When Transgrid launched the refreshed brand in September 2021, an important aspect was the creation of an Indigenous representation of our brand.
Designed and created by Sherrie Anderson, Yura Ngura Indigenous Advisory Manager and her daughter, Ava, the Indigenous representation depicts icons representing: People. Power. Possibilities.
The Yura Ngura (meaning People and Places) Indigenous Advisory team is committed to driving reconciliation through inclusive and respectful engagement with Indigenous Australians across the communities in which we work.
Connecting community leaders with our business leaders, we advocate for working in a culturally safe and inclusive manner that promotes sustainable development and community partnerships.
The team supports, coordinates and provides advice to work beyond compliance and industry targets, with a focus on strengthening internal awareness, understanding, and consideration of Indigenous Australians.
In FY22, we continued to work closely with the NSW Government and new Federal Government to develop infrastructure resources that meet the future needs of consumers in our cities and across regional Australia. One key priority was working with governments on ways to accelerate the energy transition to renewables.
As the backbone of essential infrastructure is predominantly located in regional areas, we will continue to facilitate ongoing engagement with members of Parliament and impacted Councils. This is part of our broader engagement program to ensure local communities are fully engaged throughout each stage of the project.
Transgrid is one of the founding organisations and first signatories to the Energy Charter, formally launched in January 2019. Together with the other Charter signatories, we are working to drive cultural change throughout the industry and deliver better outcomes for all energy consumers.
In September 2021, we delivered our third Energy Charter Disclosure, reporting on our progress to meet the Energy Charter’s five principles, in particular, improving our processes for engaging with landowners as we plan and deliver transmission projects. In our fourth year as a signatory, we are continuing our commitment to improve the ways in which we work with landowners and communities. As we prepare to lodge our FY22 Disclosure, we look forward to reporting on our Maturity Model, progress in social licence issues and how we are striving to deliver better outcomes for all energy consumers.
Our Community Partnerships Program benefits communities in areas where our assets are located or under development. Through the program, we provide not-for-profit groups with funding to help deliver initiatives that will have a tangible and lasting legacy for local communities. Priority areas include: mental health, women, people with disabilities, education, environmental sustainability and safety.
The Transgrid Advisory Council (TAC) is an advisory body that acts as Transgrid’s principal stakeholder forum. It provides consumer and industry insights to better improve the value of Transgrid’s transmission services in NSW and the ACT. The TAC represents a broad range of energy consumers, industry stakeholders and subject-matter experts. Ongoing engagement and collaboration with the TAC on major projects, Revenue Resets, RIT-Ts and other policy matters enables consumer and stakeholder perspectives to be integrated into Transgrid’s decision-making processes.
In FY21, the TAC was appointed as Transgrid’s primary consultation vehicle for the 2023-28 Revenue Reset. These TAC meetings and working groups, have helped inform and direct our thinking on the delivery of major transmission projects and identified key areas to improve the way we work with energy consumers and industry stakeholders.
The transition to a lower carbon future requires expanding our existing transmission network to ensure more renewable generation can connect to the system. We recognise the vital role that landowners and the community have as we plan and deliver our projects and network operations. We are dedicated to continuously improving our engagement to support our decision making and deliver community benefits.
In 2021, we established the Office of the Landowner and Community Advocate to represent the needs of landowners and communities affected by transmission projects, appointing former NSW Fair Trading Commissioner, Rod Stowe, as Advocate, reporting to our CEO and Board.
We are now re-setting our processes. This includes establishing independent Community Consultative Groups to provide local communities and landowners with a structured, ongoing engagement forum to provide input about our projects. We have also implemented a Landowner Assistance Program to provide confidential, independent support and counselling services to impacted landowners affected by Transgrid’s work - across all projects and maintenance activities.
This year, we participated in the #BetterTogether Landholder and Community Engagement initiative. We worked with a number of signatory partners and representatives from state and national landowner and farming groups to develop the Better Practice Landholder and Community Engagement Guide, which was launched with the National Farmers' Federation. The Guide helps transmission businesses and landowners navigate the processes of working together as we plan and deliver new assets.
Transgrid acknowledges our fundamental responsibilities to respect human rights and address modern slavery risks in our supply chain. We support the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 and are committed to continually improving the way we identify, address and guard against modern slavery risk. Our three-year Modern Slavery Roadmap sets out a long-term program of works to address modern slavery. Actions this year include updating modern slavery standard purchasing conditions, continuing sector collaboration with Energy Procurement Suppliers Association and training for our Supply Chain team on modern slavery risks.
To learn more download our Modern Slavery Statement
Transgrid was awarded a 2022 (FY21) 4-star GRESB Infrastructure ESG benchmark rating with a score of 93/100, ranking third out of nine electricity transmission networks globally.
To learn more download our Sustainability Report
Transgrid reports on Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as required under legislation. This year, for the first time, we also quantified the Scope 3 GHG emissions occurring indirectly in our value chain, which Transgrid is also responsible for. We also undertook a comprehensive forecasting exercise of emissions out to 2050 as a basis for considering credible emissions targets.
As transmission line losses are the largest component of our emissions footprint, our primary reduction driver is the speed at which the energy system transitions to one based on renewable energy. We are hastening this process by building interconnectors, and supporting development of renewable energy zones, investing in battery technology – and, through Lumea, physically connecting renewable generators to the network.
The main sources of our Scope 1 emissions are Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) gas leakage and diesel emissions from transport. SF6 is an electrical insulator with a high global warming potential used by circuit breakers, instrument transformers and gas insulated switchgear. We are continuing to explore SF6 alternatives and transitioning our assets to low carbon alternatives. We also completed a process review to improve the accuracy of how we record our SF6 gas usage across the business.
To learn more download our Sustainability Report
Biodiversity plays an essential role in supporting healthy ecosystems and is critical to preserving our natural environment for future generations. During the year, we assessed the impact of our major augmentation projects on biodiversity and worked with regulators to identify appropriate biodiversity offsets, including identifying and securing properties to establish long-term biodiversity values.
We use a robust risk assessment process to protect the natural habitat of endangered species living near our assets, including consulting with stakeholders, such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service and landowners, to help gauge biodiversity risks. We incorporate this knowledge in due diligence assessments and update our risk assessment annually based on government changes to threatened species listings.
Before starting works that involve ground disturbance or vegetation removal, we use a geospatial information system to identify any potential biodiversity impacts. Where potential impacts are identified, environmental professionals specify any restrictions or mandatory controls required to authorise the works. Our approach is to comply with legislative requirements and balance the need to both manage biodiversity impact risks and also mitigate bush fire risks in a practical and efficient manner. Transgrid people and delivery partners must adhere to our schedule of approved pesticides, which we review periodically to ensure we continue to address stakeholder expectations regarding the use of pesticides in the environment.
To learn more download our Sustainability Report
