News & Views

In the latest report from Transport and Environment (T&E), Europe's leading clean transport campaign group, they note that 85% of global companies are failing to set ambitious targets to reduce corporate travel emissions. Reducing aviation emissions is critical to us staying within 1.5 degrees of global warming and if the biggest emitters set just 50% reduction targets this would go halfway toward that goal,  however corporates continue to turn a blind eye to the harms done by flying for work. See the T&E report HERE

If your firm is spending more than $32K per annum on energy, or consuming more that 160MWh, then you might like to have a look at switching to renewable energy and attend this webinar.
Learn how renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) are being used by organisations to manage electricity price spikes and improve sustainability credentials.

The webinar will be held via Zoom on Wednesday 22 March from 12.30 to 1.30pm. REGISTER HERE

Pride in Diversity monthly online learning sessions are open to all employees of  member organisations, and the full year's program is now available in the members section of their website. Click on the headings to go directly to the registration page for that session.

April 2023

LGBTQ Awareness – Tuesday 11th, 12:30pm – 2pm (AEST)

Pride in Diversity will provide participants with an overall understanding of why LGBTQ workplace inclusion is important to an organisation, explore challenges often faced by LGBTQ employees and provide awareness on the impact that a culture has on the lived experience of its employees.

May 2023

LGBTQ Awareness – Thursday 11th, 3:00pm – 4:30pm (AEST)

Pride in Diversity will provide participants with an overall understanding of why LGBTQ workplace inclusion is important to an organisation, explore challenges often faced by LGBTQ employees and provide awareness on the impact that a culture has on the lived experience of its employees.

LGBTQ HR & Recruitment – Thursday 18th, 3:00pm – 4:30pm (AEST)

Pride in Diversity will provide an interactive session on LGBTQ inclusion tailored to HR professionals, recruitment teams and hiring managers to understand the specific issues faced by LGBTQ employees and prospective employees. NB: attendees for this session MUST have completed an LGBTQ Awareness session within the past 12 months.

June 2023

LGBTQ Awareness – Tuesday 13th, 12:30pm – 2:00pm (AEST)

Pride in Diversity will provide participants with an overall understanding of why LGBTQ workplace inclusion is important to an organisation, explore challenges often faced by LGBTQ employees and provide awareness on the impact that a culture has on the lived experience of its employees.

*Please note: online learning sessions are conducted from Sydney, and all times shown are Australian Eastern Standard Time. Please adjust for your local timezone accordingly.

business.gov.au has now opened round 1 of an energy efficiency grant for small and medium enterprises (with a headcount of 1-199 people). The grant opportunity provides up to $25,000 to replace or upgrade existing equipment to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Find out more about the grant HERE

The last few years in the workplace have seem enormous shifts - in working from home, flexibility, isolation and feelings of dislocation - all of which affect employee mental health and happiness, to the extent that some would choose to be unemployed rather than to be unhappy. Employers need to understand what is happening here and have agile strategies in place to monitor and fine tune the environment and keep a pulse on the feelings at the coalface. See some interesting statistics about this in an article from HR Leader HERE.

While there is still a high percentage of staff working from home, a recent survey has found that employees who continued to work from home are spending an average of $450 on their setup - and are seeking compensation from their employers. While there are some ATO guidelines about claiming for WFH expenses, the survey warns that companies may be up for high expenses as the trend continues. 

Read an article about this from HR Leader HERE.

Following the recent collapse of the soft plastics recycling project, REDcycle, major supermarkets have formed a taskforce and released a 'Roadmap to Restart' the process, but it may not run all that smoothly. The taskforce is still looking for partners and considering safety processes, but paramount is the restoration in public trust that soft plastic recycling is still viable. Read a report from ProBono Australia about the issue HERE.

60% of how we communicate is through storytelling. So if your firm is doing something about sustainability - tell the story - but make it the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

As noted at the latest GreenBiz conference, companies should get credit for what they are doing and get over the trap of thinking that 'story telling' is 'greenwashing'. See what they said HERE.

Seen as a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, UN Delegates have agreed on a legal framework which would place 30 per cent of the world’s oceans into protected areas, put more money into marine conservation, and cover access to and use of marine genetic resources. Under discussion since 2004, the new 'High Seas Treaty' is crucial for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and  is  vital for achieving ocean-related goals and targets by 2030. Read the UN release HERE

REGISTER NOW for this webinar on Thursday, 23 March 2023 at 11am AEDT.

Hosted by Informed 365 with subject matter experts:

Prof. Justine Nolan (Director - Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Facility of Law) and Amy Sinclair (Regional Representative for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific - Business and Human Rights Resource Centre).
Topic: Broken Promises Essay

Margaret Stuart (Director - Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Nestlé Oceania)
Topic: Nestlé - The Journey So Far