WoolWorths holdings limited 2013 good BUsiness JoUrneY report

climate change and energy
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
OUR 40% TARGET TO REDUCE BOTH OUR ENERGY USAGE AND CARBON FOOTPRINT
BY 2015 HAS BEEN GIVEN FRESH IMPETUS BY THE AMENDMENT OF THE
KYOTO PROTOCOL DURING THE COP18 IN DECEMBER 2012 TO ACCOMMODATE
THE SECOND COMMITMENT STAGE TO REDUCING EMISSIONS.
WITH NATIONAL PROJECTS TO SUPPLEMENT ENERGY SUPPLY RUNNING BEHIND
SCHEDULE, AS IDENTIFIED BY THE WORLD ENERGY MONITOR, THE IMMINENT
INTRODUCTION OF THE CARBON TAX, AND THE WATER-ENERGY NEXUS DRIVING
THE STRUGGLE IN WATER AND ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, RESILIENT ADAPTATION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE IS NEEDED.
With energy reduction forming part of our focus through the
Good Business Journey, we have acknowledged that in order
to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company and its
operations, climate change adaptation is not something that can
be avoided. We have a number of systems in place throughout
our supply chain to address this and ensure that the changing
climate does not result in detrimental impacts to our operations.
We have programmes in place that advocate and guide
our stakeholders throughout our supply chain on how to
use resources such as energy and water in efficient ways.
We have done an in-depth analysis of the proposed carbon
tax, and have determined that it will not have a direct material
financial impact on our operations, in part due to the efforts
we have made over the last decade around energy and
transport efficiency. It is more difficult to determine exactly
what the indirect impacts across our value chain may be,
although the exemptions given to the agricultural sector for
the first phase of the tax are heartening for a sector already
under considerable pressure.
WHL 82 / 2013 GOOD BUSINESS JOURNEY