HESTA attains carbon neutral certification

Industry superannuation fund, HESTA has announced that it is the first Australian super fund to be certified by the Federal Department of Environment and Energy as carbon neutral for emissions produced from its business operations.

In order to attain the certification, organisations need to adhere to criterion including calculating their carbon footprint, identifying opportunities to reduce emissions and offsetting remaining emissions by purchasing offset credits.

HESTA chief executive, Debby Blakey, said the fund had aligned its investments and actions with seven UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including climate change.

The fund said it purchased a limited number of certified offsets including savannah burning projects to support Aboriginal employment in the Northern Kimberly region of Western Australia and tree planting initiative in North-Western NSW and the Babinda rainforest.

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Since 2011 the fund has been measuring its carbon emissions and has implemented measures to reduce its footprint including hybrid vehicles, waste separation, the use of technology, intelligent design of its offices, and employee education.

“We understand our actions have a lasting effect, which is why over many years we’ve embedded carbon reduction initiatives across all of our business operations,” Blakey said.

“Over-time we have transitioned the way we operate to first and foremost look at ways to reduce our impact on the environment and then secondly analyse our direct and indirect emissions and work with our suppliers and partners to ensure they also operate sustainably.”