21st November, 2008

The VicSuper Carbon Count 2008, released today, reveals that listed Australian companies have improved reporting on greenhouse gas emissions since the previous analysis in 2007. The need for accurate carbon data is greater than ever to enable investors to assess the carbon performance of companies in their portfolios.

VicSuper, with the support of the Environment Protection Authority Victoria, again commissioned environmental research experts Trucost to analyse the carbon disclosure and performance of companies in the S&P ASX200. Trucost also examined potential profit risk under the planned Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which is expected to apply a price to greenhouse gas emissions from 2010.

Key findings include:

• A further 10% of corporate greenhouse gas emissions have been disclosed since the 2007 VicSuper Carbon Count. Carbon-intensive industries dominate disclosures, with 85% of greenhouse gas emissions analysed in the report based on corporate disclosure.
• The quality of corporate disclosure has improved hugely, with 34% of emissions now reported in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol1, up from 1% in the 2007 analysis.
• The number of companies publicly disclosing adequate emissions data has increased from 25% to 30% year on year.
• Sectors including Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods, Airlines, Electric Utilities and Media have disclosed emissions for the first time.
• Companies in the ASX200 emit 243 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions globally, including emissions from direct suppliers such as electric utilities. This equates to 42% of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.
• If companies had to pay the widely expected price of AUD $20 for every tonne of greenhouse gases emitted globally, carbon costs would total AUD $4,868 million.
• For every million Australian dollars invested, ASX200 companies emit 389 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
• The five sectors most exposed to carbon costs are Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders, Multi-Utilities, Construction Materials, Metals & Mining and Chemicals. For 29 sectors, carbon costs equate to less than 1% of revenue.
• Direct emissions from company operations total 137 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. Five companies directly emit more than half of this amount - BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Bluescope Steel, Qantas Airways, and AGL Energy.

"The good news is that more Australian companies are measuring and publicly reporting their carbon emissions than last year", said VicSuper Chief Executive Bob Welsh. "The bad news is that the environmental damage costs of these emissions is significant - in the order of AUD $4.8 billion at a carbon price of AUD $20 per tonne. The challenge now for corporate Australia is to eliminate these costs through innovative design and process improvements"

Simon Thomas, Trucost Chief Executive, said: "The VicSuper report shows that many more companies are now accounting for their contribution to climate change. This comes in response to the Australian Government's commitment to addressing business greenhouse gas emissions as well as requests by responsible investors such as VicSuper. Quality carbon data is vital for investors in Australian equities to identify risks to portfolio returns, as well as opportunities to develop low-risk portfolios that favour carbon-efficient companies."

For further information, please contact:

VicSuper
Marian Gruber, ZOOiD Strategic Marketing and Communications
+61 (0)409 661 334
mgruber@zooid.com.au

Trucost
Tom Williams, Brunswick Group
44 207 404 5959
trucost@brunswickgroup.com

Notes to editors

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is an international corporate accounting framework developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute.

About VicSuper

VicSuper Pty Ltd is the Trustee of VicSuper Fund; one of Australia's fastest-growing superannuation funds with over 235,000 members and AUD6.2 billion in net assets as at 30 June 2008. Sustainability is VicSuper's central operating principle and guides every decision. While the interdependency between climate change and superannuation may not be immediately obvious, both are long-term issues that will determine our future quality of life. Both require foresight and long-term planning; and both call for action in the short term to influence outcomes in the long term. At VicSuper, sustainability investing is a long-term approach that, when applied to investments in company shares and other assets, considers the implications of economic, environmental and social challenges on long-term profitability and shareholder value. All businesses and their particular industries face sustainability challenges. The ways in which businesses respond to these challenges will determine their ability to remain competitive, innovative and maximise shareholder value. There is growing consensus within the investment community that over the long term, companies and other investments that address all of their environmental, social and economic risks and opportunities will provide better investment returns and a better outcome for the environment and society through sustainable economic development, which is particularly relevant to VicSuper as a universal investor.

More details on VicSuper's commitment to sustainability can be found at www.vicsuper.com.au

About Trucost

Trucost Plc is a world-leading environmental research organisation, which helps companies and investors understand the environmental impacts of business activities. Trucost provides data and analysis on company emissions and natural resource usage in financial as well as quantity terms to help investors, fund managers and analysts understand how environmental issues could affect companies' future earnings. Institutional investors use the information to assess the carbon or environmental footprints of their portfolios, to identify differences in performance, to address environmental risks and create structured products with lower carbon or environmental impacts. Trucost has offered expert advice and research to major corporations, institutional investors and government departments and associated agencies since 2000.