Environmental protection and biodiversity conservation

Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) requires Australian Government organisations to include in their annual reports:

  • a report on the environmental performance of the organisation; and
  • the organisation’s contribution to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD).

Environmental performance

The EPBC Act requires agencies to report on: the effect of the organisation’s activities on the environment; the measures taken by the organisation to minimise this impact; and the mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of these measures. Our activities have an influence on environmental matters in two ways: first, through audits of agencies with environmental responsibilities; and second, through our administrative operations. Relevant audits are discussed below under the heading ‘Contribution to ecologically sustainable development’.

We continue to support the Australian Greenhouse Office’s Working Energy Program. During the year we continued to develop our Environmental Management System, which provides a formal structure to allow the ANAO to identify and manage environmental risk and improve environmental performance.

This strategy is underpinned by a comprehensive maintenance contract for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical and essential services for our office building. The contract stipulates that the service contractor must achieve specified annual savings in energy costs and consumption.

We continue to implement a comprehensive recycling program which includes organic waste, paper waste and all fluorescent globes and toner cartridges. Our recycling regime was recognised in the 2006 Australian Capital Territory Government’s “No Waste” awards.

In addition to the initiatives already in place, our new lease includes arrangements to significantly improve the environmental performance of our office building including achieving an Australian Greenhouse Building Rating of at least four.

Contribution to ecologically sustainable development

The EPBC Act requires agencies to report on how their activities and their administration of legislation accord with the principles of ESD. We do not administer any programs or legislation that explicitly mention ESD. However, our audit activities do allow us to report on those agencies with a more direct influence on the environment. In 2006—07 we conducted two performance audits that were directly relevant to ESD:

  • Audit Report No.14 2006—07,Regulation of Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines; and
  • Audit Report No.31 2006—07, The Conservation and Protection of National Threatened Species and Ecological Communities.

Under the EPBC Act, we are required to report on how our outcomes specified in the Appropriations Act contribute to ESD. Our two outcomes are: Outcome 1, improvement in public administration; and Outcome 2, assurance of public sector reporting, administration, control and accountability. The audits mentioned above contributed to an improvement in the understanding of the issues involved in both areas of Australian Government activity. A number of recommendations were made in each report which were aimed at improving the administration of the areas under review.