Implementation of environmental management systems in Victorian Government 2017-18

Executive summary

I am pleased to present the 2018 strategic audit on the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS) by mandated Victorian Government agencies in accordance with section 8(b) the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Act 2003. This 2017-18 financial year audit is based on annually reported information provided by all Victorian Government departments, Sustainability Victoria (SV) and the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) according to the mandatory reporting requirements described by Financial Reporting Directive (FRD) 24D. The directive applies minimum criteria for government to report its office-based emissions.

FRD 24D is a new reporting directive for 2017-18 and supersedes FRD 24C. It is pleasing that FRD 24C was replaced given it had not been updated since 2008 and was losing relevance, with agencies reporting environmental results far exceeding its scope as highlighted in these strategic audit reports since 2014. However, FRD 24D only provides a modest update to reporting mechanisms, with the majority of changes optional for agencies to complete. Another improvement has been updating guidance documents for those reporting in accordance with FRD 24. The issues associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting remain, with FRD 24D only capturing 10 percent of GHG emissions anually reported by Victorian Government agencies (see Figure 1).

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