Environment
We strive to reduce our environmental footprint and be a responsible business in the use of energy, waste management and carbon emission.

Optus has achieved 50 per cent carbon neutrality at corporate sites through a combination of green power and carbon offsets, while our new campus at Macquarie Park in Sydney achieved a 4.5 star (out of 5) Australian Building Green Rating.

We have also put in place a number of energy-saving initiatives to cut waste. We investigate each corporate facility with a view to implementing energy efficient lighting. For example, we were the first company in Australia to install new Thermal Solar powered air-conditioning to an office, resulting in a 35 per cent reduction in power use.

At the new Macquarie Park facility, waste paper baskets have been removed from work stations and replaced with recycling bins. This initiative along with other measures has resulted in over 92 per cent of all waste material leaving the site being recycled.

In 2008, we received the Green Globe Award from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change acknowledging the Macquarie Park campus as the most sustainable tenancy in the state.

We continued to partner the Australian Wildlife Conservancy to help create better homes for threatened Australian Wildlife such as the Purple Crowned Fairy Wren and the Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby.

In Singapore, we are a signatory to the United Nations (“UN”) Global Compact committed to upholding the ten UN Global Compact principles across the areas of human rights, labour standards, environment and anti-corruption.

As a committee member of the Singapore Compact, a national society which furthers the CSR movement in Singapore, we constantly participate in forums and dialogues with stakeholders to explore environment sustainability options. We have been awarded the inaugural Singapore Compact Recognition Award in 2007 as a result of our efforts.

We are environmentally conscious and our Environmental Management System (“EMS”) details ways to protect the environment, conserve resources and eliminate or minimise adverse environmental impacts and risks.

We keep radiation emissions from base stations within acceptable levels, mount feeders and antennas to minimise visual impact, especially from the ground, seal cable wires with covers as a safety precaution and use environmentally friendly Value Regulated Lead Acid batteries for our telephone exchanges.

Besides the EMS, we have introduced a number of energy saving initiatives for our buildings such as reducing the chiller operation hours, increasing the air-conditioning temperature, reconfiguring the chiller systems and encouraging staff to save energy through a campaign called Turn Off Your Room Light.

At the same time, we encourage our customers to be environment friendly. SingTel myBill, an e-billing service for all our consumer services – broadband, fixed-line and mobile – gives customers the opportunity to participate in an environment programme with the greatest convenience.

At no charge, customers can access their bills anytime, track their bills up to the last six bills, view different levels of billing details and pay their bills online via GIRO-on-Demand. Optus offers its customers a similar service, saving 2,500 trees per month as a result of e-billing.

Along with being part of a paperless movement, customers can recycle their mobile phones in Singapore through tradein programmes and in Australia via our relationship with Mobile Muster.