Our Commitment to Climate Change
At Sensis, we’re committed to playing our part in combating climate change.
In planning for the future, we at Sensis cannot ignore the threat of climate change on the Australian landscape and the possible impact to Australian communities, the small business sector and our other stakeholders.
In February 2010, Sensis announced our Commitment to Climate Change. Importantly, our commitment includes the carbon neutral certification of our Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories through the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendly™ program. The carbon emissions created through the production of our directory products will be offset through Greenhouse Friendly™ accredited providers and projects in Australia.
The Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendly™ initiative has been operating since 2001 to certify carbon neutral products and services and approve abatement credits for sale on the voluntary market. Further information can be found on this program and the new National Carbon Standard at climatechange.gov.au/greenhousefriendly/
In 2009, we undertook a full and independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our print and online Yellow Pages® and White Pages® products. The product lifecycle includes everything from the production, use, disposal and distribution of the products and accounts for emissions both in Sensis’ operations as well as in our supply chain. This ‘cradle to grave’ assessment was conducted by environmental consultancy, URS. It showed us which aspects of our business have the greatest environmental impacts so we could take steps to improve our environmental performance. A summary of the Life Cycle Assessment is available to download . It details the impacts across the product lifecycle and the methodology used.
The directories are the largest part of Sensis’ (including our supply chain) carbon footprint, accounting for 175,000 tonnes of emissions per annum. By comparison, our operational emissions (i.e. fleet, electricity and air travel) account for about 30,000 tonnes of emissions per annum.
To achieve carbon neutrality, from February 2010, we will offset the carbon generated during the lifecycle of our Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories using a range of Greenhouse Friendly™ accredited offsets. Details of the offsets will be posted on this site when purchased (as required by Greenhouse Friendly™ timelines).
Reducing our impact is an important component of combating climate change. We aim to reduce our operational greenhouse gas footprint (facilities, flights and fleet) by 5% year on year. We will achieve this through internal energy reduction and education programs, fleet improvements and reducing transport by using video conferencing. We have already begun implementing a number of initiatives such as installing video conferencing at 21 office locations; introducing 4 cylinder diesel cars into the Sensis fleet from March 2010; and scoping new IT Purchasing Guidelines incorporating energy efficiency.
We are also working with our suppliers to reduce emissions in our directories’ product lifecycle.
To help us track our progress, we have developed a detailed Emissions Monitoring Plan. We will report on this annually through our Sustainability Report.
Our annual sustainability report details Sensis’ performance against social, financial and environmental indicators. In future years will provide a summary of emissions, achievements and initiatives against the commitments made.
We invite feedback on our Commitment to Climate Change. Please contact the Sustainability team at: sustainability@sensis.com.au
