Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
To view the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability initiatives of our different business divisions, please click the links below:
Village Roadshow Theme Parks - Gold Coast
Village Roadshow Limited (Corporate)
Overview
Village Roadshow Limited (“VRL”) aims to ensure that it is operating its businesses within a responsible environmental and social framework whilst continuing to maximise long term shareholder value. Integrating these important factors into the management of business operations is increasingly recognised as a lever to ongoing success. The challenge, given the diversity of the individual businesses within the VRL portfolio, is to ensure that each business is responding appropriately to those environmental and social issues that are relevant to their operations and locations. At the corporate level, each business is guided to develop policies, programs and procedures relevant to their businesses, whilst ensuring they are in keeping with the VRL Group’s overall direction and policy on these matters.
VRL recognises that it has a level of responsibility to its stakeholders, which includes staff, customers, and shareholders, and where relevant, government and local communities, to disclose how it is addressing key environmental and social issues including:
- energy usage and carbon emissions
- water usage
- waste and recycling
- charitable donations and community investment
VRL has reported against these indicators further below, including details of the actions taken to manage them. Coverage extends to those businesses and facilities within the VRL Group over which operational control exists, and which are located in Australia.
Looking ahead, it is anticipated that future disclosure will include other labour related and social information and in time will expand to cover international operations. VRL will continue to be guided by leading sustainability frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative, drawing on AccountAbility’s materiality test, and the London Benchmarking Group methodology, to ensure it is tracking and reporting appropriately on the environmental, social and governance issues discerned to be most material to VRL and its stakeholders; and in keeping with developments in corporate reporting and regulation in this important area.
Environmental Sustainability
VRL’s Group-wide Environmental Sustainability Policy formalises and defines its environmental commitment. During the 2010 year, VRL’s major Divisions have each developed a tailored version of this policy reflecting the issues that are most relevant to their particular business whilst remaining within the spirit of the overarching VRL Group policy.
To view VRL’s overarching Environmental Sustainability Policy click here.
Energy Usage and Carbon Emissions
VRL is obligated to report to the Australian Federal Government under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act (“NGER”) from the year ended 30 June 2010 year onwards. This report includes all direct fuel and energy usage, electricity usage, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, in respect of all Australian facilities under the Group's 'Operational Control', as defined under NGER. The report for the year has been be submitted to the Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency by the ultimate controlling corporation of the VRL Group, Positive Investments Pty Ltd. Click here to view our NGERs report (Part A summary).
Beyond mandatory reporting, VRL is committed to both better monitoring and management of energy usage. Considerable progress has been made this year with independent consultants to develop an extensive web-hosted system to monitor Group-wide greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage on an ongoing basis site by site, as a useful tool towards reporting and improved energy management.
The biggest single source of carbon emissions across each of the VRL Group’s businesses is electricity use. During the 2010 year a number of energy audits were completed with independent consultants at certain cinemas, at Sea World and Sea World Resort and at the Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World. The audits have proven valuable in assisting these businesses to understand how and where they use energy and the possibilities to improve. Work undertaken since completion of the audits includes implementation of straightforward energy efficiency projects with short pay-backs and further analysis of more complicated projects for possible implementation.
Local temperature is the biggest driver of electricity usage, for example it drives air conditioning demands in summer. This variable impacts most of the VRL businesses more than other variables such as gate attendance or admissions. As such, in terms of future relevant energy management, local temperature levels need to be considered, as does other influencing factors such as changes within the businesses including the opening and/or closing of exhibits and attractions.
For further information on the VRL Group’s energy usage and carbon emissions for the Financial Year 2010, and the split between Divisions, please click here.
More particular details regarding energy usage and carbon emissions can be found under each Divisional section.
Water Usage
The VRL Group is committed to the responsible management of water usage subject to local water conditions, including improving water efficiency, reducing usage of town water supplies and increasing alternative water supply and recycling of water.
The pattern of water usage within the VRL Group’s businesses varies, depending on whether it is a business attracting public customers and whether control and vision over the water accounts exists. At businesses such as Theme Parks and Attractions, the number of visitors is the single biggest variable affecting water usage. The Queensland Theme Parks have continued their focus on water this year through the initiatives associated with their Water Efficiency Management Plans (“WEMPS”). These initiatives have resulted in a very significant reduction over five years varying between 32% and 45% reduction between sites over a 5 year period, with significant savings being realised before the local water authorities introduced the mandatory WEMPS requirements in 2007.
Most recently, the 2010 financial year saw the filling of the newly completed 10 mega litre dam behind Warner Bros. Movie World and work to fix underground leaks at Sea World. Sydney Attractions participated in Sydney Water’s Every Drop Counts program, and Village Cinemas have trialled waterless urinals. With new developments, such as the future Wet ‘n Wild Sydney, there is an excellent opportunity to incorporate best practice water efficiency technologies at the design stage. VRL is committed to superior environmental outcomes for the new park.
For further information on the VRL Group’s water usage for the Financial Year 2010, and the split between Divisions, please click here.
More particular details regarding water can be found under each Divisional section.
Waste and Recycling
VRL is committed to improving waste management according to the hierarchy of waste; Avoidance, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Disposal.
During the 2010 financial year there has been an increase in recycling capabilities at a number of sites, including an expansion of the Public Place Recycling (PPR) to Wet ‘n’ Wild on the Gold Coast in March 2010, following on from implementation at the other Queensland Theme Park sites. At Village Cinemas, 3D glasses are now recycled - cleaned and re-used. Roadshow Films is now recycling film reels and has made a major reduction in plastics and improved recycled content in DVD packaging. At many VRL Group sites, E-waste (electronic waste such as old computers and office electrical equipment) is either repaired and re-commissioned or broken down via a recycling process with an independent contractor under a system that incorporates an ultimate zero to landfill policy.
Whilst the Group is not in a position to be able to report yearly waste, progress has been made towards improving systems, with initial waste audits conducted across all Australian operations in August 2010 over a 2 week period focusing on percentages of waste recycled versus percentage sent to landfill. For example, the initial results from our three Melbourne based offices reveal that between 39% and 67% of total rubbish is recycled.
More particular details regarding waste and recycling can be found under each Divisional section.
Charitable Donations and Community Investment
The VRL Group has supported a large variety of national and local charities, community groups and causes over many years, engaging with the communities in which the VRL businesses operate. Following on from last year, during the 2010 year VRL has again undertaken an independently verified benchmarking process, through the London Benchmarking Group (“LBG”), to consistently map and measure the Group’s global charitable and community investments.
The total amount donated by the VRL Group for community, charitable and conservation causes during the year ended 30 June 2010 has exceeded $7.7 million. Donations included cash, in-kind donations of services and free tickets to Village Roadshow’s Theme Parks, Attractions and Village Cinemas, as well as staff time. Quantification of our contributions has been carried out in accordance with the LBG framework and LBG have verified the data upon which these figures are based.
Due to the ‘public voice’ nature of Austereo’s radio business and the long standing policy of providing community service announcements (“CSA”s) free of charge, Austereo is by far the highest contributor, comprising 68% of the total of the VRL Group’s contributions. The other VRL Divisions’ contributions to community, charitable and conservation causes for the 2010 year exceeded $2.4 million. Overall, contributions were lower compared to the prior year, a result of both reduced CSA spots being utilised by community and charitable organisations and, fortunately, no repeat of the devastating bushfires in Victoria, which triggered a significant contribution across our Divisions.
Click here for further information including the split of contributions amongst VRL businesses (excluding Austereo), by ‘Subject Focus’ and by ‘Form of Giving’.
For more information on the London Benchmarking Group click here http://www.lbg-australia.com/
More particular details regarding charitable and community investment may be found under each Divisional section.
To view our 2009 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability initiatives please click here.
