Customer Centre

Our Commitment to Climate Change

 

At Sensis, we’re committed to playing our part in combating climate change.

As part of this commitment, the Yellow Pages^® and White Pages^® print and online directories have received Australian Government endorsed carbon neutral certification.

This has been achieved through Low Carbon Australia under the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS). The carbon emissions created through the production and distribution of our directory products are offset using NCOS eligible offsets.

 We are also committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our business operations and products through our Green Office program and product stewardship initiatives.

Between 1 February and 30 June 2010, Sensis reports that the lifecycle of the Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories emitted 74,430 tonnes of carbon emissions. Accordingly, Sensis purchased 74,430 tonnes of approved abatements, which have now been retired.

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 have offset the carbon generated during the lifecycle of our Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories using a range of accredited offsets.

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