NGH is a dynamic and progressive environmental, planning and advisory consultancy. We are an influential leader in Australia’s transition to a sustainable future. For over 30 years, we have been committed to protecting and minimising our impact on the environment.
This policy sets the framework for our continued support of Australia’s energy transition to achieve our zero emissions target (ZET) by 2050. Our objective is to influence sustainable change and ensure that NGH remains active in our changing economy by considering the social and environmental impact of the nation’s energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Scientific research shows that burning fossil fuels to generate energy has led to significant changes in the environment, including climate change which, if left unabated, will significantly impact future generations.
Decarbonising our energy systems is key to a sustainable future and we recognise that the successful deployment of renewable energy infrastructure is imperative to meet decarbonisation goals.
Australia extracts and exports a considerable amount of coal and gas and produces some oil. Electricity generation from coal, gas and oil constitutes a significant part of Australia’s energy production. Fortuitously, Australia also has an abundance of renewable energy sources that are rapidly replacing traditional fossil fuels used to generate energy.
NGH does not consider coal and oil to be a sustainable part of Australia’s future energy sources, however, we do support technology and projects that will help to securely transition the nation’s energy systems.
Natural gas, in the short term, will contribute to emissions reductions in the electricity sector. While its long-term role in decarbonisation will diminish, it will continue to play a role in our transition to ZET. NGH will continue to monitor the role of gas in this transition and support gas clients on a case-by-case basis.
NGH encourages the fossil fuel industry to sustainably rehabilitate land and transition into renewable sources of energy, and endeavours to work with the industry to achieve this goal.
To remain an influential leader in the clean energy sector, NGH will not work on any project directly related to the extraction, refinement or use of coal and oil for electricity generation that does not assist meeting Australia’s reduction in carbon emissions.
This includes, but is not limited to, the following examples:
- Approvals or environmental management for new, expanded or existing coal or oil extraction
- Approvals or environmental management for infrastructure such as electricity generation, roads, railway lines and pipelines, the sole purpose of which is to service the coal or oil industry
- Approvals or environmental management for coal or oil-fired power generationfacilities
- Planning for, or delivery of, biodiversity offsets and monitoring of offset sites/plans in relation to an approval for new, expanded or existing coal or oil extraction.
NGH will support projects within the fossil fuel sector that can be demonstrated to assist meeting Australia’s reduction in carbon emissions, such as Carbon Capture and Storage on a case-by-case basis.
For the purposes of this policy, coal includes bituminous (black) and lignite (brown) coal and relates to coal being utilised for thermal and metallurgic forms.
Where NGH acquires a new business that works on projects that do not meet the objectives of this policy, a plan to transition out of these projects would be developed. This plan would need to ensure that any contractual obligations are met and allow the client to transition to another provider if required. Where contractual obligations do not hinder our withdrawal from this work, NGH would transition out of this work within a period of three months. We would have the objective of transition out of any work not compliant with this policy within twelve months.
This policy is authorised by the CEO.
