ABSTRACT
The International Organisation for Standardisation's Specification for Environmental Management Systems has been adopted as an Australian Standard. Environmental management systems (EMSs) have made a contribution to improved corporate greenhouse gas performance, in particular by providing a systematic framework to enable organisations to meet their Greenhouse Challenge commitments. In response, the Australian government established the Greenhouse Challenge in 1995. Furthermore, both EMSs and, in particular, the Greenhouse Challenge have made climate change a management issue and there is evidence that climate change is at least being considered as part of corporate decision-making. EMSs have enabled companies to move into compliance and the Greenhouse Challenge has enabled many companies to stabilise or even slightly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by bringing forward some planned energy-saving or greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and by enabling cost-effective opportunities to be identified. Forecast expected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including estimates of uncertainties and an assessment of the factors that could influence changes in emissions.
