Expertise in climate change, sustainability and environmental risk management

Climate change and the environment are topics continually making headlines on a regular basis.

The headlines often highlight risks faced by organisations and Directors around tighter carbon regulations or heightened reporting of climate change, and opportunities, and developments in sustainability reporting or workplace health and safety regulations.

In this context, transparency about business operations is also becoming increasingly important.
Non-financial reporting is therefore key to ensure consistent and effective communication with all stakeholders, retain and gain clients or recruit talent.

Greenhouse and energy assurance and advisory

While Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) requirements have matured, policy positions both locally and globally continue to evolve.
Organisations need to remain alert to the risks and opportunities these changes may bring and RSM has the expertise to help.

• NGER Reporting and Assurance.

Many organisations find the task of gathering data for the purpose of NGER reporting challenging. Auditing is a key compliance and monitoring measure under the Act.
With a large team of Registered Greenhouse and Energy Auditors and with access to significant technical expertise, we have experience in conducting audits under the NGER Act as appointed by the Clean Energy Regulator, as well as voluntary audits for organisations wishing to assess their systems and processes. We provide advisory and assurance services on greenhouse and energy data collection, calculation and reporting processes.

• Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) Assurance.

The ERF, building on the previous Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), is now a central element of the Australian Government’s climate change policy.
RSM has been involved with audits involving several CFI methodologies and is well placed to assist with projects intending to participate in the ERF, or to address requirements under the safeguard mechanism.

• Regulatory and Other Compliance Audits.

We provide assurance services under various other energy or environmental related schemes and regulations, such as:

Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

• Assessing Sustainability Culture.
  Through interviews and surveys, RSM can quickly assess an organisation’s sustainability culture and provide valuable insights into its level of maturity on the sustainability journey by asking the following questions:

  • Does the organisation have a sustainability strategy?
    What is the level of its stakeholders’ awareness and knowledge of the sustainability strategy?
  • Are there local sustainability initiatives aligned to the organisation’s sustainability issues?
  • Do executives and senior management consider and incorporate sustainability in business decisions?
     

• Assistance with preparing or improving non-financial reporting.
  RSM can assist in determining your organisation’s material sustainability issues.

Whether your organisation chooses to disclose non-financial information in an Integrated Report or a separate Corporate Social Responsibility report, we can assist your organisations in preparing, collating and calculating non-financial disclosures aligned to the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative).

• Assurance on Reporting.
  Where sustainability reporting has been in place, RSM can assist in ensuring the information is consistent and accurate thus giving stakeholders confidence that your organisation is tracking well against its sustainability strategy.

RSM understands sustainability metrics are sourced across the organisation, requiring collaboration and consolidation. RSM can assist in validating whether the self-assessed material issues have been identified in line with the GRI and whether the non-financial metrics disclosed are supported by a robust reporting framework.

Energy analysis and carbon footprint services

In conjunction with qualified engineers, RSM can advise and assist in the collation and measurement of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory and Energy.

This includes review and assessment of the systems, processes and controls to collate, aggregate, validate and report the data.

Workplace health and safety services

Workplace health and safety (WHS) legislation places obligations on officers to discharge due diligence in ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of their workers under their duty of care.

Organisations must ensure WHS risk management systems are effective and WHS policies, procedures and systems are in place and effective. In addition, stakeholders now recognise it makes business sense as Australian organisations face challenges in attracting and retaining talent in an ageing workforce and global market.

Internal Audit services

RSM provides outsourced or co-sourced internal audit services to a variety of organisations and industries.

We regularly conduct environmental management reviews as part of organisations internal audit programs.
These are designed to provide assurance to management, the Audit Committee and the Board on compliance with environmental management obligations, as well as identifying areas for improvement.