Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

Environmental sustainability

This section is presented in accordance with the requirements of section 516A of the EPBC Act.

Section 516A requires government departments to report on:

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  how their activities accord with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (subsection (6)(a))
  
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  how their outcomes, specified in relevant Appropriation Acts, contributed to ecologically sustainable development (subsection (6)(b))
  
• 
  the environmental impacts of their operations during the year, and measures taken to minimise those impacts (subsections (6)(c), (d) and (e)).
  

How the department applies the principles

The department administers the EPBC Act, which promotes ecologically sustainable development through the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of natural resources.

Examples of how the department applies the principles of ecologically sustainable development are summarised below. More details on specific programs are given in the chapters covering outcomes 1 to 6 of this annual report.

Contribution of outcomes

The department is one of the leading Australian Government agencies for developing and implementing national policy, programs and legislation to protect and conserve the natural environment. A key function of the department is to promote and support ecologically sustainable development.

The department has produced guidelines for Australian Government agencies to report on how they contribute to ecologically sustainable development. The guidelines are available from the department’s website at: www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/reporting-guidelines.html.

The department’s outcomes contribute to ecologically sustainable development as follows:

Outcome 1: Biodiversity and ecosystems—conserving and protecting Australia’s terrestrial and marine biodiversity and ecosystems contributes to the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity, thereby helping to maintain the ecological processes on which life depends.

Outcome 2: Sustainable population and communities—promoting waste reduction
and regulating hazardous substances, wastes, pollutants, ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases helps to prevent and minimise harm to the environment as a result of human activities.

Outcome 3: Antarctica—Australia’s Antarctic interests include a strong focus on protecting the Antarctic environment and managing the sustainable use of marine resources.

Outcome 4: Sustainable water—Australia’s water resources are managed and used sustainably and efficiently.

Outcome 5: Environmental protection and heritage conservation—Australia’s cultural, natural, Indigenous and historic heritage values are protected from activities that impact on the environment.

Outcome 6: Commonwealth environmental water—Commonwealth environmental water is managed to protect and restore environmental assets and contributes to a healthy and working Murray–Darling Basin.

Corporate outcome:
^{Organisational effectiveness—the department’s policies and use of technology actively consider and implement strategies to minimise harm to the environment.}

Table 3: How the department applies the principles of ecologically sustainable development

Principles	Activities
Integration principle: decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long-term and short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations.	To ensure that decision-makers, stakeholders and the wider public can effectively take long-term and short-term economic, social, environmental and ethical considerations into account, the Measuring Sustainability Program has developed a set of indicators that encompass economic capital, social and human capital and natural capital. The National Sustainability Council, an independent body appointed in October 2012, released the first ‘Sustainable Australia Report: Conversations with our future’ in May 2013, providing information and analysis relating specifically to a wide cross-section of sustainability matters.
Precautionary principle: if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.	The department applies the precautionary principle to prevent serious environmental damage when assessing the possible environmental impacts of proposed actions. Assessments must often be made in the absence of full scientific certainty, most notably assessments under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and through chemical and gene technology assessment schemes. The precautionary principle is applied when making decisions on Commonwealth environmental water use. Operating in a highly variable (and at times, unpredictable) environment means decisions are often made in the absence of full scientific certainty of the ecological outcomes. Importantly, adaptive management processes (including a monitoring and evaluation program) have been implemented to ensure knowledge improves over time.
Intergenerational principle: the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced, for the benefit of future generations.	The department applies laws and National Environment Protection Measures to prevent environmentally harmful substances entering the environment. Laws include the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981, Hazardous Waste Act (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989, the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 and the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989. The department seeks to ensure that environmental protection is appropriately considered in the development of other Australian Government policies, including major energy and water reforms as demonstrated in the development and provision of advice and research on coal seam gas and development of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan. Commonwealth environmental watering contributes to building the resilience of aquatic ecosystems in the Murray–Darling Basin and ensuring they are healthy and productive for the ongoing benefit of current and future generations.
Biodiversity principle: the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision-making.	The department applies laws for the conservation of biodiversity to protect wildlife and heritage places with environmental values, including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and, through the Caring for our Country program, marine protected areas, terrestrial parks and reserves. All Commonwealth environmental watering actions are assessed against a set of five criteria, which include consideration of the ecological value of the targeted asset(s).
Valuation principle: improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.	The department administers incentives for more efficient use of resources. This includes markets for waste products, such as lubricating oils, and water-efficiency labelling. It also contributes to reducing packaging waste, as a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant. The department continues to strengthen its/our economic analytical capability, to ensure that our programs and policies consider and incorporate better valuation of natural capital, and promote the use of pricing and incentive structures where appropriate.