These and other social and environmental initiatives, were announced yesterday at the company’s Annual General Meeting where AGL launced its first ‘Sustainability Report’.

“As Australia’s first and largest energy company, AGL intends to play a leading role in promoting sustainability in the energy industry,” AGL Managing Director Greg Martin said.

AGL defines sustainability in triple bottom line terms – by economic, environmental and social criteria.

“Particular areas of focus for the company during the past year have been on improving our customer support programs and understanding our impact, as well as our that of our customers, on the environment,” Martin said.

The sustainability report details greenhouse ‘footprints’ for AGL’s operations, its equity interests and the gas and electricity supply chain as it relates to its business. Components of the operational footprint have been independently verified by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“These footprints will provide a framework for AGL to establish robust and sustainable greenhouse mitigation measures into the future,” Martin said.

Several initiatives were set out in the Sustainability Report.

AGL intends to expand its involvement and investments in low emission and renewable generation and to improve customer take-up of accredited green products.

It plans to provide energy efficiency services to AGL’s industrial and commercial customers and work with Loy Yang Power to identify practical and economic investments to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity from its operations.

It is also intending to partner a community-based trial on energy efficiency in the home, and to establish a program to ensure energy efficiencies and environmental effectiveness measures are embedded its business.