Companies failing to reach their own green goals

Corporate Australia talks a big game about cutting emissions and using renewable power – but a new report shows which companies are lagging in achieving their green goals. See the full list.

Supermarkets, banks and property companies that made big promises to slash their environmental impact will struggle to meet their goals in the times they set, a new report from the Clean Energy Regulator suggests.

Twenty-five Australian companies volunteered to be included in the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency Report, which tracks progress in a range of areas, including renewable energy and slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Regulator assesses performance against corporate commitments – but because every firm chooses its own goals, deadline years and baseline years, some results cannot be directly compared.

In a number of areas, comparisons between competing firms can be made, because they chose the same goal and deadline year.

The roof of Aldi’s Nowra store is covered with solar panels.

The big three supermarket chains have all pledged to source 100 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources, but while Aldi is already there, Coles and Woolworths are both lagging, achieving less than 20 per cent of the target.

A spokesperson for Woolworths said as they were Australia’s largest retailer they sourced more renewable electricity than any other supermarket, and were on track to meet their 2025 goals.

“We already power all our stores and distribution centres in South Australia with renewable electricity and have solar panels on the roofs of more than 225 Australian sites,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Coles said the company was “on track to achieve our target of 100 per cent renewable energy by June 2025”.

“The Clean Energy Regulator’s report captures progress for the 2021-2022 financial year. Since that time, Coles has made substantial progress towards its target thanks to investment in a number of renewable energy agreements with wind and solar generators across Australia,” the spokesperson said.

The banks, too, have some significant performance differences. The Commonwealth Bank is already sourcing 100 per cent of its power from renewables, while the ANZ was assessed at having achieved 66.3 per cent of that goal. Westpac meanwhile self-reported 71.6 per cent progress on its target of using 100 per cent renewables by 2025, while the National Australia Bank did not participate in this year’s report.

Property developers have also set ambitious goals for getting to net zero emissions, but the Regulator found big differences between them.

Mirvac has already achieved its 2030 emissions goals, according to the Clean Energy Regulator. Above: the company’s $212m residential tower called Isle in Newstead.

Lendlease set itself a goal of reaching net zero by 2025 but is only 16.7 per cent of the way there, the Report found, whereas Mirvac is already effectively net positive, despite not aiming to get to that position until 2030.

Lendlease Australia head of sustainability Ann Austin said the company was still confident it would get to net zero by 2025.

“In FY22, we achieved a 35 per cent reduction in Scope 1 emissions, 49 per cent in Scope 2 emissions, and 59 per cent of our electricity came from renewable sources. We’ll continue to work towards further reductions in these emissions ahead of our 2025 net zero target, at which point all residual emissions will be offset,” she said.

Meanwhile Stockland, which aims to reach net zero by 2028, has only achieved 18.4 per cent of its goal, according to the Regulator.

Other companies which could struggle to reach their environmental goals include Fortescue Metals Group, which is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 but is only 6 per cent of the way there, and Australia Post, which has achieved only 27 per cent of its transition to full renewable electricity, the Regulator found.

A spokesperson for Australia Post stressed they would reach their renewable enegy target by the end of June 2025, “through a combination of on-site generation and direct market purchases”.

The Report comes amid heightened concern about companies making good on their environmental promises. A Senate Inquiry on corporate greenwashing is due to report in December, while the most recent federal budget allocated more money for ASIC to pursue greenwashing claims.

Comment was also sought from Stockland.

Originally published as Companies failing to reach their own green goals