We are very proud to announce that Australian Mutual Bank has been awarded Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification as an Organisation, using the reporting year of 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. Climate Active is a government backed program that enables businesses, government and the community to take positive action on climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
The Climate Active certification marks a significant milestone for our organisation, as we hold ourselves accountable and recognise climate change as an emerging risk and priority material issue.
What is carbon neutrality?
Most activities generate unavoidable greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, commonly referred to as carbon emissions.
To become carbon neutral, businesses calculate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their activity, such as fuel or electricity use and travel. They reduce these emissions as much as possible by investing in new technology or changing the way they operate. Any remaining emissions can be 'cancelled out' by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offset units are generated from activities that prevent, reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere. When the offsets purchased by an organisation equal the emissions produced they are carbon neutral. (*)
The Greenhouse Gas inventory for Australian Mutual Bank's Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification has quantified direct (Scope 1), purchased electricity (Scope 2) and indirect (Scope 3) emissions associated with the bank's operations during the 2021 financial year.
Our approach to carbon offsetting is to prioritise our emission reduction plans, using investments in carbon offset projects as a complementary strategy in order to neutralise unavoidable emissions. The carbon offset projects we are supporting deliver positive, tangible environmental and social impacts, providing a pathway for Traditional Custodians to be part of the solution to climate damage, as well as improving the lives of people living in communities across Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
To read more about Australian Mutual Bank's commitment to environmental sustainability please click here.
(*) https://www.climateactive.org.au/what-climate-active/how-it-works
