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Banarra identified the following areas for improvement:
• We commend Stockland for discussing key learnings in the Report, however there
appears to be considerable reliance on certain individuals to hold and communicate
this information – Stockland could implement more formal processes to reflect and
share project learnings;
• On our site visits we also found considerable reliance on the skills of a few technical
experts in head office – there are opportunities to build and strengthen CR&S
expertise and accountability at the local level;
• Stockland has implemented many programs and initiatives, however there is often
no measurement of success in progressing sustainability (for example the extent
of uptake by tenants of sustainability initiatives from the Retail Design Fitout Guide)
– Stockland should investigate ways to measure the outcomes and impacts of its
initiatives; and
• Innovation is identified as a critical practice in Stockland’s CR&S Strategy, yet
it is unclear how consistently Stockland’s responses to sustainability issues go
beyond compliance – Stockland should consider how to strengthen its support
for both project level innovation as well as ‘big picture’ innovation associated with
sustainability leadership.
Assurance Opinion: Performance Information
Based on our methodology we conclude:
• There is evidence that the performance information for Energy and Greenhouse Gas
Emissions is correct in all material aspects and is a fair representation of Stockland’s
performance in this area in FY10;
• There is no evidence that the performance information for Stakeholder Engagement,
Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, Health, Safety and Wellness,
Learning and Development, Employee Turnover, Customer Engagement, Housing
Affordability, Engaging Our Suppliers, Government Relations, Community
Development, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency, Water and Waste is not correct
in all material aspects and is not a fair representation of Stockland’s performance
in these areas in FY10; and
• Banarra was not able to come to a view on the accuracy of the Residential and
Retirement Living greenhouse gas, energy, water and waste data due to incomplete
evidence trails for contractor data. We recognise that this is the first full year in which
Stockland has collected and reported on environmental data for these divisions and
that this is a complex and challenging task.
Without affecting our overall opinion on the reliability of the performance information
presented in the Report, Banarra makes the following recommendations for improvement:
• Several errors had to be corrected following assurance of the draft Report – Stockland
should strengthen its information management systems, undertake more extensive internal
checks on the completeness and accuracy of data and maintain clear evidence trails to
enable future assurance; and
• Stockland has started to compile formal procedures for performance indicators –
documented calculation protocols for all indicators, including boundaries, definitions,
assumptions and compilation methodologies, would help ensure ongoing comparability
and institutional knowledge.
Assurance Opinion: GRI Application Level
We agree with Stockland’s own assessment that it has achieved GRI application level A+.
We are pleased that Stockland has voluntarily piloted the draft GRI Construction and Real
Estate Sector Supplement. We encourage Stockland to report more fully on this in the future,
in particular by reporting on the total number of completions that are affordable in order to allow
year on year comparisons and benchmarking of performance in delivering affordable housing.
Responsibilities and Independence
Stockland was responsible for preparation of the Report, stakeholder identification and
engagement as well as material issue identification and response. Banarra’s responsibility was
to provide an independent assurance opinion of the Report using AA1000AS. This opinion is
provided to Stockland and any reliance third parties may place on this statement is entirely at
their own risk. Banarra has provided Stockland with a management report containing more
details on the findings and recommendations in this statement.
Banarra was paid by Stockland to conduct this assignment. Other than this payment, the
assurance team declares itself independent in relation to Stockland and its stakeholders.
There is a detailed statement on our independence, impartiality and competencies at
www.banarra.com.
Richard Boele
katharine Walters
Certified Lead Sustainability Assurance Certified Sustainability Assurance
Practitioner IRCA No. 1188527 Practitioner IRCA No. 1192578
Banarra
Sydney, Australia
23 September 2010
Stockland Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010
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