Emissions reduction commitments

We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and continue to pursue more ambitious targets.

Our CO2-e emission reduction commitments are: 50% reduction of our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 Net zero by 2050 for our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

In FY22, we committed to increase the ambition of our emissions reduction targets to align with net zero objectives and reflect the significant progress made by Ausgrid and our industry to reduce emissions and decarbonise the electricity grid.

To support our response, we have joined the United Nations (UN) backed global campaign, ‘Race to Zero’ and the ‘Business Ambition for 1.5^oC’, as part of our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We will lodge renewed targets with the SBTi in FY23 for validation and approval.

Our targets will include line losses*, be based on a more recent base year and include all of our supply chain scope 3 emissions per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

FY22 performance

Scope 1 emissions
Reduced 3.4% since FY17 mainly from fleet efficiencies counterbalanced by an increase in sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) used on our network. Ausgrid has implemented an SF6 strategy to reduce these emissions.

Scope 2 emissions
Reduced 19.2% since FY17 due to grid decarbonisation, reduced electricity demand, property improvements and the installation of solar generation. Excluding line losses, Ausgrid has achieved a significant reduction of 45.7% since FY17.

Scope 3 emissions
For our waste, business travel and streetlight emissions reduced 25.5% from FY17 and continued to decrease in line with our streetlight LED program, which is the bulk of these emissions. We will be working with our suppliers to improve our understanding of our full scope 3 footprint and implement strategies to reduce this to net zero by 2050.

Reporting

We produce an annual Carbon Emissions Performance Report that provides a consolidated overview of Ausgrid’s carbon emission targets, key factors influencing our performance, and measures our progress over the financial year.

We also capture data on our annual performance across our full range of emissions and report this information for compliance with the Federal Government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme.

 

* Line losses explained

Distribution network losses are the difference between the electrical energy that enters our distribution network and the energy that is delivered to our end customers. As energy passes through our network, a small proportion of this is lost as heat during the transportation.

They are the unavoidable consequence of transferring electricity across the network but can be minimised using appropriate technologies and assets.

To minimise energy costs to consumers, where practical and cost effective, we undertake activities to reduce these line losses.

As the proportion of renewable energy that we distribute increases due to the decarbonisation of energy generation in NSW, this will lower the carbon footprint of our line losses.