Appendix 8: Ecologically Sustainable Development

Under section 516(A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, agencies are required to include in their annual report ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance reporting.

Accordance of the activities of the organisation and the administration of legislation by the organisation with the principles of ecologically sustainable development

The NCGP provides funding for all disciplines including research relevant to ecologically sustainable development and environmental protection. 'Living in a changing environment' was one of five national research priorities of the Australian Government. A summary of research projects with funding commencing in 2014–15 in this priority area is provided in Table A8.1. Note that the National Research Priorities were replaced by Strategic Research Priorities in June 2013, and 2013–14 was nominated as a transition year to allow agencies to put processes in place to support the new priorities.

Contribution of the outcomes specified in a relevant appropriation act to ecologically sustainable development

The ARC receives its administered funding through an appropriation in the Australian Research Council Act 2001. This funding is reported in the Portfolio Budget Statements under a single outcome: Growth of knowledge and innovation through managing research funding schemes, measuring research excellence and providing advice.

Under the NCGP the ARC supports a research capability that addresses issues of national significance including health, social welfare, defence, transport, communications, and the environment.

Effect of the ARC's activities on the environment

As indicated in Table A8.1, under the NCGP the ARC supports a broad range of research relevant to ecologically sustainable development. The research outcomes will benefit Australians by increasing understanding of, and offering solutions to, problems such as how to use finite resources more efficiently and sustainably.

The ARC recognises its daily operational activities have a negative impact on the environment through the use of electricity, vehicles, water, paper and other materials, and the generation of waste. Measures to minimise such impact are outlined in the next section.

Table A8.1: New ARC-funded research projects in the area of 'Living in a changing environment', funding commencing in 2014–15

Scheme		Projects (no.) and % of total	Total funding ($) and % of total
Discovery
Australian Laureate Fellowships 2014	Environment proposals funded	4	10,343,786
	Total funded proposals	16	42,151,524
	Environment as % of total	25.0	24.5
ARC Future Fellowships 2014	Environment proposals funded	24	18,690,860
	Total funded proposals	150	114,919,482
	Environment as % of total	16.0	16.3
Discovery Projects 2015	Environment proposals funded	125	47,972,334
	Total funded proposals	665	250,044,435
	Environment as % of total	18.8	19.2
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2015	Environment proposals funded	52	18,591,850
	Total funded proposals	200	70,567,494
	Environment as % of total	26.0	26.3
Discovery Indigenous 2015	Environment proposals funded	3	1,149,764
	Total funded proposals	10	4,392,609
	Environment as % of total	30.0	26.2
Linkage
Linkage Projects 2014	Environment proposals funded	54	17,668,156
	Total funded proposals	251	88,154,841
	Environment as % of total	21.5	20.0
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2015	Environment proposals funded	13	5,519,852
	Total funded proposals	66	28,995,463
	Environment as % of total	19.7	19.0
Special Research Initiatives 2014 (Antarctic Gateway Partnership)	Environment proposals funded	1	24,000,000
	Total funded proposals	1	24,000,000
	Environment as % of total	100.0	100.0

Measures being taken to minimise the impact of the ARC's activities on the environment

Building

The ARC leases office space in 11 Lancaster Place, Canberra Airport, Canberra. This location houses one of the largest tri-generation plants in Australia. Tri-generation is a process wherein natural gas is used as the single input source of energy to generate electricity. Excess energy that would have been lost during the production of electricity is used to heat the buildings in winter and cool them in summer.

In addition to producing three forms of energy, tri-generation provides efficiencies of
90 per cent. This far surpasses the Commonwealth Green Lease Requirement of 4.5 Star NABERS (the National Australian Building Environment Rating System). It also equates to less than half the carbon dioxide emissions of a 5 Star NABERS building.

In 2014–15 ARC staff participated in the 'Earth Hour 2015' initiative held on 28 March 2015 by switching off computers and other electrical appliances. Staff were asked not to enter ARC offices during this period. The initiative aimed to raise awareness about energy usage.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) services

The Australian Government ICT Sustainability Plan provides target guidelines for agencies to measure against over five years in relation to procurement, resource consumption and demand, waste and energy consumption. The ARC's achievements against the summary measures of the plan are provided in Table A8.2.

Mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of measures

The ARC continues to improve its operational efficiency and undertakes regular reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of its measures to minimise the impact of the ARC's activities on the environment. Reporting against the measures in the ICT Sustainability Plan is an important part of the ARC's review framework.

Table A8.2: Australian Government ICT Sustainability Plan–summary of measures

Measures	Target July 2015	2014–15
Sustainable procurement
Relevant ICT equipment meets ISO14024 or ISO14021 standards at a level of EPEAT silver or equivalent as a minimum standard	Implemented in all procurement processes	Implemented in all procurement processes
ICT equipment complies with current energy star version
Product take-back and appropriate resource reused or recovery for mobiles; toner cartridges and ICT equipment covered by national e-waste recycling scheme of NWP
General use office copy paper	100 per cent recycled	100 per cent recycled
Managing resource consumption and demand
Internal copy paper per end user (reams per annum)	9	9
Desktop computers to printer ratio	20:1	20:1
Desktop devices per end user	1.2:1	1.2:1
Managing waste
e-waste reused or recycled	75 per cent	75 per cent
ICT packaging recycled	65 per cent	85 per cent
Managing energy consumption
Desktop energy per end user (kWh per annum and averaged across agency)	250	105
Power usage effectiveness¹ in data centres and server room	1.9	1.45
Desktop computers off after hours	90 per cent	90 per cent

Notes

1 Power usage effectiveness figures provided by Data Centre Provider (TransACT Communications).