Environmental compliance
We record all environmental incidents using a six-level severity rating. Downer achieved its Group-wide target of zero Level 51 or Level 62 environmental incidents.
There were no prosecutions or significant environmental incidents3 (≥ Level 4) during the financial year ended 30 June, 2018. A total of four ‘Notifiable Incidents’4 were notified to regulators and regrettably, Downer incurred four minor infringement notices (fines) totalling AUD$2,720 for erosion and sediment control breaches involving the discharge of sediment latent water in its New Zealand operations in FY18. These incidents have resulted in learnings that have been incorporated in the Critical Risk Program and shared across the business.
Metric
Target
FY18
FY17
Result
1 A Level 5 environmental incident is defined as any incident that causes significant impact or serious harm on the environment, where material harm has occurred and if costs in aggregate exceed $50,000.
2 A Level 6 environmental incident is defined as an incident that results in catastrophic widespread impact on the environment, resulting in irreversible damage.
3 A significant environmental incident or significant environmental spill (≥Level 4) is any environmental incident or spill where there is significant impact on or material harm to the environment; or an incident or spill that results in a significant impact or material harm; or there is long-term community irritation leading to disruptive actions and requiring continual management attention.
4 A Notifiable Incident is where there is a duty to notify the relevant authority of a pollution incident, where ‘material harm’ defined by the law within the regulatory jurisdiction is caused or threatened.
