Environment
Minimising our environmental footprint
Since 1996 our greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by over 40%. This is equivalent to removing 18,888 cars off the road for a year. We've also sought to minimise paper and water consumption. Additional initiatives include:
- Introducing of the hybrid car, Toyota Prius, for all branded vehicles in Australia and New Zealand
- Relocating to a more energy efficient head office in Auckland, New Zealand
- Implementing of energy plans for individual corporate sites
- Upgrading capacity and energy efficiency of data centres
- Continued roll out of more efficient laptops and servers.
Further reductions planned
We continue to reassess our performance against the target we set in 2008, to achieve a 30% reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) by 2013. As a first mover in tackling emission reductions within the financial sector in Australia, a great majority of simpler opportunities were addressed early. Our ongoing work aims to implement cost effective energy initiatives addressing the increasing challenge to reduce our emissions in our current operating environment.
The Westpac Group’s emissions performance is reported annually in the Annual Review and Sustainability Report and, since 2011, in the Annual Report.
Consistent, comparable reporting
In 2008, our reporting of greenhouse gas emissions - using Australian Greenhouse Challenge Plus methodologies - changed to align with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting system. This includes a more transparent breakdown of emissions by source and scope.
Full details of our performance are reported annually through our Annual Review and Sustainability Report.
