Sensis launches its fifth annual Sustainability Report
Jess | 14 December 2010
It was a big year for Sustainability at Sensis, which included a world first for major directory publishers with the announcement in February that our Yellow Pages® and White Pages® print and online directories had been certified carbon neutral under the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendly™ program.
This announcement was made as part of our Commitment to Climate Change, which details how we’ll play our part in combating climate change from by: managing our footprint, working with our suppliers, leading in product stewardship, supporting small business and connecting Australians.
Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst said: “With this announcement, the millions of Australians who use our directories each week can be assured Sensis is committed to playing our part in combating climate change and working to reduce our carbon emissions.”
February was a busy month, which also saw the launch of the refreshed Sensis in the Community program, which was first introduced in 2006. Following the external review, the new program now includes 20 new Payroll Giving partners, which were selected as the top 20 charities Sensis employees donated to. When employees donate money to one of our partners, Sensis matches the donations dollar-for-dollar at the end of the financial year.
Other new features of the Sensis in the Community program include a more user-friendly volunteer leave process, national partnerships formed focusing on small businesses and conservation, and emergency relief partnerships with The Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
Our sustainability initiatives were recognised by our 2009/10 Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) result, with Sensis achieving a 2009 CRI Gold band score of 92.51% recording a 13.07% improvement from our Bronze band score of 79.44% in 2008.
Looking forward
There are lots of exciting initiatives planned for 2011, including our transition to the Australian Government endorsed carbon neutral certification of our print and online directories. This will be obtained through the Australian Carbon Trust under the National Carbon Offset Standard. Other initiatives include introducing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper stock for the paper used within the print directories as well as more sustainable packaging systems.
We’re also developing an Environmental Management System (EMS) compliant to International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) 140001, to help identify and manage negative impacts on the environment and subsequently improve our environmental performance.
We will also be releasing a Triple Bottom Line report, detailing the economic contribution, environmental impact and social value of the Yellow Pages and White Pages directories.
Assurance
The report has been independently assured by Environmental Resources Management Australia (ERM), which has been prepared to A+ standard, as defined in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 application level. This is the second one of our Sustainability reports that has been independently assured by ERM using the AA1000 principles.
You can download the complete 2010 Sensis Sustainability Report from our corporate site. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Sensis Sustainability team.
