The federal government has announced a pilot program of the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) report that will track the progress of businesses towards emissions reduction targets.
Australia’s largest energy users will be able to participate in the pilot program, which the government said will support companies in publicly reporting their progress towards voluntarily-adopted targets “in a clear and standardised way”.
Angus Taylor, minister for energy and emissions reduction, said the CERT report would add “a new level of transparency” to the reporting of net emissions and reduction commitments.
“Our shared challenge is to translate commitments and ambition into real and tangible outcomes. This requires a practical plan, and a commitment to transparency and accountability,” Mr Taylor said.
“The CERT report will help Australian businesses demonstrate how they are translating ambition into achievement.”
Businesses reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme with voluntary targets in place are invited to participate in the pilot and work with the Clean Energy Regulator to track their progress.
The government said it would consider if any changes to the report are required, and how it can be expanded to include more companies including the full ASX 200, after an evaluation of the pilot program.
“As a government, we’re focused on taking practical action and making real progress to reduce emissions,” said Mr Taylor.
“Clear guidance and standardised reporting, such as the CERT report, will drive that progress and support climate-related disclosures by Australian companies.”
The Climate Change Authority warned in a recent report that Australia needed to lower emissions across all sectors of the economy “as quickly as we can” to remain competitive.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
