Institutional and corporate sustainability - project details
Projects completed in 2008
The effectiveness of public/private partnerships in achieving sustainability outcomes
Projects completed in 2007
Environmental Strategic Advisory Committee
Yarra Valley Water: 2006/07 Environmental Cost Statement
Paradigm shift to long-termism in the Australian finance sector
Projects completed in 2006
Development of a 'visioning' tool for business
Making Queensland Industry Green: evaluating environmental codes of practice
Projects completed in 2005
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)
Water in Government Buildings: Feasibility Study for a Policy on Water in Government Operations
Projects completed in 2004
Projects completed in 2003
Sustainable Cities 2025 Discussion Paper
Projects completed in 2002
Projects completed in 2001
State and Local Taxes in Australia: Towards Sustainability
Projects completed in 2000
Baulkham Hills Shire Council Sustainability Review
Case for Green Buildings: capturing the financial benefits
Cooperatives and Regional Australia in the New Energy Market
An ESD Self Assessment Package for Local Government
Sustainability Design Guidelines for Urban Release Areas
Projects completed in 1999
Projects completed in 2008
The effectiveness of public/private partnerships in achieving sustainability outcomes
Australian Research Council
The project is being conducted in partnership with the UTS Faculty of Business and with assistance from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (formerly the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation). The project also gained financial support in the form of a prestigious Australian Research Council grant. Given the rise of public/private partnerships and the issues that have stemmed from them, the project is particularly topical and will provide practical recommendations that will help to ensure their future success. It aims to model best practice governance of public/private partnerships, with particular reference to their capacity to drive organisational changes required to improve the environmental performance and productivity of Australian businesses. A case study approach will be combined with face-to-face interviews, focus groups and survey analysis to deliver outcomes to advise policy makers and business on the successful design and implementation of such partnerships.
Projects completed in 2007
Environmental Strategic Advisory Committee
Yarra Valley Water Ltd
In 2006, Yarra Valley Water (YVW) invited Cynthia Mitchell to join its Environmental Strategic Advisory Committee (ESAC). YVW is a retail water business in Melbourne, and leads the water industry in its efforts to make sustainability real in its business processes. ESAC Members are specifically selected to represent knowledge leaders and innovative thinkers in the area of sustainability. ESAC Members are drawn from wide-ranging sectors, including the community sector, the sustainability action sector, the research sector, the technology development sector, and the corporate sector. The overarching objective of ESAC is to strategically assist YVW to meet its goal of providing its water and sewerage services within the carrying capacity of nature, and assist in setting the future directions of YVW's sustainability journey. It operates along the lines of a high-level, dynamic 'think tank'. It meets two or three times a year. Visit the Yarra Valley Water website to find out more about their sustainability and environment initiatives.
Yarra Valley Water: 2006/07 Environmental Cost Statement
Yarra Valley Water Ltd
This project built on and extended existing frameworks for Sustainability Accounting. ISF prepared an environmental cost statement for Yarra Valley Water (YVW). We examined available costings for initiatives to achieve YVW's six environmental strategic objectives (both current and future), identified gaps in the data, and where possible estimated future costs. The project identified process improvements to obtain data in future years and to improve attribution of costs to achievement of objectives. The environmental cost statement provides a preliminary snapshot of the cost of YVW achieving its sustainability objectives. The project further developed tools for translating sustainability measures into a format that is understandable and meaningful to other sections of YVW's business and to the wider investment community.
Paradigm shift to long-termism in the Australian finance sector
Total Environment Centre
This project was carried out jointly by ISF and the Faculty of Business at UTS. We researched, through literature review and focus groups, the key causes of, and solutions to, short-termism, particularly in relation to institutional investment. The outputs of the project were a discussion paper on causes, a discussion paper on solutions and an Action Plan for implementation by members of the investment community and stakeholders. The project identified the need for further research and an in-depth finance sector-led review. It also outlined immediate steps that could be taken to begin to promote long-termism.
Projects completed in 2006
Development of a 'visioning' tool for business
Department of Environment and Climate Change (Parramatta Office)
ISF was commissioned by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change to develop, document and deliver the Visioning module of the Sustainability Advantage program. It was felt that this long-term perspective on sustainability fills a gap in current thinking for many organisations.
Workshops were used to provide businesses with the tools to develop a vision and a set of broad strategic goals to set them on the path to sustainability. The workshops gave an overview of some of the issues and opportunities for business given the new pressures on organisations to become more sustainable. Group exercises were then undertaken to analyse the organisation's current environmental impacts up and down the supply chain and well-known frameworks were used to encourage managers to think broadly about the risks and possibilities for the company. Materials and processes used in the workshops were documented and passed on to the DECC in order for other facilitators to run future sessions. It will be run in conjunction with the program's Commitment and Planning modules. More information on the NSW DECC's sustainable business resources can be found at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/
Making Queensland Industry Green? Evaluating the use and impact of Environmental Codes of Practice
ISF was engaged to help the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency to determine the utility to Queensland Industry of the existing Codes of Practice that cover eight industry sectors. We approached the research in terms of addressing the question of whether Codes of Practice (in their current form) are the most effective means of helping Queensland Industry improve their environmental practice and performance. If not, how could the Codes be improved or what alternative mechanisms would be more effective. This evaluative approach placed the 'audit and review' of the Codes in a broader policy 'change and improvement' framework and the information was used by the EPA in broader decision making on the future management of the Codes under the Environmental Protection Act 1994. We engaged industry stakeholders in a widespread survey and follow up interviews. Such a study had not been conducted before and we were able to make some significant recommendations on future direction in terms of industry management for the EPA in addition to creating a momentum for this change amongst those in the Industry sectors we worked with.
Projects completed in 2005
Benchmarking Industry Sector Environmental Sustainability: The Building & Construction Materials Sector
The Institute examined environmental best practice for the building materials sector using international and national company case studies and assessed the relative standing of Boral Ltd. to this best practice. A benchmarking framework, based on a review of rating and benchmarking systems in use (e.g. DJSI, Reputex etc.) and a review of key environmental impacts, was developed to assess companies selected as case studies. Eight international and national companies were selected as case studies, based on those seen as environmental leaders in the building and construction materials sector, and those that offered a good comparison with Boral's core business. The case study companies and Boral were analysed against this framework (based on publicly available data) to highlight best practice and identify key opportunities for improvement from Boral's perspective.
Managing Air Quality
The Institute provided expert advice to the Audit Office of New South Wales and contributed to the development of an audit report that assessed whether the protection of air quality in NSW is managed efficiently and effectively. The Institute researched appropriate regulatory structures for managing air quality in Sydney. This material was particularly useful in the audit of whether governance and management arrangements for the protection of air quality provide a structured approach to enable effective coordination, communication and reporting, and clear accountability.
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)
The Institute published the results of its survey "Mainstreaming Socially Responsible Investment (SRI): A role for Government?" in October 2005. The survey collected opinions across the business spectrum including SRI practitioners, institutional investors, related stakeholders, and interested government departments. These results provide a critical understanding of the instruments that key industry members believe are most likely to encourage the widespread uptake of SRI. Download Report PDF or go to summary of results.
Water in Government Buildings: Feasibility Study for a Policy on Water in Government Operations
An assessment of the total water use in all Australian Government Operations was made for the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). The Institute also calculated the potential for water savings and the financial costs and benefits associated with achieving them. Site assessments of seven different Government sites, including offices, laboratories, a university and a Defence base were made. An analysis of the applicability of a water use policy and recommendations on the required administration, accountability, reporting, water use targets, guidelines, and the potential mixture of voluntary and mandatory requirements in such a policy were provided to the Department. This was the only government wide assessment on resource use to date.
Projects completed in 2004
Distributed Infrastructure
The Institute worked with the Australian Council for Infrastructure Development to examine the energy, water and transport industries and the potential for a new, more sustainable, distributed infrastructure market. We outlined the key drivers for change and identified potential products and services, business models, market structures and policy requirements that would enable industry stakeholders to benefit from increased social responsibility.
Projects completed in 2003
Sustainable Cities 2025 Discussion Paper
The Institute assisted the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils with their submission to the Sustainable Cities 2025 Discussion Paper. In 2003 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage started examining opportunities to improve the liveability of Australia's cities and settlements in 2003 and tabled their report in 2005.
Projects completed in 2002
Mainstreaming Sustainability, Strategies for for Planning NSW and the NSW Sustainability Advisory Council
This project assessed the barriers to implementing sustainability in the residential property industry. The project identified and mapped the main barriers to 'mainstreaming' sustainable residential development, using extensive stakeholder consultation across the relevant government and industry sectors, and an emergent process to map results. The project has since been acknowledged as the most comprehensive consultation process the NSW development industry has seen.
Projects completed in 2001
State and Local Taxes in Australia: Towards Sustainability
Much of the work of the Institute involves the use of one of the more neglected means of achieving change towards sustainable futures – the use of economic instruments. In 2001 the Australian Tax Research Foundation (ATRF) published the results of an Institute project entitled ‘State and Local Taxes in Australia: Towards Sustainability’. This project was carried out through a grant from the ATRF in order to determine possible changes to the type and extent of state and local taxes and charges in order to improve the compatibility of revenue raising with principles of sustainability. The taxes and charges focused on relate to resource use (e.g. water charges), waste generation (load based licensing, solid waste generation, landfill, effluent), sustainable transport and land use (e.g. land tax, betterment tax).
Projects completed in 2000
Baulkham Hills Shire Council Sustainability Review - a whole of Council approach to reviewing both the practices and impacts of the Council and to develop indicators for sustainability in June 2000.
Case for Green Buildings: capturing the financial benefits
This research for the Attorney General's Department of NSW examined the range of financial and other benefits associated with green buildings, through both new construction and refurbishment. A wide range of Australian and international case studies, demonstrating how numerous organisations have 'greened' their building stock and the resulting financial benefits were examined. Recommendations were made to the client on the organisational factors needed to successfully implement a green building program and the process for the AGD to take its agenda forward.
Cooperatives and regional Australia in the new energy market
The Institute, together with the Australian Centre for Cooperative Research and Development (ACCORD), examined the role of cooperatives in the restructured energy market, with a focus on rural and regional Australia. As part of this project, a forum was held in December 2000 to discuss issues faced by rural and regional Australia and cooperatives in a competitive energy market.
An ESD Self Assessment Package for Local Government [PDF] was developed by the Institute and the Local Councils in the Australian Capital Region group as part of the Commonwealth Local Government Capacity building program in June 2000. This package leads councils through a practical process that evaluates their activities in the context of ESD legislation and establishes ways they can achieve greater sustainability. The package is practical and relevant for all Councils, regardless of their size, structure, available resources or current capacity.
Sustainability Design Guidelines for Urban Release Areas: a masterplan approach for developers. This tool was developed for Penrith City Council in September 2000 to assist property developers at the masterplanning stage by outlining design solutions that promote sustainable land use.
Projects completed in 1999
Action Research Project - a unique collaboration between ISF, local councils and government agencies September 1999 to develop a whole of council approach to ESD, Local Agenda 21 and State of Environment Reporting.
