October 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing spiritual, social and cultural relationship with the land, waters, skies and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to their community leaders, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Accountable Authority sign off

The Australian Government released the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy in November 2023, setting out the overall approach and action required by Commonwealth entities to achieve the APS Net Zero 2030 target.

The Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy represents a strong commitment by the Australian Government to lead by example on emissions reduction and contribute to the decarbonisation of Australia’s economy.

PM&C is committed to the achievement of the Government’s APS Net Zero by 2030 and reducing our emissions in our operations.

The Emissions Reduction Plan describes the priorities and actions the department is taking to reduce our operational emissions and contribute to the APS Net Zero 2030 target.

Dr Steven Kennedy PSM
Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

24 October 2025

Purpose

PM&C is responsible for managing and implementing emissions reduction initiatives set by the Australian Government’s Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy (the Strategy) developed by the Department of Finance. The Strategy sets out the Australian Government’s approach to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 2030 and the reinstatement of public emissions reporting.

The goal of this Emissions Reduction Plan is to provide a pathway for PM&C to contribute to the achievement of the APS Net Zero 2030 target through emissions reduction activities. This plan encompasses existing and new priorities and actions within PM&C to reduce emissions. This plan has been completed in accordance with the Strategy, associated guidance and reporting standards for annual emissions reporting.

Net zero greenhouse gas emissions

APS Net Zero 2030 is the target set by the Australian Government to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from government operations by the year 2030. It includes scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from activities in Australia and its territories, as described in the Strategy. The APS Net Zero 2030 target applies at the aggregate level to non-corporate Commonwealth entities and generally covers the entirety of the entity’s organisation. From an organisational perspective, this means minimising the greenhouse gas emissions that are within our control.

Governance and reporting

Progress against actions identified within this Emissions Reduction Plan, and any additional measures adopted, will be included in our annual reports. This combined with annual emissions reporting, will be used as a measure of PM&C’s progress towards reducing its emissions.

As part of the Net Zero in Government Operations Annual Progress Report, the Department of Finance will aggregate these measures to provide whole-of-Australian-Government emissions reporting. PM&C has appointed the First Assistant Secretary, Corporate Division as the Chief Sustainability Officer whose role is to:

• Champion the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy and related initiatives that support climate action in government operations.
• Represent the Department in the Chief Sustainability Officer network.

PM&C operational context

Our main environmental impact comes from office space energy consumption.

As at 30 June 2025, PM&C had 1,382 employees. The majority of staff are located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

PM&C leases space at 2 locations in the ACT (1 National Circuit and 10 National Circuit ), which is predominantly commercial office space.

PM&C operates a small fleet of vehicles to support the delivery of services across offices and official residences which are maintained by PM&C. PM&C’s vehicle fleet consists of two commercial vans (petrol), and five passenger vehicles, consisting of one non-plug-in hybrid and and four low emissions vehicles.

Where necessary, our staff undertake travel as part of official duties, when other communication tools such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing are not suitable. All staff travel is undertaken utilising the whole-of-government Travel Arrangements which includes arrangements for flights, hire cars and accommodation.

Delivered initiatives as at 30 June 2025

We continued to minimise our impacts on the environment in the areas of energy efficiency, waste and water use by:

• attaining a National Australian Built Environment Rating System rating of 4.5 stars for whole-building energy and 4 stars for water at 1 National Circuit
• using motion sensors in office work areas to reduce power usage
• operating as a ‘paper-light office’ by supporting the use of electronic document management and digital working
• using a 75,000-litre rainwater tank to flush toilets and water the gardens at 1 National Circuit
• using Hydrawise – irrigation technology that uses weather outlooks from the Bureau of Meteorology – to prevent our irrigation system operating in periods of predicted rainfall
• using drought-tolerant plants in gardens at 1 National Circuit
• using the 165-kilowatt solar power system
• using LED lighting for the 2 basement car park levels at 1 National Circuit to reduce energy consumption
• encouraging recycling by providing recycling and organic bins, battery recycling and coffee cup recycling, as well as waste bins
• using energy saver mode for most office equipment when not in use.

Baseline emissions

Baseline emissions are a record of greenhouse gases that were produced prior to the introduction of strategies to reduce emissions. The baseline emissions from financial year 2022-23 are the reference point against which emissions reductions actions can be measured (see Table 1).

The baseline emissions for this plan focus on scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, consistent with the APS Net Zero 2030 target. Electricity-related emissions were calculated using the location-based method.

The complete 2022-23 greenhouse gas emissions inventory tables for PM&C are presented in the PM&C Annual Report 2022-23.