CPRS – Almost There…..

For those like me who have been working in the climate change space for a long time now, there is a strange feeling in seeing newspapers reporting that the CPRS is going to be passed by the Senate at the end of the week. There are a range of amendments that will now be made to the scheme architecture but the overall approach of cap and trade will remain the same. For further information on the amendments, please open the attached file. And please tell us what you think by adding a comment to our blog page.

AGL short-listed for 2009 Australasian Investor Relations Award

AGL has been short-listed for the 2009 Australasian Investor Relations Awards in the category of ‘Best Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure by an Australasian Company’.

The winners will be announced on the 2nd December 2009. For more information about the awards go to www.aira.org.au

NSW Feed-in Tariff

The NSW Government released legislation to introduce a $600/MWh (i.e. 60c/kWh) feed-in tariff which is to be implemented through distribution network businesses. The tariff essentially means that in addition to REC revenue, households installing up to 10 kW systems will be paid 12 times the value of wholesale energy. The draft bill is available on the parliamentary website at www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Tell us what you think of this and whether you think you will take up the offer.

AGL nominated for Australian Sustainability Award

We are very pleased to have been advised today that AGL has been independently nominated for the Ethical Investor 9th Australian Sustainability Awards in the category of ‘Environment’.  This nomination also makes AGL a contender for the Sustainable Company of the Year Award.

Last year, AGL was also nominated, and we were very proud to have won the Special Award for Environment.

The winners will be announced on the 9th December 2009. For more information about the awards go to www.ethicalinvestor.com.au

First sustainability-focused investor webcast

This morning AGL held an investor webcast specifically on the topic of AGL’s sustainability performance as reported through the 2009 Sustainability Report.

There was significant interest from the investment community, with some of the top analysts from firms such as Morgan Stanley, AMP Capital and Deutsche Bank participating in the webcast. Journalists from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian also dialed in.

There was some robust questioning, centered mainly on the consequences for our business and for our investments arising from the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, our minority investment in Loy Yang Power, and the impact of solar hot water and solar PV subsidies on the REC market.  Investors were also interested in our published target to contract more GreenPower by volume than any other Australian energy company. Our health and safety performance, employee engagement scores and employee turnover statistics were also discussed.

The interest from the investment community is proof of the strengthening recognition that sound management of the social, environmental and economic challenges and opportunities is central to the overall success and long-term value of any organisation.

The presentation was lodged with the ASX, and the webcast can be accessed from our website at http://www.agl.com.au/ABOUT/INVESTORTOOLKIT/Pages/Presentations.aspx.