Climate Governance
Climate-related roles and responsibilities exist throughout the organisation. From the Boards and their committees (who maintain oversight of sustainability-related matters including climate-related issues), through to executive management and key business functions.
We understand that our business success depends on our ability to proactively manage our climate-related risks and opportunities. We are committed to putting climate-related decision making at the heart of our operations and business practices.
Our approach to managing climate-related risks and opportunities
Climate change presents both risks and opportunities – from infrastructure vulnerability and evolving travel patterns, to supply chain pressures and the acceleration of low-carbon technologies that will shape the future. We are embedding climate-focused decision making into our business decisions. From navigating new regulatory requirements to responding to more frequent and severe climatic events; we are committed to this transition, empowering our customers and securing a more sustainable future.
Our approach to identifying, assessing and disclosing climaterelated impacts is based on the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, which is also the basis of the new Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), which were formally adopted in September 2024. Our existing TCFD alignment has us well placed to comply with AASB S2 from 2027, our first year of reporting as a Group 2 entity.
Our Boards oversee all climate-related matters. They review, approve and monitor our sustainability strategy, targets and progress. During the year, our Boards established a Safety and Sustainability Committee to consider all four of Atlas Arteria’s sustainability priorities. The Board is supported by this committee, along with the Audit and Risk Committee, the Nomination and Governance Committee and the People and Remuneration Committee. The Safety and Sustainability Committee has climate-related issues and performance as a standing agenda item and will undertake an annual in depth review of climate-related risks and opportunities. Each member of the committee brings different skills that enable them to exercise oversight of Atlas Arteria’s climate-related risks and opportunities, ranging from industry operational experience to financial and governance experience. The Audit and Risk Committee has oversight of Atlas Arteria’s overall Risk Management Framework, including the Risk Appetite Statement and risk assessment matrix. These documents govern the approach to all corporate risk assessment and include specific reference to sustainability and climate-related risk. The Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee is also a member of the Safety and Sustainability Committee, ensuring there is consistency in the assessment of climate-related risks and other strategic and operational risks across the business. The People and Remuneration Committee consults with the Safety and Sustainability Committee to ensure climate-related risks are considered when defining the key performance indicators linked to executive remuneration. The Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee is also a member of the Safety and Sustainability Committee. In 2024, executive remuneration was linked to the early achievement of our 2025 emissions target, refer to the Remuneration Report in our 2024 Annual Report. The Boards are also responsible for approving our Environmental and Social Responsibility Policy. The policy was reviewed and updated in 2024 to better reflect Atlas Arteria’s overall approach to sustainability issues, ranging from climate to human rights. Following the update, the policy was renamed as the Sustainability Policy and is available on our website. We have established a regular cadence for reporting climaterelated issues to the Boards and their committees through monthly sustainability updates and at least one in-depth annual review. In 2024, the Boards reviewed the steps being taken to further integrate climate-related risks and opportunities into business strategy by carrying out an in-depth review of climaterelated targets and strategy during their business strategy planning offsite.
The Boards reviewed and approved this Sustainability Report.
The Executive Committee is responsible for overseeing the delivery of our sustainability initiatives, and reviewing metrics and input from senior leaders, particularly from the Sustainability Manager and the Sustainability Working Group. The CEO has responsibility for delivering on our climate change approach and reporting to the Boards. The CFO directs our sustainability and climate change agenda.
Management oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities is delegated to the Sustainability Working Group (SWG). Guided by Atlas Arteria’s sustainability and risk functions, the SWG includes management representatives from key business areas including operations, finance and tax, legal, investor relations and forecasting. The SWG provides a forum for identifying and analysing climate-related issues and opportunities across Atlas Arteria’s whole value chain, considering environmental and social impacts, not just financial. The SWG monitors potential changes in risk profile, along with the progress of mitigating actions. The SWG meets quarterly to review our climate-related risks and opportunities and to exchange insights and ideas, which facilitates communication throughout the business. During the year, the assessment for each risk and opportunity was updated to consider each of the consequence categories within our corporate risk matrix. The existing controls were also assessed and potential additional risk treatment plans considered. The SWG reports to the Executive Committee, via the CFO. Outcomes of the SWG meetings are also communicated to the Boards through Safety and Sustainability Committee reporting. The SWG will continue to build on this work through 2025, as we aim to quantify the potential financial impacts of climaterelated risks.
Each of our businesses is responsible for adopting and maintaining its own environmental and social risk management framework, appropriate to the country in which it operates. Our ability to control or influence the ongoing management of these issues differs for each business.