The Morrison Government is building on Australia’s gold standard national emissions reporting by raising the bar for corporate accountability and transparency.

The Government has developed a Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) report. The CERT report will support Australian companies to publicly report on progress towards their voluntarily-adopted emissions reduction targets in a clear and standardised way. 

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said Australia is a world leader in the public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions data and the CERT report will add a new level of transparency to the way companies report their net emissions and commitments to reduce them.

“Our shared challenge is to translate commitments and ambition into real and tangible outcomes. This requires a practical plan, and a commitment to transparency and accountability,” Minister Taylor said.

“The CERT report will help Australian businesses demonstrate how they are translating ambition into achievement.

“As a government, we’re focused on taking practical action and making real progress to reduce emissions. Clear guidance and standardised reporting, such as the CERT report, will drive that progress and support climate-related disclosures by Australian companies.”

The Clean Energy Regulator will work with large energy-using businesses covered by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme to track progress towards their voluntary targets through the CERT report.

The CERT report will initially operate as a pilot. Participation is voluntary for NGER reporting companies that meet the publishing threshold. These are Australia’s largest businesses and energy users, many of whom are household names. 

The CERT report will support disclosures made by Australian companies under international schemes, including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and Global Reporting Initiative.

All eligible companies with voluntary targets are invited to participate in the pilot, to demonstrate their commitment to transparency and accountability.

Submissions on the guidelines for the CERT report will be accepted up until 5pm Monday, 1 November 2021. More information is available on the Clean Energy Regulator’s website.

Following an evaluation of the CERT pilot, the Government will consider if any design changes are necessary and how the initiative can be expanded to support participation by a broader group of companies, including the full ASX200.

Media contact:

Minister Taylor's office 02 6277 7120