Speakers:

Liz Bossley, author, carbon trader and expert witness in the UK will talk about the state of the EU carbon market, outlook for the Durban talks and the background to the registry thefts in the EU.

Rosemary Bissett, Head of Sustainability at the NAB will talk about why the NAB decided to go carbon neutral and the impact this decision had on staff engagement. Climate Alliance will be releasing this fascinating story on the day. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in mobilising staff engagement.

Synopsis of NAB article to be released at the seminar:

As most Australian businesses start to grapple with the idea of a carbon price, it won’t cause a ripple at one of the nation’s largest firms. NAB put its own price on carbon three years ago. It’s a process that has fed into company strategy, unlocked new relationships with both customers and suppliers and, above all, unleashed an amazing boon in staff engagement; when NAB CEO John Stewart announced in 2007 that the bank was to become carbon neutral, his inbox was flooded with proud congratulatory emails from staff. 

The story began with a question posed to the bank’s strategy team, but quickly gathered momentum as people from all areas of the organisation volunteered their input. With strong support from a committed executive, the initiative was rolled out, not as an isolated project, but as one the entire organisation could feel a sense of involvement with.

The initiative proved to be strongly aligned with corporate strategy. Over just three years, NAB made energy savings of 25%. But the benefits went much deeper than that: NAB gained expertise that helps them to serve their business customers; stimulated innovation and business efficiencies; galvanised their staff and made them ambassadors for the bank. It’s the embodiment of a growing approach to business, ‘profiting by doing good’.