The Port of Newcastle has further enhanced its green credentials by achieving a fourth consecutive five-star Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking.
The rating is reserved for the top 20 per cent of surveyed companies globally and formally recognises industry leaders in sustainability.
Port of Newcastle chief executive Craig Carmody said the port had identified several improvement areas in this year's assessment period, including climate change.
"It's a great result to have achieved 100 per cent in climate change reporting and scenario analysis, but we won't stop striving to improve. We aim to undertake annual financial analysis relating to climate change risks and opportunities, and improving governance around management of climate change and transition risk," he said.
"This year, we increased our efforts to decarbonise our operations, improved our ESG reporting and transparency, and added or improved policies to increase focus on sustainability and governance."
The port is delivering a major diversification strategy to shift its long term focus away from coal.
Plans to build a large-scale container terminal took a major step forward in April when the port's board paid $13million compensation to the state government.
The one-off payment was required under the Port of Newcastle Extinguishment of Liability Act 2022 (NSW), which passed through parliament in late 2022.
The payment means the port is no longer liable to reimburse the state for compensation payments owed to NSW Ports when the Port of Newcastle competes against Port Botany in container operations.
The port is also developing a clean energy precinct, which will position the port as a leading production, storage and export hub for future sustainable, clean energy products and technologies, including hydrogen and green ammonia.
"Our Port handles over 25 different types of cargoes and trade volumes across a number of export commodities like wheat, meals, and grains exports, and increased roll-on-roll-off project cargo, including wind turbine components, have been strong this year," Mr Carmody said.
Port of Newcastle's recent sustainability score also reflects its commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.
"Our expanded delivery of health and wellbeing initiatives to support our people, including our WORK180 endorsement, flexible work arrangements, and career development opportunities make us an employer of choice in our region," Mr Carmody said.
GRESB is a world-leading leading Environment, Sustainability and Governance benchmarking tool, which provides insight into an organisation's ESG performance over time and compared to its industry peers.
Port of Newcastle has committed to undertaking GRESB benchmarking annually, with its target- driven ESG Strategy setting out a commitment to Net Zero by 2040.
