Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) reporting guidelines
Guidelines
Environment Australia, June 2003
ISBN 0 6435 4857 9
PDF file
About the guidelines
Section 516A (link) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (link) requires Commonwealth organisations to include in their Annual Reports a section detailing the environmental performance of the organisation and the organisation's contribution to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD).
The purpose of s516A is to ensure that the Commonwealth Government is publicly reporting information relevant to its environmental performance and its implementation of ESD. It complements the Commonwealth Government's support for public environment reporting in the private sector.
This Guideline is intended to assist Commonwealth organisations in meeting their obligations under s516A of the EPBC Act. It is not prescriptive but rather a set of suggestions and tools to help agencies with the compiling and presentation of their reports.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has conducted one performance audit of Commonwealth organisations' compliance with the requirements of s516A of the EPBC Act and expects that further audits will be conducted in the future.
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