental impact report?Environmental impact reporting is a summary of commitments made by an organisation and how it went about meeting those commitments. This may include a summary of internal projects, policies or procedures designed to reduce the organisation’s environmental impact, or how environmental considerations have been included in projects/programs. For example, new or improved internal recycling projects, low impact building design, carbon offset for air travel, policies and procedures that reduce the organisation's impact on the environment, events to raise awareness of environmental impact or including an environmental report in a summary of programs.
Are Code signatories required to include an environmental impact report in their annual reports?Environmental impact reporting is not a Code requirement. This information has been collated in response to a recognised trend within the sector to include environmental impact reporting in annual reports.
Some examplesThe following signatories provide a cross-section of environmental impact reporting styles ranging from a few paragraphs to several pages:
- Oxfam Australia was the winner of 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers Transparency Awards. Its environmental impact report is on pages 34 and 35 of the Oxfam 2007-08 Annual Report.
- World Vision Australia was the runner up of 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers Transparency Awards. Its environmental impact report is on page 52 of the WVA 2008 Annual Report.
- ACF is a leading environmental conservation organisation in Australia. Its in-depth sustainability report is on pages 5, 6 and 7 of the ACF Annual Report 2007-08.
| | Would you like to be involved?If your organisation has an example of environmental impact reporting that it would like to share with the sector, please contact the Code Management Team:
(02) 6281 9222; code@acfid.asn.au. | |
