News & Views

Volunteering Australia has released the "Volunteering Gateway", which is designed to connect Volunteer Managers, Coordinators and Leaders across Australia with the tools and resources to help them succeed.

Volunteering Gateway provides a diverse range of tools and resources which have been carefully selected to help recruit, train, manage, and retain volunteers, improving the volunteer experience and fostering a vibrant community that makes a difference.

There are many resources on the Volunteering Gateway site, so make sure you take a look HERE. 

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has released their 2024 Global Wind Report which shows that the global wind industry installed a record 117GW of new capacity in 2023, making it the best year ever for new wind energy.

The report finds the wind industry is entering a new era of accelerated growth driven by increased political ambition, manifested in the historic COP28 adoption of a target to triple renewable energy by 2030.

Fifty-four countries representing all continents built new wind power installations, totalling 117GW in generation power, an increase of 50% over 2022. 

Go to the GWEC Website HERE.

WGEA report that the national gender pay gap according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics is 11.5%. This is down from 12% in February 2024, and an now at its lowest point since 2014.

As of May 2024, the full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings across all industries and occupations was $2014.3 for men and $1782.8 for women.

While WGEA's pay gap calculations are slightly different to the ABS, (due to the sampling), the downward trend remains the same.

See the WGEA report HERE.

Without wanting to get into a political argument, the request from NSW Premier Chris Minns for Public Servants to return to the office will no doubt rekindle the Working from Home (WFH) debate.

Flexible Working options have been available in law firms for many years, and while amplified during COVID, an article on the subject from HR Leader says that it is clear that "hybrid work is a win-win-win for employee productivity, performance, and retention.

Others will argue that we need the social interactivity of being in the office.

One thing is sure is that this many open the can to many organisations reviewing their flexibily approach.

See the article from HR Leader HERE.

In contrast to the above story, HR Leader reported in July that a study by International Workplace Group (which featured 500 chief executives as respondents) found their fondness of a hybrid working schedule. Nine in 10 are working it themselves, and they strongly believe that it’s led to an improvement in both productivity (75 per cent) and staff retention (76 per cent). 

Apart from the financial benefits, the study suggested that nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) believe they would lose their talented workers if they insisted on their employees being present in a central office every day.

Read the story HERE

The World Meteorological Organisation reported that last month saw another extreme weather milestone with the world’s hottest day on recent record registered on 22 July – yet another indication of the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are changing our climate.

This gives rise to a Call to Action on extreme heat - not just by limiting our GHG emissions, but dealing with the side effects of that, including caring for the vulnerable, protecting workers and boosting resilience of economies, who see a reduction in cultivation of food and an increase in poverty, as a result of extreme heat.

See the UN article HERE.

In a recent report, Diversity Council Australia (DCA) found that people with disabilities are facing alarming levels of exclusion at work, causing many to avoid sharing their disability status with their employer. according to a report released today by Diversity Council Australia (DCA) in collaboration with Australian Disability Network.

The report, 'Disability Data at Work', released by DCA in collaboration with the Australian Disability Network, highlights the critical role of capturing disability data in cultivating inclusive workplaces where all employees can thrive.

The report sheds light on the workplace experiences of people with disability and outlines essential strategies for fostering workplace environments where employees feel safe to disclose their disability without fear of repercussions.

See the news article from DCA HERE 

ASIC’s first greenwashing case brought before the Federal Court recently resulted in severe penalties against a financial services company for making misleading statements about sustainable investment options. This was a landmark case both for ASIC and for the financial services industry and demonstrates the importance of making accurate ESG claims to investors and potential investors.

See ASIC's media release HERE

In what appears to be a backflip, SBTi have revised their position on the use of offsets for the abatement of Scope 3 emissions and have stated that the use of offsets (Energy Abatement Certificates) "will be informed by evidence" as they continue to research the issue.

Consequently, SBTi has decided to extend their use for the purpose of abatement of Scope 3 related emissions beyond the current limits.

See their statement about this HERE

In an article from ESG Today, they note that in a report released by the Boston Consulting Group and CDP, that most companies and investors are not yet measuring and targeting reductions in Scope 3 value chain emissions.  

While Scope 3 emissions are probably the most difficult emissions to measure and manage, their omission  can lead to significant unreported risks for companies and investors, and overlooked material supply chain risks that can adversely impact corporate performance.

Read the article from ESG Today HERE