For organisations who want to show climate leadership.
Our Fuel Reduce Pledge focuses on the most important emissions reduction action while requiring the minimum of administration.
Further information….
What is it?
The Pledge is a formal, public promise by an organisation to:
- Work to eliminate their use of fossil fuels: coal, oil (petrol, diesel, etc.), and natural gas.
- At least every year report publicly on the amounts of each fossil fuel they have used since the previous report.
- Publish the reports on the organisation’s web site or a similar public location, and include in the reports:
– graphs for each fuel to show how use has changed over time
– information (such as case studies) about how reductions in fossil fuel use have been achieved.
Who can sign up to the Pledge?
Any organisation which uses fossil fuels and is committed to phasing them out can sign up to the Pledge.
Why should an organisation sign up to the Pledge?
The main cause of the current climate crisis is our use of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas. Resolving the crisis will require the phasing out of our use of those fuels. Phasing out fossil fuels is the bedrock of climate action. The longer we continue to use those fuels, the more dangerous our climate will be. Fuel Reduce Pledge
Unfortunately, Australia’s federal and state governments are rarely speaking specifically and explicitly about the need to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Organisations which sign up to the Pledge and phase out their use of fossil fuels will be acting responsibly and showing the leadership which has been difficult for our governments.
What targets will we be signing up for if we adopt the Pledge?
None. The difficulty of phasing out fossil fuels will vary greatly from organisation to organisation, and so each pledging organisation will be free to work out their own path and speed in their transition away from fossil fuels.
What deadlines for eliminating our use of fossil fuels will apply if we adopt the Pledge?
None. The science is clear: the faster we can eliminate our collective use of fossil fuels, the be#er. However, the difficulty of phasing out fossil fuels will vary greatly from organisation to organisation, and so each pledging organisation will be free to work out their own path and speed in their transition away from fossil fuels.
Why is there a public reporting component?
Public reporting is a key accountability component of the Pledge, and is therefore central to the leadership which pledging organisations will show. It is also evidence of honest and transparent actions and communication – a far cry from the greenwashing all too often on display.
Current Australian emissions reporting rules allow some organisations to keep confidential their fossil fuel use, but there is a good ethical argument against this. Pledging organisations voluntarily publish their fossil fuel use to set an example for everyone else.
Our organisation already assesses its emissions and reports them. What extra effort and advantage would signing the Pledge bring?
The use of fossil fuels is the primary component of Scope 1 emissions, and so any organisation which measures its Scope 1 emissions must already measure its fossil fuel use. Adopting the Pledge therefore involves only a very small amount of additional administration. However, as Scope 1 emissions are the ones under each emi2er’s direct control, and as the use of fossil fuels has caused the climate crisis, adopting the Pledge brings extra focus on the most important response an organisation can make to the climate crisis and thus adds to their climate and sustainability leadership credentials. Fuel Reduce Pledge
Our organisation is small and does not yet assess its emissions and report them. What is the advantage of adopting the Pledge instead of emissions reporting?
Emissions reporting is a complex business. The Australian Clean Energy Regulator administers a voluntary emissions reporting scheme for organisations too small to be required by law to report their emissions. The guidelines for the voluntary scheme is a 25 page document. Adopting the Pledge goes to the heart of the ma,er: the need to phase out fossil fuels, and imposes the minimum of administrative overheads so that the actual phasing out can receive the maximum a2ention.
Public fuel use reports under the Pledge are made in the units used for trade (eg tonnes, litres, GJ), and so no complex conversion calculations are required, unlike the requirements for emissions reporting.
How often should pledging organisations report their fossil fuel usage?
The minimum commitment is to publicly report fossil fuel use annually. However, pledging organisations might like to consider increasing the reporting frequency over time, perhaps by reporting more frequently inside the organisation at first and later increasing the frequency of public reporting. Some advantages of more frequent reporting – even if just internal – are:
- The Pledge is built on the management mantra: what gets measured, gets managed.
- More frequent collation and reporting reinforces management focus on reducing the use of fossil fuels.
- When actions are taken to reduce fossil fuel use, reasonably prompt feedback on the fuel use outcomes will reinforce changes, encourage additional actions, and allow successes to be celebrated.
- It might be helpful to normalise fossil fuel use reporting by aligning the reports with safety and environmental performance reporting, if the organisation already has such reporting in place. Indeed, fossil fuel use reports are a category of environmental report.
Yes, we will join the Pledge. What’s next?
Congratulations! Please contact David Hamilton, 0419 354 760 or at david.hamilton@ozemail.com.au Fuel Reduce Pledge
We would like to know more before deciding.
Please contact David Hamilton, 0419 354 760 for a confidential chat about the aspects you would like to know more about.
How is the Pledge being developed?
The pledge is being developed and promoted by Climate Tasmania, an independent expert group.
