Asciano believes that an effective approach to sustainability is an essential part of how we operate. Our key areas of focus in sustainability are:

• Protecting the health and safety of Asciano employees and visitors and improving our safety performance;
• Reducing our energy use, carbon emissions, management of waste and consumption of water;
• Ensuring we act responsibly in the communities in which we operate; and
• Ensuring we act responsibly in the manner in which we interact with our customers, suppliers, government and shareholders. 

Asciano's Board Sustainability Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of sustainability issues throughout the Company. 

Asciano believes that there are significant opportunities to make transport more efficient in Australia.  With operations in road, rail and ports, Asciano provides logistics solutions across many transport modes.  As rail and sea transport can provide a less energy intensive transport solution to road based transport, there are longer term benefits in Australia for developing rail and sea freight transport infrastructure and use.  Where goods can be transferred from road to rail and sea, this can provide many social and environmental benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, road congestion and accidents.

Rail Productivity Review - Submission to NTC

Given Asciano’s carbon footprint is a direct output from its energy use, Asciano's divisions have been implementing initiatives to reduce our energy use and carbon footprint.  These include introducing incentives to locomotive drivers for energy efficient operating practices, examining technologies for future equipment purchases and identifying the technologies that we can quickly implement in the short term, to reduce our energy intensity. Asciano aims to reduce its carbon footprint based on energy intensity per unit of business activity. Asciano is meeting current legislative requirements relating to carbon and preparing for a future carbon scheme which will put a price on carbon emissions.

NGER Reporting

Asciano is required to comply with the National Greenhouse & Energy Reporting Act 2007 (“NGER Act”). Asciano met its annual reporting obligations for the NGER Act by the deadline of 31 October.  The amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) produced by Asciano’s operations in the 2010 financial year remained relatively unchanged from the previous year, except for Scope 2 emissions from electricity which increased as a result of the new electric locomotive operations for coal haulage in Queensland. In FY2010, Asciano produced 1.132 milion tonnes of CO2-e (1,023,720 tonnes from Scope 1 emissions and 108,494 from 108,494 from Scope 2 emissions). 

Carbon Price Scheme

Asciano continues to prepare for a carbon scheme in Australia that sets a price on carbon. We are disappointed that despite both Federal and State government rhetoric around the need to shift freight from road to rail in Australia, the proposed carbon scheme as announced by the Federal Government in July 2011, perpetuates and for at least an interim two year period, increases, the cost advantage road has over rail.

Any modal shift of freight from road to rail makes sense environmentally and offers a lower carbon footprint transport alternative. Asciano continues will continue to work with various government and industry associations to encourage the improvement of transport infrastructure and related policies that lead to increased efficiency and decreased energy intensity.

Asciano also continues to work with various stakeholders to review the opportunities and threats that physical climate change presents to Asciano’s operations and related infrastructure. Climate change and carbon risks are reported to and managed by the Executive Risk Committee.

In communicating Asciano’s climate change response, Asciano provides an annual response to the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Relevant documents relating to Asciano's position on carbon include:

Garnaut Climate Change Review
Transforming Rail: A Key Element in Australia’s Low Pollution Future
Carbon Scheme Legislation – Asciano Submission 2011

Asciano is a large energy user and uses over 15 million gigajoules of energy each year.  The majority of this energy is diesel used in powering our locomotive, truck and container straddle fleets.  Electricity is a small portion of overall energy use although this is rapidly growing as a result of increased electric locomotive operations hauling coal in Queensland. 

Asciano is focused on indentifying and introducing a range of energy saving initiatives to reduce energy intensity including incentivising locomotive drivers for energy efficient operating practices and identifying new technologies. Asciano has also been continually improving its approach and response to energy efficiency through its membership of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Scheme.

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

Asciano is a member of the federal government's Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) scheme, which requires Asciano to assess 80 per cent of its energy used and identify all energy reduction initiatives with up to a four year payback period. 
Asciano EEO Report 2011
Asciano EEO Report 2010Asciano EEO Report 2009

Asciano’s operations are subject to significant environmental regulation under federal, state and territory legislation in relation to its environmental compliance for all its rail and port operations, incident management and emissions reporting. Asciano recognises the need to protect the environment and ensures that all current legislative requirements are met.  In FY2011 all compliance requirements of environmental regulations and specific requirements of site environmental licenses were achieved, with no significant breaches across any of the operations.

Asciano undertakes a number of community activities particularly within the communities in which we operate.  Asciano’s workforce is spread across Australia and in particular has a large presence in regional areas.  Participation in community events and initiatives are generally undertaken within the operating divisions and include activities such as:

• Pacific National Coal’s work within the town of Greta in the Hunter Valley where both resources and funding have been committed to help improve the quality and safety of the local school facilities and road works.
• Pacific National Rail’s support of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, in which the proceeds raised by specific line haul movements are donated to raise much needed funding.
• Patrick’s support of the ‘Schools on Board’ education program run by the Port of Melbourne Corporation, that enables hundreds of primary school children each year to tour vessels at the Port and Patrick operations. Patrick works with various community and interest groups to coordinate tours of its operations across Australia.