The Minerals Council will convert its 'Enduring Value' sustainable development framework into a two-tier system, to provide more certainty to the finance sector and community groups about the performance of mining companies.
Businesses should be preparing profit and loss accounts for their environmental impacts, even if they don't make the results public, says Jochen Zeitz, who pioneered their development for Puma.
Seminars coming up around Australia over the next few months will cover topics including environmental compliance, energy efficiency, bioenergy, carbon and water management at mines.
Proposed ASX corporate governance recommendations will set new minimum requirements for environmental risk reporting, and allow closer scrutiny by analysts and investors, says Net Balance executive director Terence Jeyaretnam.
Wesfarmers' new sustainability report details its joint projects with WWF, describes its 'zero tolerance' approach to illegal logging, explains why it more than doubled environmental expenditure to $90 million, lists big energy efficiency wins, and says the group is 'well-prepared' for a carbon price.
A global campaign to give more prominence to sustainability and long-term value in company reports is gathering pace, with Microsoft and food manufacturer Danone among several companies developing 'shadow' reports to test how it would work.
Telstra has reduced its emissions intensity by 36% in one year and has developed its first 'green ICT' plan for a major customer, according to its annual report, released today.
There are powerful reasons for business to prepare 'integrated reports' that bind together sustainability and financial information, says Michael Bray, head of KPMG's Asia Pacific energy and resources practice.