Assurance
Independent review report to the management of Investa Property Group
We have performed an engagement to provide a review in relation to Investa Property Group’s (Investa’s) selected sustainability performance data (the Performance Data) for the twelve month period from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 (inclusive) in the 2008 Summary of Selected Sustainability Performance Data as reported in Investa’s online 2008 Sustainability Report.
Management responsibility for the Performance Data
The management of Investa are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the Performance Data in accordance with the reporting rules (the Criteria) available online at www.investa.com.au. This responsibility includes establishing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and presentation of the selected Performance Data that is free from material misstatement whether due to fraud or error. Management’s assertions about the effectiveness of the performance management and internal control systems are included in a separate letter we have received from management.
Assurance practitioner’s responsibility
Our responsibility is to express a conclusion to management on the presentation of the Performance Data in accordance with the Criteria.
We conducted our review engagement in accordance with the Standard on Assurance Engagements ASAE 3000 Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information in order to state whether anything has come to our attention that would indicate that the Performance Data has not, in all material respects, been presented in accordance with the Criteria for the twelve month period from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 (inclusive).
A review engagement consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for the collection and reporting of sustainability performance matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement or an audit conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit or a reasonable assurance engagement. Accordingly, we do not express a reasonable assurance or audit opinion.
This report has been prepared for Investa for the purpose of the online Investa 2008 Sustainability Report. We disclaim any assumption of responsibility for any reliance on this report and the related sustainability indicator data, to which it relates to any person other than Investa, or for any purpose other than for which it was prepared.
The Performance Data
We have conducted an independent review of the Performance Data set out in the 2008 Summary of Selected Performance Data as reported in Investa’s online 2008 Sustainability Report for the twelve month period from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 (inclusive).
The Performance Data comprised:
- Electricity (MWh, kWh/m2) – consumption intensity (kWh/m2)
- Natural Gas (GJ, MJ/m2) – consumption intensity (MJ/m2)
- Water (kL, L/m2) – consumption intensity (L/m2)
- CO2-e emissions (electricity and natural gas) (kg.CO2-e/m2) – emissions (kg.CO2-e/m2)
- Net Lettable Area (NLA) (m2) – floor area (NLA) of buildings in dataset
Inherent limitations
Because of the inherent limitations of any internal control structure, as documented in the Criteria for the Performance Data, it is possible that errors or irregularities may occur and not be detected. Our review is not designed to detect all weaknesses in the Performance Data, as the review has not been performed continuously throughout the period and the procedures performed on the Performance Data were undertaken on a test basis.
Any projection of the evaluation of the operation of the Performance Data to future periods is subject to the risk that the procedures may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance may deteriorate.
The review conclusion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis.
Conclusion
Based on our review engagement, which is not a reasonable assurance engagement or an audit, we have not become aware of any matter that would lead us to believe that the Performance Data has not, in all material respects, been presented in accordance with the Criteria for the twelve month period from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 (inclusive).
KPMG
20 March, 2009
Click here for a controlled version of the Assurance Statement.
Management Statement
Since 2003 Investa has published seven annual sustainability reports, two concise reports and one ‘interim report’, the 2007 Sustainability Results Update, which bridged our transition from ‘financial year’ to ‘calendar year’ reporting. This is our first full calendar year report.
General information presented in our previous reports (including the 2007 Sustainability Report) was current to 30 June, with environmental results closing 31 March to allow for the time needed to collate some data – particularly utilities on a three-month billing cycle. General information in this report covers the period up to and including 31 December, with environmental results data being for the reporting period of 1 October 2007 - 30 September 2008 (inclusive).
Each year we receive a management report from our assurance providers with recommendations about how we can further improve our reporting and management processes. For the first time, this year’s report describes how we have addressed a number of the issues raised in the most recent management report (based on the review of the 2007 Sustainability Results Update). Future reports will describe progress against independent recommendations.
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. A full explanation of our approach to reporting data is available from our website: www.investa.com.au.
Process Improvements
Each year KPMG provides us (Investa) with a management report that suggests ways for us to improve our sustainability reporting. The scope of the management report is limited to the scope of the assurance engagement. We have implemented the following improvements in response to KPMG’s 2007 management report findings.
- Individual properties which are excluded from (Intensity Statistic) reporting are now disclosed, as is the basis for those exclusions.
- We have now developed ‘Group’ emissions and water statistics to cover all properties owned during the reporting period and give a sense of the scale of our impacts and the coverage of the Intensity Statistics.
- We are formalising guidelines for managing the sustainability reporting process as part of the process of preparing the 2008 Sustainability Report.
- We now indicate whether the data for a particular property is present in the reported data for each indicator.
- An audit trail comprising all notifications received from Investa relating to when properties are bought or sold and when to start or stop collecting consumption data is now maintained by Energetics Pty Ltd.