NGS Super
NGS Super is one of the largest superannuation funds dedicated to education and community-focused organisations throughout Australia. It is a public offer fund with over $11.4 billion in assets, almost 120,000 members and more than 12,700 participating employers nationally. NGS Super’s strategic vision is to be recognised as a leading super fund and trusted brand and partner in the non-governmental education and community-focused sectors, delivering benefits of scale to our members and ensuring the future security and sustainability of their retirement benefits. NGS Super has its head office in Sydney, with others in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
“Being carbon neutral helps us demonstrate our true commitment to being a positive force in the transition to a low carbon economy.”
Type of certification
Organisation.
How long have you been certified carbon neutral?
NGS Super achieved Climate Active certification in 2020.
Why are you carbon neutral?
NGS Super strives to be the best corporate citizen and has a cultural belief that good corporate social responsibility practices are necessary for long-term sustainable performance. As a super fund, NGS Super has a robust responsible investment policy framework in place to ensure that we are investing our members’ retirement savings to achieve the best risk-adjusted returns. One of the big risks we see over the medium term is climate change. So much so that we have listed climate change as one of our active ownership and engagement objectives when managing and monitoring investment on behalf of our members. We have regular engagement with our members on this topic and the Fund believes in not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. Being ‘carbon neutral’ helps us demonstrate our true commitment to being a positive force in the transition to a low carbon economy.
What offset projects do you support?
Wind farm projects in Taiwan and Vietnam, and forest conservation in Australia.
Why did you choose these projects?
The projects align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of which NGS Super is a proud supporter. The SDGs that the projects address include affordable clean energy, decent work and economic growth, climate action and life on the land.
These initiatives positively contribute to NGS Super’s active ownership and engagement objective, Climate Change.
How can the community/customers support you?
If you are a member of NGS Super, please contact us and 1) make sure we have an up-to-date email address for you and 2) opt in for electronic communications about your superannuation and insurance rather than paper.
What else are you doing to reduce emissions?
NGS Super:
- leases fuel-efficient hybrid cars to help reduce emissions from business travel – these cars are turned over every four years to ensure we are getting the best technology
- purchases paper from certified carbon neutral sources, to avoid approximately 3.41 tonnes of CO2 emissions
- reduces air travel by using video/teleconference instead of flying
- focuses on purchasing sustainably produced and responsibly sourced items
- holds paperless Board and Committee meetings
- implemented social procurement guidelines that are in use by all staff members.
What advice would you give to a business considering certification?
Every positive step can make a meaningful impact – especially with such a large-scale issue like climate change. While certification might seem daunting, we suggest:
- seek consultation from organisations such as South Pole who specialise in sustainable solutions
- break down the certification process into small and manageable tasks
- seek expressions of interest from those in your organisation that are passionate about climate change, and
- empower and support these employees to do what is necessary to achieve the certification and make a difference.