ESG In Practice: Compliance In 2024 Starts To Pack A Punch
Sustainability and “ESG“ discourse have been with us a long time. But leafing through this month’s edition of MHD Supply Chain Solutions, we found something with concrete implications for Australian businesses.
The federal government is currently in the process of finalising proposed amendments to the Corporations Act 2001, which will mandate emissions reporting requirements for companies based on size and industry. If passed, the climate-related financial disclosure legislation will likely go into effect mid-2024.
To begin with, businesses will just have to report Scope One and Scope Two classified emissions, with the Scope Three requirement being phased in later. For more information about emissions accounting see this blog post.
Given that right now, only 30 per cent of companies are reporting Scope One and Two, there is a “lot of ground to be made up in relatively little time.”
According to Brendan O’Keeffe, Founder of Circular Supply Chain Advisory, this will affect smaller businesses too, via a “waterfall effect”: while larger organisations are the ones who will be mandated to report, they will require cooperation from all of their (small and mid-tier) external partners. “For example, think of the thousands of small suppliers to big retail organisations like Coles or Woolworths.”
In this new, compliance-driven era, companies will be forced to activate sustainability actions as a matter of competitive advantage, says O’Keeffe. Retailers in particular need to get their house in order.
Tenant Leasing Group (TLG) secure sustainable property solutions for retailers, eCommerce, and other businesses with Industrial & Logistics and other commercial real estate needs.
We also partner with specialist project managers with delivery expertise in warehousing and fit-outs. We do all this so that our clients can focus on growing their businesses (and making sure they get compliant!). Reach out to learn more.
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