Representatives from a diverse range of roles, including sustainability and ESG specialists, and professionals working in finance, risk, and safety attended the ARA Sustainability Reporting Workshop in Melbourne last week. 

Highlights from the event, which was supported by Arup, included:   

• Informative panel discussions with early adopters and change makers, highlighting tips and tricks for streamlining the reporting processes, and underlining the multifaceted value which can be gleaned from reporting effectively; 

• A data collection workshop which identified opportunities to streamline the data collection and questionnaire processes – reducing the burden on reporters who are collecting the data, but also on suppliers and contractors who are being asked to provide similar data by multiple overlapping clients. Ideas for establishing a collective repository of emissions and materials data in rail were discussed; and   

• A value chain breakout group, which identified the need to define industry-consistent boundaries, not only for emissions reporting but also for risk assessment and resilience planning.   

Additional discussions focused on scenario planning, target setting, and transition risks.