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Appendix G: Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance
Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) requires Australian Government organisations to include in their annual reports the organisation’s contribution to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD).
The Commission does not administer any legislation nor has it any appropriation directly related to these issues. Its involvement relates to practices that can improve energy management and environmental practices within the Commission.
The Commission has recently reviewed its Environmental Management System (EMS) and has:
- developed the 2009 Initial Environmental Review (IER) which details actions to identify and address activities which may result in environmental impacts;
- updated the Commission’s environmental policy;
- identified the environmental aspects and impacts of Commission activities;
- established environmental objectives and targets for inclusion in the Corporate Group Business Plan;
- prepared Environmental Management Programs (EMPs) which allocate responsibility to achieve the objectives and targets established; and
- revised training material for inclusion in the Commission’s induction material.
The Commission’s pre-existing initiatives include:
- using recycled paper;
- mandatory double sided printing where new multi-function devices have been installed;
- purchasing office equipment that has energy efficient features including sleep modes and the ability to use remanufactured toners;
- purchasing remanufactured toners for our existing Multi Function Devices (MFDs) and recycling used toners;
- co-mingling recycling and paper waste recycling;
- purchasing energy and water-efficient whitegoods; and
- the implementation of the Executive Vehicle Scheme (EVS) policy requiring officers to give consideration of the ‘the right sized vehicle for their needs’; the use of E10 fuel and rating vehicles against the targets outlined in the Green Vehicle Guide Rating Scheme.