Sustainability framework

We’re shaping a sustainable energy future for Australia, by taking action to prosper in a carbon-constrained world and building customer advocacy.

As Australia’s largest coal-fired generator, the largest private operator of renewable energy generation assets and one of the largest energy retailers in Australia, we’re uniquely placed to shape a sustainable energy future for Australia.

We are guided by four strategic objectives:

• We are moving from being a mass retailer to a personalised retailer – using smarter solutions, technology and service to empower our customers.
• We are continuing our transition from being an owner and operator of large generation assets to an orchestrator of large and small assets, allowing energy to be generated, stored and shared by individuals.
• We are moving to lower-emissions technology. We have maintained our commitment to the deadlines we previously set to close our coal plants and are investing heavily in renewable energy.
• We are growing into new markets. The long-term transformation of the energy sector presents potential opportunities for AGL to apply its expertise more broadly and deeply.

We’ve been committed to sustainability for a long time. In fact, we’ve been reporting on our sustainability journey since 2004. To us, ‘sustainability’ means thinking about the long-term responsibilities we have to all our stakeholders (our employees, our customers, our investors, and the community) and to the environment in which we all work and live. We think this way because we recognise that our future success and reputational standing is shaped and measured by more than just our economic performance; it is also influenced by the social and environmental consequences of our decisions and actions for all our stakeholders.

This section discusses the following areas:

• About this report: This section introduces important features of the FY18 Sustainability Report, including the application of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, the boundary and scope of our report, significant investments and divestments that AGL has undertaken during FY18, and details of the scope of the assurance that Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte) has undertaken in relation to this report.

• Materiality: This report focuses on the things that matter most to us and to our stakeholders – our ‘material issues’ – and aims to provide thought leadership on important and emerging issues for our business, our industry, and the broader community. During FY18 we undertook an independent review to gauge what issues matter most to our stakeholders. The output of the review was a materiality matrix and a list of 12 ‘material issues’ that were used to shape our sustainability reporting framework.

• Hot topics: Of the 12 material issues, two were identified to be particularly topical during FY18: Energy prices and affordability, and the planned closure of Liddell Power Station. We recognise that there has been significant community and government concern about these issues, which is why we have given them special consideration in this report.

• Performance on FY18 targets: This report provides an account of our sustainability performance over the past 12 months, measured against targets spanning the breadth of AGL’s business, as published in our FY17 Sustainability Report.

• FY19 sustainability targets: This section identifies the targets we have set to guide our performance over FY19, which we intend to report on in our FY19 Sustainability Report.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): AGL is committed to taking steps to advance the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is a signatory to the UN Global Compact. AGL considers that achieving the SDGs is not only the right thing to do from a social and environmental perspective, but it also presents an important opportunity for business, government, and the community to create shared value in the process.