Environmental performance
This section describes the department's environmental performance, its management of the non-Defence domestic portfolio in line with environmental legislation, and other cross-government environmental activities.
Non-Defence domestic property portfolio
Finance manages a diverse portfolio of some 90 non-Defence Commonwealth-owned properties in Australia. This portfolio is managed in accordance with the legislative framework for environment and heritage matters, including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Management is in accordance with the principles of environmentally sustainable development, and Finance considers potential environmental and heritage impacts when making decisions about each property, including maintenance, retention and divestment.
To improve the environmental performance of the portfolio and in accordance with relevant asset management plans, Finance targets energy efficiency works in the buildings it manages. We carry out works to improve environmental performance, including upgrades to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, building management systems, and lighting controls in various buildings.
Departmental activities
During 2017-18, Finance undertook environmental initiatives in areas such as office energy use, transport, resource efficiency and waste management. Table 3 summarises the department's environmental performance in 2017-18 as compared with 2016-17.
Office energy use
The department reduces its consumption of office energy wherever possible, including by using automated light switching and the power management features of ICT equipment. In the department’s primary tenancy, One Canberra Avenue, Finance uses 10 per cent GreenPower, which is sourced through a cooperative government arrangement.
Transport
Finance employees are authorised to travel only when there is a demonstrated business need and when alternative communication tools, such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing, are an ineffective option. The Finance vehicle fleet is made up of departmental pool vehicles and executive vehicles. A subscription to Greenfleet offsets the associated vehicle emissions.
Resource efficiency and waste
Finance provides a number of recycling streams (including co-mingled, cardboard and paper) in all of its tenancies.
Organic waste bins were introduced to Finance’s ACT tenancies in November 2016. This initiative has diverted more than eight tonnes of general waste from landfill. The organic waste is collected by a worm-farming company to be recycled into organic fertiliser.
The Finance printing system is designed to purge print jobs that are not completed within a set timeframe. Print jobs totalling more than 300,000 pages of paper were automatically purged in 2017–18. The printer fleet’s default settings automatically print in grayscale on both sides of the page and all spent printer cartridges are recycled.
Depending on site requirements, Finance uses a mix of different types of flow restriction and water-efficient dual-flush toilets to minimise water use across its tenancies.
Cross-government activities
Finance contributes to environmental outcomes in a number of additional areas in line with government policy and relevant legislation. This includes managing the COMCAR vehicle fleet and providing electorate office accommodation for parliamentarians. These activities are additional to those listed in Table 3.
COMCAR
In 2017–18, COMCAR continued to deliver on its strategy of ensuring an environmentally responsible fleet of vehicles. As at 30 June 2018, COMCAR had 139 petrol-powered sedans, 12 LPG sedans and eight diesel-powered people movers in its fleet of 159 vehicles.
COMCAR petrol-powered vehicles employ variable cylinder technology, further reducing fuel consumption by using fuel more efficiently, improving fuel consumption and contributing to reductions in CO2 output. COMCAR uses E10 fuel for its petrol-powered sedans, where available. COMCAR’s diesel-powered people movers provide significant improvements in fuel economy and reduced CO2 output in comparison to the petrol variants.
More than 60 per cent of the COMCAR fleet is regularly washed using harvested rainwater, which helps to minimise potable water use.
Table 3: Environmental performance summary, 2016–17 and 2017–18
|
Indicator |
2016–17 |
2017–18 |
|
Office energy usea |
||
|
Total office tenant light and power energy consumption (kWh) |
1,527,860 |
1,949,465 |
|
Total office tenant light and power energy consumption (MJ) |
5,500,294 |
7,018,074 |
|
Office tenant light and power energy use per full-time equivalent (MJ/FTE) |
3,521 |
4,780 |
|
Office tenant light and power use per square metre (MJ/m2) |
236 |
289 |
|
Base/central building energy consumption (MJ) |
45,567,809 |
45,304,551 |
|
Base/central building energy consumption per square metre (MJ/m2) |
449 |
446 |
|
Greenhouse emissions attributed to office tenant light and power and base/central building energy use (tonnes CO2-e) |
9,240 |
8,709 |
|
GreenPower purchased (kWh) |
837,186 |
851,123 |
|
Non-office energy use |
||
|
Greenhouse emissions attributed to non-office energy use (computer centres, other properties and uses) (tonnes CO2-e) |
1,411 |
970 |
|
Vehicle fleet b,c |
||
|
Total number of fleet vehicles |
29 |
21 |
|
Total fuel purchased (litres) |
24,283 |
17,701 |
|
Total distance travelled (kilometres) |
236,226 |
156,387 |
|
Average fuel consumption of fleet vehicles (litres/100 kilometres) |
10.3 |
11.32 |
|
Total direct greenhouse emissions of fleet (tonnes CO2-e) |
57.3 |
41.42 |
|
Greenhouse emissions |
||
|
Total greenhouse emissions (tonnes CO2-e) |
10,708 |
9,736 |
|
Total greenhouse emissions per full-time equivalent |
6.9 |
6.6 |
|
Air travelc |
||
|
Total number of flights |
4,157 |
3,431 |
|
Total distance of flights (kilometres) |
4,112,248 |
3,431,781 |
|
Potable water consumptiond |
||
|
Total potable water use (kilolitres) |
12,068 |
11,290 |
|
Potable water use per full-time equivalent (kilolitres/FTE) |
7.73 |
7.69 |
|
Potable water use per square metre (kilolitres/m2) |
0.49 |
0.44 |
|
Resource efficiency and waste |
||
|
Total office paper purchased per full-time equivalent |
8.7 |
6.3 |
|
Percentage of office paper purchased with recycled content |
83.6% |
97.8% |
|
Office paper recycled (tonnes) |
38.7 |
43.29 |
|
Total waste produced (tonnes) |
166.91 |
163.09 |
|
Total waste produced per full-time equivalent (kilograms/FTE) |
106.9 |
111.16 |
|
Percentage of waste diverted from landfill |
49.5% |
50.0% |
kWh = kilowatt hour; MJ = megajoule; CO2-e = carbon dioxide equivalent.
a In 2017–18 Finance further consolidated its property footprint, reducing our sites from seven at the start of 2016–17 to three by the end of 2017–18. During 2016–17, we operated under a number of sub- lease arrangements for which Finance’s energy usage was excluded from the figures above.
b The fleet and air travel data are for the period 1 April to 31 March in each year.
c Finance vehicle fleet only (excludes the COMCAR fleet).
d The water consumption reported applies to Finance-occupied office buildings only. Tenancy-specific water metering is not available in shared buildings, resulting in the use of estimates based on pro rata calculations. The water data is adjusted on a pro rata basis to account for the unavailable information.
Visit
https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/department-finance/2018/part-3-management-and-accountability/environmental