Where is the guidance located in the resource management guides?
The relevant section on Climate Action in Government Operations within resource management guides RMG 135 (annual reports for non-corporate Commonwealth entities), RMG 136 (annual reports for corporate Commonwealth entities) and RMG 137 (annual reports for Commonwealth companies) can be found by expanding the section under Other legislative requirements titled Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The resource management guides outline the annual reporting requirements related to the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy.
Where and how to report emissions in your annual report
Where to report emissions in annual reports
Greenhouse gas emission inventory tables and other emissions reporting requirements should be included in a suitable appendix of the entities’ annual report such as sustainability report, climate statement or climate disclosure.
An example of a climate disclosure that includes the minimum emissions reporting requirements can be downloaded from Tools and Resources on the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure Pilot webpage.
What information is required for 2023-24 annual reports:
As part of the reporting requirements under section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and in line with the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy, all non-corporate Commonwealth entities, corporate Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies are required to publicly report on the emissions from their operations.
To ensure consistency across reporting, entities are required to calculate their emissions in line with the APS Net Zero Emissions Reporting Framework and generate the emissions inventory tables using the tools provided by Department of Finance.
- Contact climateaction@finance.gov.au or call the reporting helpdesk at 02 6215 1999 for any queries regarding emissions reporting.
At a minimum, Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies are required to use both the Location-based and Market-based electricity greenhouse gas emissions table templates below, to report their greenhouse gas emissions inventory in their annual reports.
The location-based approach calculates the emissions from the local area in which the energy is consumed, while the market-based approach accounts for electricity purchased through contractual instruments and assigns the associated emissions to the purchasing entity.
If the emissions of a Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company are encompassed in the emissions inventory of another Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company, both entities or companies should identify in their annual reports that the emissions are aggregated and identify which emission sources are aggregated.
The Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company can present further additional information in its annual report related to greenhouse gas emissions at the accountable authority’s discretion to assist in interpretation of the information provided.
2023-24 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY– LOCATION-BASED METHOD
Emission Source | Scope 1 | Scope 2 | Scope 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity (Location-Based Approach) | n/a | — | — | — |
| Natural Gas | — | n/a | — | — |
| Solid Waste* | n/a | n/a | — | — |
| Refrigerants*† | — | n/a | n/a | — |
| Fleet and Other Vehicles | — | n/a | — | — |
| Domestic Commercial Flights | — | n/a | — | — |
| Domestic Hire Car* | n/a | n/a | — | — |
| Domestic Travel Accommodation* | n/a | n/a | — | — |
| Other Energy | — | n/a | — | — |
Total |
Note: the table above presents emissions related to electricity usage using the location-based accounting method. CO2-e = Carbon Dioxide Equivalent.
*indicates emission sources collected for the first time in 2023-24. The quality of data is expected to improve over time as emissions reporting matures.
†indicates optional emission source for 2023-24 emissions reporting.
2023-24 ELECTRICITY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Scope 2 | Scope 3 | Total | Percentage of electricity use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location-based electricity emissions | — | — | — | —% |
| Market-based electricity emissions | — | — | — | —% |
| Total renewable electricity | — | — | — | —% |
Mandatory renewables1 | — | — | — | —% |
Voluntary renewables2 | — | — | — | —% |
Note: the table above presents emissions related to electricity usage using both the location-based and the market-based accounting methods. CO2-e = Carbon Dioxide Equivalent.
1 Mandatory renewables are the portion of electricity consumed from the grid that is generated by renewable sources. This includes the renewable power percentage.
2 Voluntary renewables reflect the eligible carbon credit units surrendered by the entity. This may include purchased large-scale generation certificates, power purchasing agreements, GreenPower and the jurisdictional renewable power percentage (ACT only).
To frame the information included in annual reports, entities may use the following text related to the APS Net Zero 2030 policy and Climate Action in Government Operations:
Climate Action in Government Operations
APS Net Zero 2030 emissions reporting
APS Net Zero 2030 is the Government’s policy for the Australian Public Service (APS) to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030, and transparently report on its emissions. As part of the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy, non-corporate Commonwealth entities, corporate Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies are required to report on their operational greenhouse gas emissions.
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory presents greenhouse gas emissions over the 2023–24 period. Results are presented based on Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2-e) emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions have been calculated in line with the APS Net Zero Emissions Reporting Framework, consistent with the Whole-of-Australian Government approach as part of the APS Net Zero 2030 policy. Not all data sources were available at the time of the report and amendments to data may be required in future reports.
Entities may also use the following caveat in relation to refrigerant reporting in their annual report:
Reporting on refrigerants is optional for 2023-24 and will be phased in over time as emissions reporting matures.
Where to report amendments to prior year emissions inventory data
Entities may include amendments to prior year emissions inventory data on the relevant entity’s website and include an additional sentence in the annual report under the current year emissions inventory table that states (for example): Amendments made to 20XX-XX emissions data can be found on the [entity link] website here. Enhancements to the amendments reporting process is being investigated for future reporting years.
