Reporting Rules
Volume Statistics
Scope of Reporting
The greenhouse gas emissions and mains water usage attributable to all businesses and facilities under the operational control of Investa are reported. Our reporting platform treats assets owned by Investa identically to assets owned by the funds we manage on behalf of our investment clients and the figures are consolidated.
Our reporting of emissions is in alignment with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 and its associated guidelines. In general terms, our reporting of water consumption also follows the principles set out in the guidelines supporting the Act. Totals are divided into component parts, delineated by activity. These components are:
- Property Investment which includes directly owned assets and also assets managed on behalf of investors. This is then further split into:
- commercial office assets;
- industrial assets; and
- joint ventures in which Investa holds a financial interest (according to Investa’s percentage of ownership1).
- Property Development which includes the development of commercial, industrial, and residential assets. Water use and emissions which results from construction activities undertaken by contractors are excluded. Water use and emissions which occur as a result of our operation of development assets (such as residential display homes) are reported.
- House Building which includes the construction of homes and operation of display homes. Water use and emissions under the direct control of Investa are reported, including fuel used in fleet vehicles and energy and water used to operate display homes. Emissions resulting from sub-contractor activities are not reported.
- Occupied Premises which accommodate Investa staff. Emissions in this category typically result from office activities.
Emissions
All Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse emissions from operations within all businesses and facilities under the operational control of Investa during a reporting period are reported. ‘Scopes’ are defined under the international reporting framework of the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development reported in The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and have been adopted by the Australian Government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. Our reporting is in alignment with the Act and its associated guidelines.
Greenhouse gases are measured in carbon dioxide equivalents and expressed in tonnes and kilograms. Global Warming Potential coefficients for non-carbon dioxide emissions are based on figures provided from the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Second Assessment Report (SAR). Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are measured across all operations for the six (6) Kyoto gases including: Carbon Dioxide; Methane; Nitrous Oxide; Sulphur Hexafluoride; Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); and, Perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
Scope 1 Emissions
Scope 1 emissions (direct emissions) include greenhouse gases emitted from sources owned or controlled by Investa and are derived from:
- Natural Gas used for heating air and water, the data for which is provided by supply authority billing;
- Diesel used for operating generators and pumps, the data for which is sourced from supplier records and billing;
- Refrigerant gasses used in air conditioning plant, with the top-up volume purchased used as a proxy for the volume emitted as a result of leakage, the data for which is sourced from suppliers; and
- Fuel used by company fleet vehicles, the data for which is sourced from fuel charges.
Scope 2 Emissions
Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions) include greenhouse gases emitted from sources owned or controlled by others in the production of:
- Electricity used to light and power our properties and activities, the data for which is provided by supply authority billing.
Scope 3 Emissions
Scope 3 emissions (other indirect emissions) include greenhouse gases emitted by another facility or organisation as an indirect consequence of Investa activities, such as methane from waste sent to landfill. These are not subject to the Act and are not reported.
Water
Mains water for all businesses and facilities under the operational control of Investa is reported.
Exclusions from Emissions and Water Reporting
Our rules for determining exclusions from Group emissions and water reporting are derived from the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Guidelines. We endeavour to only report emissions and water usage for businesses and facilities where we are considered to have operational control, i.e. where we have “authority to introduce and implement operating, health and safety, and environmental policies”.
Wherever possible we do not report on tenant controlled emissions and water usage where the tenant exercises operational control. In practice, due to the challenges of submetering water supplies to tenancies in multi-tenanted buildings, tenant water usage is included in our base building statistics. Electricity that passes through tenant electricity meters is normally able to be excluded however.
Confidence Factors
We have allocated confidence factors to our data as a means of highlighting the differences in the reliability of different data sources and review processes. The factors indicate confidence placed by us in the reliability of the data and the assurance processes, not accuracy. We endeavour to ensure all published data is accurate. Confidence factors range from our assessment of “100% confidence” for data which is provided by supply authorities, processed into a utilities database and subjected to independent external assurance by KPMG, through to “20% confidence” for data which is estimated using rules of thumb or extrapolated from a limited sample.
100% confidence is applied to data which is provided by supply authorities, processed into a utilities database and subjected to independent external assurance. This includes all energy and water data from our commercial office assets.
80% confidence is applied to data which is provided by supply authorities, processed into a utilities database and internally verified. This typically includes all energy and water data for industrial assets, joint venture assets, and occupied premises.
60% confidence is applied to data which is provided by third parties and internally verified. This includes: the majority of energy and water data for our Housing and Development activities; refrigerant gasses used in the Investment Portfolio; and diesel used in all businesses.
40% confidence is applied to data which is estimated using a statistically valid base sample and internally verified. This includes: some water and energy data for our Housing and Development businesses which is calculated using averages from representative sites for which we have data; and fuel used in company fleet vehicles in the Housing and Development businesses.
20% confidence is applied to data which is estimated using rules of thumb, industry benchmarks or extrapolated from a limited sample.
Explanatory notes & definitions
Greenhouse gases are measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e) and expressed in tonnes.
The CO2-e of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gasses emitted from air conditioning plant is calculated using Global Warming Potentials (GWP) provided in the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Second Assessment Report (SAR) and published in an appendix to the National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors Workbook, November 2008.
CO2-e emissions from electricity, gas and diesel consumption attributable to our operations in the 2007/08 reporting period have been calculated by applying the Department of Climate Change (DCC) emission factors provided within AGO Factors and Methods Workbook, December 2006; the NGA Factors Workbook, January 2008; and, the NGA Factors Workbook, November 2008. These factors vary from year to year and from State to State and each year we use the Australian Government’s most recently published factors. Updates to emission factors for past years are published from time to time. Generally we do not restate past results on account of these changes noting the DCC’s advice that updates “do not necessarily imply any need to revise estimates of emissions for previous years”.
- 1. The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Guidelines deem the corporation that has ‘operational control’ of a jointly owned asset to have ‘overall control’ and therefore responsibility for reporting the asset’s full greenhouse gas emission impact. Investa’s approach for our sustainability reporting is to accept responsibility for a proportion equal to our entity’s ownership interest; i.e. if Investa controls 43 percent of an asset we account for 43 percent of the emissions. This approach aligns with financial accounting principles and we believe it provides the most accurate reflection of our Group’s emission profile.
Intensity Statistics
This section applies exclusively to the commercial office intensity statistics reported in our 2008 Sustainability Report. With the exception of the buildings identified under various ‘exclusions’ below, the energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, mains water usage and solid waste generated by all commercial office buildings under the operational control of Investa is reported. Our reporting platform treats assets owned by Investa identically to assets owned by the funds we manage on behalf of our investment clients.
Rules for determining whether building assets are considered in the preparation of Intensity Statistics are more detailed than those applied to the preparation of Volume Statistics. This is to ensure that our Intensity Statistics support meaningful independent analysis of our performance between periods and against external benchmarks.
All intensity statistics are expressed in units per square metre of Net Lettable Area (NLA). NLA is the standard measure of office building size used in Australia and it is calculated in accordance with the Property Council of Australia publication "Method of Measurement for Lettable Area" (March 1997) and its predecessors. A building’s NLA is the sum of the areas presented on each individual lease plus any vacant area.
General exclusions
Buildings not operated by Investa for the entire reporting period. Buildings acquired after 1 October 2007 and/or sold prior to 30 September 2008 are not included.
Buildings sold prior to 30 September 2008:
- 2 Packard Avenue, Castle Hill
- 40-42 Carrington Road, Castle Hill
- 50-60 Talavera Road, North Ryde
- 57 Assembly Street, Salisbury
- 12-14 Kitchen Road, Dandenong
- 414 La Trobe Street, Melbourne
- 420 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
- 441 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
- 209 Kingsway, South Melbourne
- 109 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Buildings acquired after 1 October 2007:
- 6&7 Eden Park Drive, North Ryde
- 10 Valentine Avenue, Parramatta
- 130 Pitt Street, Sydney
Industrial buildings. Industrial buildings can be put to a wide variety of uses, thereby limiting the potential for comparison on the basis of environmental indicators. All buildings that include an industrial component are excluded. These buildings are:
- 45 Charlotte Street, Brisbane
- 2 Eden Park Drive, North Ryde
- 5 Eden Park Drive, North Ryde
- 36, 1A Coulson Street, Alexandria
- 9 Waterloo Road, North Ryde
- 101 Beenleigh Road, Acacia Ridge
- 8-10 Kitchen Road, Dandenong
- 23-25 Waterloo Road, North Ryde
Strategic buildings. Buildings that are not part of the program for strategic reasons. The only building that falls into this category is 33-35 Bligh Street, Sydney. This building is vacant and is on a site with development approval.
Jointly owned buildings. Buildings where entities external to Investa Property Group own greater than 25% and exert ownership rights are considered jointly owned for environmental reporting. These buildings are:
- 225 George Street, Sydney
- 201 Kent Street, Sydney
- 250 St George's Terrace, Perth
Buildings that are jointly owned by Investa entities, including assets owned by the funds we manage on behalf of our investment clients, are not considered jointly owned.
Car parks. Car parks are excluded; however, office buildings that incorporate carparks are included. The only asset affected by this rule is Festival Car Park 45 Charlotte Street, Brisbane.
Retail centres. Retail centres are excluded; however, office buildings that incorporate retail are included. The only building affected by this rule was Your Home Centre, 5 Victoria Road, Castle Hill.
Buildings controlled by others. Certain leases transfer management control of the building to the tenant. Typically, these buildings are occupied by a single tenant and Investa has limited access both to the premises and to performance data and is therefore not in a position to drive performance improvements or maintain accurate records. No buildings were under such leases during the period.
Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 emissions (other indirect emissions) include greenhouse gases emitted by another facility or organisation as an indirect consequence of Investa activities, such as electricity transmission losses across the distribution network, or energy used in the production and transport of natural gas.
In previous years' reports, Scope 3 emissions were included in Intensity Statistics. As Scope 3 emissions are not reportable under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 and are not reported in our Group Emissions profile, we now no longer account for them in our Intensity Statistics. The impact of this is that the 2008 intensity statistic cannot be directly compared with our previously published figures.
Specific exclusions
Exclusions from electricity statistics
In Australia it is convention to meter base building and tenancy electricity supplies separately. Buildings where base-building data has had to be apportioned from a single meter (metering base and tenancy electricity consumption) have not been included due to potential calculation inaccuracies. Improvements in base building performance under apportionment systems have the potential to be offset by increases in tenancy consumption and vice versa, and all changes will impact on the apportionment percentages. Investa has a program in place to split whole-building meters to facilitate reporting in the future. Buildings not included in the intensity statistics on this basis are:
- 32 Phillip Street, Parramatta
- 30 Pirie Street, Adelaide
- 260 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
Buildings where a full year’s utility data is not available. No buildings were excluded for this reason during the period.
All other buildings that have electricity connections and qualify for inclusion are presented.
Exclusions from natural gas statistics
Buildings where a full year’s utility data is not available. No buildings were excluded for this reason during the period.
All other buildings that have natural gas connections and qualify for inclusion are presented.
Exclusions from water statistics
Buildings where a full year’s utility data is not available. The only building not included in the report due to our inability to source a complete set of utility invoices (despite our best endeavours) is 62 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra.
All other buildings that have water connections and qualify for inclusion are presented.
Exclusions from waste statistics
Buildings where waste statistics are not recorded:
- 62 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra
- 64 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra
- 115 Grenfell Street, Adelaide
- 30 Pirie Street, Adelaide
- 80 Stirling Street, East Perth
- 12 Waterloo Road, North Ryde
Buildings where the waste recycling program for the whole building is managed by tenants:
- 231 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
- 242 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
- 60 Martin Place, Sydney
- 310 - 322 Pitt Street, Sydney
- 260 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
- 50 Ann Street, Brisbane
- 160 Ann Street, Brisbane
- 54 Miller Street, North Sydney
All other buildings that have waste removal contracts and qualify for inclusion are presented.
Explanatory notes & definitions
Only base building electricity consumption is reported. Electricity used to operate tenancy services, supplied through a tenancy electricity meter and paid for directly by tenants is excluded.
All gas passing through a building’s main gas meter is reported, regardless of whether part is used by tenants for cooking etc.
All water passing through a building’s main water meter is reported, regardless of whether part is used in tenant kitchen facilities, tenant maintained toilets, etc.
Emissions from diesel used to power buildings’ standby generators are not included in our intensity statistics. They are disclosed in all NABERS Energy ratings and accounted for within our Group Emissions profile, however.
Emissions from travel and supply chain activities are not included in our intensity statistics.
Greenhouse gas emissions offset or abated by making purchases under a recognised scheme such as GreenPower and Greenhouse Friendly™ are stated as per the contract documentation. They are disclosed separately and are not included in our intensity statistics