Australian superannuation giant Hesta has announced it will be restricting its investments in thermal coal operations. “This ‘unburnable carbon’ is likely to become an increasing risk in the medium to long term, especially for companies heavily invested in thermal coal, or those seeking to develop new long-term assets” said Chief Executive Officer Anne-Marie Corbuoy in a statement on Friday.

Hesta, a fund representing 785,000 members and 155,000 employers in the health and community services sectors, is one of few institutional investors accounting significantly for climate change impacts on their long term investments. Not only has the $29 billion superfund decided to limit its direct association with thermal coal projects, it has announced that it will not invest in any newly listed companies that derive more than 15% of revenue from exploration or production of thermal coal.

With a focus on environmental risk, Hesta has now joined a number of national and international organisations that have recently been looking at a long term boycott of fossil fuel investments, in order to mitigate their own carbon footprint. Surprisingly, it is religious organisations that are taking a lead in this strategy. Continue reading Churches, superfunds & universities search for greener investment pastures →

BRW’s Best Places To Work Awards have named Aussie tech startup Atlassian as the best place to work in Australia. Along with numerous employment package perks they have all the modern perks that the Google Offices and Facebook Offices have – games rooms, drinks fridges, food and a pool table. It is not these perks, however that are the main focus of their success; it’s the way that they engage their employees and value their input, above and beyond their responsibilities as employees. Continue reading Why is Atlassian the best place to work in Australia? →

Ernst & Young has announced its plans to acquire Netbalance, one of Australia’s most prominent Sustainability & CSR consulting houses, for an undisclosed amount. In an email release yesterday afternoon, Netbalance broke the news to its members stating that the proceedings would have little to no impact on the provision of its services. Netbalance has a prestigious client base, having worked for the likes of World Vision, Woolworths, Telstra, Bunnings, Insurance Australia Group, NAB, Commonwealth Bank, AGL, EnergyAustralia and Stockland. Continue reading Ernst & Young to Acquire Netbalance →

If you are looking for a great CSR resource, look no further than www.csrconnected.com.au. It is the blogging arm of the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR), and is a way of ACCSR staff providing up to date commentary on recent events and news in the CSR space. Continue reading Does corporate social responsibility need marketing? →