Focus on: Goodman’s ESG

As General Counsel for the Australian business, I am extremely proud of our approach to sustainability. Goodman’s vision is aligned with our purpose ‘making space for greatness’ which is designed to address the needs of all our stakeholders.

In environmental social governance (ESG), we have a long-term, people-focused approach that looks to achieve positive outcomes for our business, our stakeholders, and the communities in which we operate. We are building a platform for authentic and positive change over the next decade, and we will continue to work to decarbonise, to mitigate climate risk and to boost biodiversity. Goodman’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy is all about transitioning our business into a truly resilient and low-carbon company.

Our properties are designed to be as climate resilient as possible and include sustainable features that create greater amenity as well as appeal to changing customer needs. By way of example, we will be installing more than 100MW of solar panels by 2025, which will reduce on-site operational costs for our customers. Our standard solar specification allows improved quality, lower maintenance, and metering to capture data and measure performance. Another example of this transition is that 100 percent of the portfolio will have LEDs installed by June 2024.

I am pleased to say that in FY 21, we achieved carbon neutral status for our Australian operations by reducing emissions through energy efficiency initiatives, including expanding our rooftop solar installations, and purchasing high-quality Australian decarbonisation offsets. We aim to maintain carbon neutral status in the years ahead. Looking to the future and demonstrating our commitment to meaningful action on climate change, Goodman is reducing carbon in the development process. We now calculate the embodied carbon on all new development projects. This critical step enables us to minimise our impact on the environment.

In an effort to reduce waste to landfill, we have partnered with Taronga Zoo and Sydney Zoo to supply them with tree cuttings and foliage from on-site greenery for food and habitat for their animals. We now have 100 percent GreenPower supplying electricity to all Australian properties under our operational control. This demonstrates our commitment to a low carbon future.

Goodman has committed to a $10m global electric vehicle incentive for staff, over a five-year period, supporting the transition to a low carbon future. We have also committed to a minimum five percent allocation of car spaces for electric vehicles on all new developments. At Eastern Creek, we have constructed a fully sustainable garden comprising 23 edible garden beds with stingless native bees, compost, worm farm and permaculture practices. This provides a fantastic space for customers to connect with nature and encourage positive health and well-being.

Finally, Goodman has committed to a Reflect RAP, demonstrating our commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion within our business and for the benefit of the communities in which we operate. I hope this provides a flavour of the initiatives that have been implemented or that are underway in the ESG space.