Accountable & Collaborative Places
Accountable & Collaborative Places Pillar Overview
Landcom’s Accountable & Collaborative Places pillar is focused on a leadership goal to ‘drive accountability and performance along our value chain’. This leadership goal was developed to reflect Landcom’s commitment to robust governance collaboration within our organisation and supply chain.
Read moreRead lessAccountability means creating a system with a level playing field in which decisions are made for the betterment and benefit of all stakeholders. Performance means seeking ever greater improvements in efficiency and outcomes. Our value chain refers to all organisations that we deal with in operations. By championing better ways to approach business, we seek to lead the industry in trust, transparency, governance and efficiency of outcomes.
Landcom addresses accountability and collaboration through the following focus areas:
- Accountability
- Supply Chain
Each of these focus areas includes a suite of priorities or actions to measure our success. While this pillar includes individual priorities for achievement, it also has a broad governance reach across Landcom’s entire Sustainable Places Strategy.
Accountability & Collaboration is our
governance principle.
Our aim is to deliver accountability and performance along our value chain.
To advance our business approach to delivering productive cities, our current and short term priorities are outlined below. Future targets and measures will be adopted over time, where appropriate.
| Indicator | Priority |
| Accountability |
|
| Supply Chain Collaboration |
|
Management Approach
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International Frameworks and Commitments
Alignment to international frameworks and commitments was fundamental to the development of Landcom’s Sustainable Places Strategy. Urban development and the property sector makes a material contribution to global emissions, the quality of life experienced by citizens and the resilience of our built and natural environments. Therefore, Landcom believes it is critical to align with, and report our contribution towards the achievement of, the Sustainable Development Goals, Resilient Sydney Strategic Directions and COP21 Paris Agreement.
FY18 is the first time Landcom has mapped our reporting to the Sustainable Development Goals, and detailed how we are supporting the Resilient Sydney Strategic Directions and COP21 Paris Agreement.
Sustainable Development Goals
Landcom is committed to supporting international agreements, protocols and targets to help ensure our planet and communities thrive into the future. As part of this commitment, in FY18 we have commenced reporting our contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).57
The SDGs were adopted by many countries internationally on 25 September 2015, to ‘set a goal to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all… each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years’.58
There are 17 SDGs in total, and many targets that underpin each goal. During the creation of our Sustainable Places Strategy (FY17), Landcom made a conscious effort to address each of the Goals wherever possible, either via our own sustainability targets and priorities, or actions we may take as an organisation. In FY18, we are reporting this alignment, and note any activities complete or underway to support meeting the SDG targets and goals.
For the alignment of Landcom’s targets and our FY18 activities that support the achievement of the SDGs, see Appendix 4: Sustainable Development Goals Alignment.
Resilient Sydney
Extensive work on resilience has been led across Sydney since our city’s inclusion in the international 100 Resilient Cities program (100RC). Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, 100RC is working with 31 cities internationally to enhance their resilience to shocks and stresses. Landcom has collaborated with, and taken guidance from, the work of the Resilient Sydney team.
To see how Landcom has contributed to resilience in FY18, refer to Climate & Resilience Performance Results.
COP21 Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is:
‘[an international] agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensity the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is the strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further by 1.5 degrees Celsius.’59 Across Landcom’s portfolio, we will do our part to hold average temperature increase to well below 2ºC, and build resilience within the built environment and our communities to climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Our environmental leadership goal is to ‘enable carbon neutral outcomes at communities by 2028’. Urban development contributes up to 30% of global emissions, and 40% of all energy use.60 Reducing our environmental footprint, and embedding sustainable and efficient technology, will establish more resilient, less energy-intensive communities for the future. To see how Landcom has contributed to resilience in FY18, refer to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Urban Heat Island Reduction.
57 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2018) https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
58 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2018) https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
59 What is the Paris Agreement? https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement
60 What is the Paris Agreement? https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement
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International Benchmarks
Landcom voluntarily participates in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Developer Assessment.
GRESB assesses the sustainability performance of real estate and infrastructure portfolios and assets worldwide. The Assessments are guided by what investors and the industry consider to be material issues in the sustainability performance of real asset investments and are aligned with international reporting frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative and Principles for Responsible Investment.
The Developer Assessment is designed for organisations that develop projects, or acquire development projects, with the aim of selling the projects at completion. It evaluates the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies, organisations and fund managers that focus on development activities, rather than the management of standing investments.
Assessment participants receive comparative business intelligence on where they stand against their peers, a roadmap with the actions they can take to improve their ESG performance, and a communication platform to engage with stakeholders.
For Landcom, participation in GRESB ensures we are independently benchmarking our performance to international best practice, which is a key aspiration of our Sustainable Places Strategy.
For Landcom’s FY18 GRESB performance results, see Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark below.
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Independent Frameworks & Business Operations
As a government organisation, Landcom is committed to upholding business practices for our own operations that are aligned with recognised standards. We do this by adopting and reporting our overall sustainability performance in line with the GRI and against the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy (GREP), which guides our approach to energy, water and waste efficiency in our corporate operations; and helps demonstrates Landcom’s alignment with the NSW State Government’s sustainability goals.61
Landcom also continues to maintain ISO14001 Environmental Management System certification. This ensures the way we manage our projects and onsite development operations are validated and consistent with international standards.
For our FY18 performance against the GREP and details of our FY18 ISO14001 recertification, see Accountability Performance Results below.
Partnerships
We believe in the value of partnering with industry organisations that share the same values and aspirations as Landcom. In FY17, we formalised our partnership with the Australian Supply Chain School, which is committed to advancing skills and education within the property sector.
As part of our Sustainable Places Strategy, Landcom also identified an interest in partnering with others to reduce the instances of social issues impacting the development and construction industry, such as suicide. Research suggests that construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than in a work accident. This is a pressing issue for our industry, and one that Landcom is reviewing opportunities to make a positive difference.
For more about the benefits of our Supply Chain School partnership, see Upskill Our Supply Chain below.
Emerging Issues
In FY17, Landcom presented a draft of our Sustainable Places Strategy to the community and industry, for review and comment. Through this process, we received clear feedback that our Strategy should address the emerging theme of human rights and modern slavery. We have since integrated a commitment to adopt an approach to human rights and modern slavery as part of our Accountable & Collaborative Places pillar.
Globally, sectors with the highest exposure to human rights and modern slavery risks are characterised by labour-intensive, temporary and irregular work conditions. The property and construction sector is considered a high risk sector.62
Human rights and modern slavery risks generally cover:
- Forced Labour
- Child Labour
- Human Trafficking
- Bonded Labour.
On 6 June 2018, the NSW Legislative Assembly passed the NSW Modern Slavery Bill, which identified reporting and disclosure requirements for organisations across NSW that meet certain criteria. Landcom will be a reporting entity in future.
‘It is estimated that 30 million people worldwide currently suffer under some form of slavery, in which their individual liberty is deprived for the commercial or financial gain of another. According to International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates, approximately 68 per cent of enslaved people are subject to forced labour, generating illicit profits of around $150 billion per year.’63 To see Landcom’s FY18 progress, refer to Human Rights & Modern Slavery below.
61 As outlined in NSW 2021: A Plan to Make NSW Number One which aims to drive resource efficiency by NSW Government agencies in three main areas — energy, water and waste — and to reduce harmful air emissions from government operations.
63 Human Rights, professional wrongs, EY (2018) https://www.ey.com/au/en/services/specialty-services/climate-change-and-sustainability-services/ey-lets-talk-sustainability-issue-6-human-rights-professional-wrongs
Performance Results
See below our performance results for each of the reporting areas within our Accountable & Collaborative Places Pillar.
Accountability Performance Results
Landcom’s Sustainable Places Strategy addresses Accountability. This focus area forms part of our Accountable & Collaborative Places pillar and is a representation of our commitment to robust governance and performance, both within our own organisation and in our supply chain.
Our Annual and Sustainability reporting continues to be an important part of how we transparently share our organisational performance with our stakeholders.
Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals
| Sustainable Places Strategy Pillar | Sustainable Development Goals |
|---|---|
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Climate Resilient Places |
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Healthy & Inclusive Places |
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Productive Places |
|
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Accountable & Collaborative Places |
|
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Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals
In FY18, Landcom commenced reporting our alignment and contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Landcom’s Sustainable Places Strategy is aligned to all of the SDGs. Each year we will continue to track our progress against meeting the SDGs and their respective targets relevant to Landcom and our operations.
To see our full alignment against the SDGs, and our targets and actions in FY18 to address them, refer to Appendix 4: Sustainable Development Goals Alignment.
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Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark
In FY18 Landcom participated in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Developer Assessment. This was our second year participating in GRESB. During FY17 we participated for the first time, under the trading name UrbanGrowth NSW.64
We achieved a score of 90/100, accompanied by a Green Star rating representative of Landcom’s performance within the top 20% of all participants. This result is an improvement on our FY17 performance, of 76/100. Overall our performance positions Landcom as third most sustainable developer in the Asia Pacific,
and fourth globally, compared to other participants using the Developer reporting module.
Landcom continues to perform strongly for Management and Policy compared to our peer group. This is highly reflective of our efforts to maintain a high level of governance and probity over our operations. This year Landcom improved upon our Implementation and Measurement score compared to FY17.
Landcom continues to be the only government land organisation globally that submits to GRESB. The following table summarises our results and benchmarking.
64 UrbanGrowth NSW was dissolved during the reporting period, and the organisation restructured as Landcom, and UrbanGrowth NSW Development Corporation which is now an agency within the Department of Premier and Cabinet. All documentation submitted to GRESB as part of our FY17 participation is consistent with Landcom projects and operations.
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Reporting Frameworks & Certifications
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Landcom identifies and discloses our material aspects in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (see Appendix 5: Global Reporting Initiative), as represented in our annual Sustainability Report (this report). Our financial performance is detailed in our Annual Report (see Annual Report 2018).
Landcom renewed its material issues in 2017 (see Material Issues). This is an important process to inform how we do business. It provides insights into what our stakeholders value with regards to our developments, and their expectations for the way we operate our organisation.
Environmental Management System (EMS)
In FY18 we successfully recertified our IS014001 Environmental Management System (EMS) to the 2015 standard. This certification expires in 2021. Key actions in FY18 included the following.
- EMS training delivered to site superintendents and civil works contractors as a refresh on what Landcom required from our contractors. We also updated our site superintendents and civil works contractors of any of Landcom’s new sustainability targets that may be relevant to their activities in the future, such as the use of sustainability sourced timber.
- The Landcom Board adopted a Risk Appetite Statement, which references Landcom’s zero level of tolerance for decisions that do not consider long-term environmental impacts.
- To improve our operational efficiencies, day-to-day management of the EMS was transferred from the Sustainability Team to the Risk & Safety Team during the reporting period.
NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy (GREP)
Throughout the reporting period, Landcom continued to voluntarily adopt the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy (GREP). The GREP helps the NSW Government to set an example in addressing the challenge of rising resource costs, and reducing impacts on our economy, environment and community.
The GREP guides Landcom’s approach to energy, water and waste efficiency in our corporate operations, and helps us align with the State Government’s sustainability goals.65 Key activities in the reporting year related to the GREP include:
- Purchased and retired 18.98 tonnes of CO2-e carbon credits, to offset all FY17 fleet vehicle emissions
- Purchased a new petrol Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, to replace a diesel Holden Colorado ute. (the NSW Government Procurement Policy identifies the maximum emissions permitted by vehicles, procured by government organisations (medium SUV 218gCO2/km). The Mitsubishi Outlander maximum emissions are below the government’s threshold of 211gCO2/km)
- Maintained 100% Green Power for the operations of our Parramatta Office
- Maintained our 6 Star NABERS Energy Rating for our Parramatta Office.
65 As outlined in NSW 2021: A plan to Make NSW Number One, which aims to drive resource efficiency by NSW Government agencies in three main areas — energy, water and waste — and also reduce harmful air emissions from government operations.
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Human Rights & Modern Slavery
In FY18 we commenced a review of Landcom’s human rights and modern slavery risks and opportunities. Once complete, this work will also support Landcom in meeting the newly adopted NSW Modern Slavery Bill, passed by the NSW Legislative Assembly on 6 June 2018. In future, Landcom will be required to make annual public statements which:
- Report against our organisation structure and supply chain
- Disclose the due diligence process in relation to modern slavery
- Identify areas of the business where there is a risk of modern slavery taking place, and the steps taken to assess and manage the risk, and
- Report any training and upskilling provided to staff in relation to modern slavery
Landcom is committed to undertaking robust due diligence for human rights and modern slavery risks across our operations and supply chain. This work will continue throughout FY19, and include collaboration from senior staff members, stakeholder engagement with key staff throughout the organisation, and the development of an action plan to address, reduce and mitigate Landcom’s risks.
Supply Chain Performance Results
Landcom’s Sustainable Places Strategy addresses Supply Chain. This focus area forms part of our Accountable & Collaborative Places pillar, and is a representation of our commitment to robust performance, both within our own organisation and in our supply chain.
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Upskill Our Supply Chain
We believe partnering with industry organisations that share the same values and aspirations as Landcom. As part of driving accountability and performance along our value chain, in FY18 Landcom established a partnership with the Australian Supply Chain Sustainability School.
Launched in Australia in 2015, the School works to develop the sustainability skills and knowledge of those working in complex property and construction supply chains. Through self-assessment tools and free resources, it helps organisations of all sizes address issues such as modern slavery, sustainable procurement and materials innovation.
Research from the School’s 2018 Member Survey66 shows that growing sustainability knowledge in construction and infrastructure supply chains is helping to minimise risk, and improving how business is done, leading to higher quality outcomes with no additional cost.
Findings reveal that sustainability knowledge is growing in importance, with 63% (up 11 percentage points from 2017) of survey participants reporting that sustainability has become more important to their businesses in the last year. Over half (54%, up 5 percentage points from 2017) have begun to engage suppliers earlier, and most organisations (83%) now have a sustainability program or plan in place.
In addition, 46% of School members report having seen economic, environmental or social benefits resulting from improved supply chains. Benefits include increased awareness of risks, priorities and objectives, enhanced competitiveness in tenders, greater spend with local and diverse suppliers and reduced waste.
A key way Landcom is driving the uptake of the School’s content with our suppliers is through contractual obligations. In FY18 we began requiring developers who purchase land from us, and their suppliers, to become members of the School. We are currently in the process of testing the successful uptake of this requirement, and will report on progress again in FY19. We are also exploring how to expand this requirement to major works contracts such as civil construction and landscaping.
During FY18 we also updated our pre-approved Builder Contractor Panel through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The Builder Panel joins our existing suite of contractor panels, including Civil Works and Landscaping — both of which were updated to reflect our new sustainability mandate in mid-2017.
The EOI evaluation gave a high weighting to proponents’ sustainability credentials and also, importantly, their ambition and commitment to become more sustainable in their operations. We assessed the contractors’ policies, systems, reporting and innovation approach to determine which of them was best aligned with our sustainability direction.
The contractor panels provide us with an aligned set of commercial partners who we can continue to engage with for improved sustainability approaches, including through Sustainable Places Strategy briefings, EMS training and leveraging the Supply Chain Sustainability School partnership.
In FY19 we will continue to explore opportunities for supplier engagement, and further embed the resources provided by the Supply Chain School into training modules for Landcom staff and our supply chain.
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Social Issues in the Development and Construction Industry
Landcom is yet to progress our work related to identifying social issues within the construction industry, and determine opportunities to make a meaningful and positive impact. We will commence a review of these opportunities in FY19.
