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Home | Climate change | EPA programs and initiatives | Greenhouse gas emissions disclosure pilot

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting and Disclosure Pilot

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Introduction
About the pilot
Methodology
Participant's emission data
Links

Introduction

EPA ran the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting and Disclosure Pilot from 2005 until 2007. The project was wound up when the Commonwealth Governement introduced the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

EPA would like to thank all 25 pilot companies for their contribution to this work.

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About the pilot

The Victorian Government identified, through the Victorian Greenhouse Challenge for Energy position paper, and the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy Action Plan Update 2005 that a gap existed in mandatory reporting and public disclosure from large emitters of greenhouse gas emissions in various industries across Australia.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting and Disclosure Pilot (the Pilot) examined greenhouse gas emission reporting and public disclosure by industry with a critical focus on the issues associated with using the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) as a greenhouse gas emissions reporting mechanism. It was led by the Victorian Government in partnership with Governments in all Australian states and territories.

The pilot comprised two key activity streams that run in parallel, feeding into each other to produce a researched and tested outcome, informed by consultation.

Strategic issues stream

A final position paper was developed on key policy questions and strategic issues raised to date surrounding the use of the NPI, or other options, as a greenhouse gas emissions reporting and disclosure tool, and identifies gaps in information not yet addressed. It followed on from the Draft Position Paper and subsequent public consultation sessions held in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Practical issues stream

The practical implementation stream assembled a group of 25 participating companies and collected and collated their greenhouse gas emissions information. The aim was to work through some of the prospective collection and data presentation issues and ultimately test the strategic issues analysis through practice.

For more information about the pilot view the summary document (PDF, 122 KB) to the final position paper. For a more detailed description view the final position paper (PDF, 598 KB).

Findings

The strategic issues stream of the Pilot found that the NPI was a suitable means of mandating reporting in Australia, primarily by asserting that, as an existing program, it could be implemented faster and at much lower cost than any new legislation. An EPA report on the data collection stream of the Pilot was also completed.

Pilot debriefing sessions August - September 2006

Debriefing sessions about the Pilot were held in every State and Territory Capital City during August and September. The PowerPoint slides from the presentation are available for download. (Microsoft PowerPoint format 1,049KB)

Participants

Twenty-five companies, which have facility sites located around Australia, have volunteered to be part of this pilot. These companies are leaders in different sectors of business who share a commitment to:

better define and measure their greenhouse gas impact, and
ensure the public display of this information.

By being part of the pilot, these companies were able to test the most effective ways of reporting and transparently disseminating information to the public about greenhouse gas performance. They also demonstrated their commitment to improving their own performance and encouraging other businesses to do the same.

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Methodology

Participants in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting and Disclosure Pilot undertook:

reporting of direct emissions of the six major greenhouse gases (in terms of global warming potential), according to the World Resource Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 1, in metric tonnes and tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e)
voluntary reporting of indirect or scope 2 emissions in metric tonnes of CO2-e, and
voluntary reporting of CO2-e savings or direct emissions reductions, in metric tonnes of CO2-e, as a result of energy efficiency measures implemented through existing programs, such as:

the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) Greenhouse Challenge
the Victorian industry greenhouse program as required by State Environment Protection Policy (Air Quality Management)
other federal, State or territory government programs, or
company driven initiatives.

Unless more accurate information has been provided by the company, all methodologies were based on the AGO's Factors and Methods Workbook 2005, which was predominantly in line with the international standards (WRI/WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Protocol.

Voluntary reporting transport emissions

Currently the NPI facility reports only include transport emissions for on-site vehicles. However in order to ensure the treatment of GHG transport emissions in the pilot are consistent with current company reporting practices and the WRI/WBCSD Protocol, company reports cuold optionally include all transport emissions generated on-site, as well as off-site activities from vehicles which are registered. If an “off-site” vehicle is primarily used by staff working at that site, then those emissions are also included. These emissions are recorded separately in the emissions table. This information is reported on a voluntary basis.

Voluntary reporting offsets

Although offset data was not directly included in the pilot, information was included in a company report where applicable in terms of whether they have verifiable offsets and a description of the offset via an attachment or link to a website.

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Participant's emission data

Download spreadsheets containing emissions data for all participating:

companies - Microsoft Excel file (29KB) or PDF file (27KB)
facilities - Microsoft Excel file (96KB) or PDF file (49KB)

Download combined participant's emission reports (PDF, 27KB).

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