Environmental Social Governance (ESG) is the new focus for Australian companies and businesses operating in the Advanced Manufacturing field.
Moving into the future, it will be critical for all companies to be aware of ESG measures and compliance as investors, banks and lenders drastically increase their focus on this area. So what is ESG?
Environment:
The need for manufacturers to produce products using ‘green’ energy will intensify over the next 3-5 years.
For Cluster members, the reduction of waste, recycling and energy management are all included under the environment banner and will be key areas of focus for many of you.
To support cluster members, we have recently submitted a grant proposal to the Victorian government to study and workshop recycling and the environment. This will be in the form of a paper and workshop expected to take place prior to Christmas this year.
Social:
Covering the treatment of employees, stakeholders, suppliers and social aspects of supply chains to name just a few, this area of ESG will have increased compliance requirements including the Modern Slavery Act.
Previously only larger corporates (with turnover > $100 M) had to focus on this area, however expectations are that smaller corporates and private companies will also need to become fully aware of the impact of modern slavery on their supply chain and in future, also comply with reporting under the Act.
Governance:
Governance criteria include all of the below areas and are individual/internally company focused.
Accurate and transparent accounting methods, ensure no bribery and corruption, reasonable executive remuneration to name but a few.
ESG update.
With support of the Commonwealth Bank and KOMG, the cluster will update members on the latest with regards to ESG compliance, especially with regards to banking covenants and future requirements in this extremely important area. Please keep an eye out for your invite for our members only forum, which will occur during the month of November!
During the month of September, we held a webinar with Miscible. An informative and thought provoking webinar was presented by the team. Please see the link below if you missed the webinar.
Oct 2022