Coles is among the first Australian businesses to have signed up to the new Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency report, which will encourage reporting of net emissions in a clear and standardised way.

The new report was launched on Tuesday by the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor, who said business has an important role to play in reducing the country’s carbon emissions.

“The CERT report will add a new level of transparency and accountability for Australia’s largest companies’ performance against their voluntary emissions reduction targets,” Taylor said.

“It will provide a one-stop shop for the public to access net emissions, renewable electricity and offset data for Australia’s largest companies and understand their plans to decarbonise.”

The first report will be published in the second quarter of 2022, with only businesses that opt-in by the end of January to be tracked. Eligible businesses are urged to volunteer to take part in the report, to show they are committed to transparency and action, Taylor said.

The report will only accept businesses which emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon a year, and includes a number of industries beyond retail: natural gas, mining, property and finance, for example.

“Our ambition is to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket and we are continually looking for opportunities to make a positive difference,” a Coles spokesperson told Inside Retail.

“We were pleased to share our expertise with the Clean Energy Regulator through the CERT consultation and co-design process to support the creation of a new, public report that will enable companies, such as Coles, to track performance against their voluntary emissions reduction targets in a standarised manner.”