Environment

Our Approach to Environment

Downer is committed to managing the environment in a responsible manner and to mitigating the impact of our activities. This includes meeting and exceeding our environmental compliance obligations.

At Downer, we prioritise the effective management of our environmental aspects and impacts as a fundamental part of delivering our services. Our commitments are outlined in Downer’s Environmental Sustainability Policy. Downer’s 10 Environmental Principles provide simple and practical messages to aid our frontline employees and contractors to understand their responsibilities and engage in the right behaviours to protect the environment and comply with legislative obligations.

Downer has integrated our environmental management system, accredited to AS/NZ ISO 14001:2015, into The Downer Standard. This system enables us to identify and control environmental hazards and risks, as well as monitor our environmental performance across the entire organisation. This environmental management system undergoes regular internal and external audit. Our Critical Risk program ensures that critical controls are implemented, and continuous improvement through lessons learned is emphasised, to preserve the natural environment for future generations.

At Downer, we have dedicated Environmental and Sustainability professionals who provide subject matter expertise across the organisation. Environmental management is embedded in Downer’s project management plan and delivery methodology, with management plans used to manage risk and opportunities through project and contract delivery.

Meeting and exceeding expectations

The effective management of our environmental aspects and impacts is fundamental to Downer's approach to the delivery of our services. We place significant emphasis on ensuring effective controls are implemented through our Critical Risk program and continuous improvement through lessons learned to sustain the natural environment for future generations. See the links below for further information on our approach to the environment.

Downer consults with industry and regulators to ensure that legislative changes are understood and embedded in The Downer Standard. For example, we are currently engaged in consultation about proposed changes to the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to ensure any changes are embedded into our operational delivery. The review of the RMA will have implications on our operations in New Zealand, leading to heightened legislative compliance demands and necessitating changes in our business practices within the environments where we operate. 

Our customers are increasingly setting sustainability and environmental management performance criteria and looking to Downer for more sustainable products and services and support in their decarbonisation journeys. This includes partnering to create circular economies to reduce reliance on raw materials and virgin resources and reducing volumes of waste to landfill.

For our shareholders and investors, robust information on climate resilience and management of risks and opportunities is a key input into their investment decision-making. Our people and the communities in which we operate are increasingly engaged on environmental sustainability and are cognisant of Downer’s impact on the environment and how this may affect them and the communities in which they live and work.

Minimising and effectively managing our environmental impacts enables Downer to meet our compliance obligations, keep our social licence, sustain and build relationships, manage risks and opportunities, and deliver efficiencies. 

Downer is also committed to achieving net zero by 2050, delivering services vital to the climate transition and positively contributing to the environments in which we operate. We also aim to mitigate the impact of our operations on the natural and built environment and minimise our resource usage, including that of our broader supply chain.