Almost one hundred people  attended the launch of Forests NSW Annual Report 2008-09 late last year. It was  a special occasion as, for the first time, the organisation combined its  legally required financial statements with voluntary accountability reporting  across a range of social, environmental and economic criteria. The new format  was well received, and will ensure Forests NSW retains its position at the  forefront of public sector reporting.

Changes to presentation  of information

In producing its first  annual sustainability report 11 years ago, Forests NSW pioneered broader  accountability of government enterprises to the community. At that stage, the  concept of the triple bottom line was emerging and it was a significant  decision to expose performance, both good and bad, to public scrutiny. Time has  shown that it was also a sound business decision, allowing the organisation to  track performance and address trends through adaptive management actions as  they emerged.

In recognition of this  leading role, in 2005 the report, then known as the Seeing Report, was singled  out for best practice by a NSW parliamentary inquiry into sustainability  reporting in the NSW Public Sector. This external recognition has continued,  with the 2007-08 report short-listed in the Association of Chartered Certified  Accountants Sustainability Reporting Awards, excelling in the area of  communication.

Forests NSW corporate  reporting officer, Morgan Roche explains some of the attractions of  amalgamating the two reports, the Seeing Report and the financially focused  Annual Report.

“By producing these two  parts in the one document, we are presenting the community with a clearer and  more comprehensive look at how we’ve performed during the year,” Morgan said.

What is reported

Forests NSW uses a range  of indicators to document the condition of State forests and the organisation’s  operations. These indicators relate social, environmental and economic  performance over time.

As part of the process of  continual improvement, Forests NSW reviews and amends the suite of indicators  to more closely align them with global standards and business information  requirements.

What the results showed

In the area of health and  safety, Forests NSW was recognised during the year by WorkCover NSW for meeting  the high standards of the rigorous self-insurers audit. This is the second  consecutive year of successful audits, cementing Forests NSW commitment to  improving safety performance. A recognised indicator of safety performance is  the recordable incident rate, which fell by 58 percent over last year to 4.9 -  an improvement, but some way off the target rate of less than one.

The 2008-09 year will be  remembered for the global financial crisis, with a slump in demand for many  timber products. In addition to this challenge, exceptionally wet conditions  and flooding on the north coast added to operating costs. Despite management  efforts to mitigate these effects, a trading loss of $16.4 million was recorded.  Importantly, during 2008-09 Forests NSW moved to significantly improve its cash  management, which saw the business generate a $7 million cash surplus for the  year, $5 million of which was used to pay down debt with the expectation of  further
  debt reductions to follow.

In early 2009, the NSW  Government’s Auditor-General conducted a performance audit to assess Forests  NSW ability to identify the availability of hardwoods for harvesting, and  whether this volume is sufficient to meet timber supply. The audit found  Forests NSW has an adequate estimate of the quantity of native timber available  and that there should be sufficient timber in State forests to meet current  wood supply commitments. The report made nine recommendations which are being  implemented within an agreed timeframe.

An independent  environmental impact statement of forest operations in the red gum forests of  the south west of the state was completed on schedule and released for public  comment in June 2009. The statement concluded that there is unlikely to be a  significant impact through the continued forest operations on the majority of  threatened species populations or endangered ecological communities or their  habitats known to occur in the study area. Since the release of this statement,  the National Resources Commission was tasked by the NSW Government to undertake  a comprehensive regional assessment to determine long-term sustainable timber  volumes and conservation outcomes for the forests of the south west of the  state.

Looking forward

As a public trading  enterprise in the newly established Industry & Investment NSW, Forests NSW  will continue working on goals and key projects in our Corporate Business  Strategy 2009-10.

The report identified  that one of the key targets for the organisation in the financial year 2009-10  was recertification to the internationally recognised Australian Forestry  Standard (AS 4708:2007) and this has been achieved.

Interested in the full  picture?

Copies of the Annual  Report are available for downloading from www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/forests or in hard  copy (part 1) by telephoning Forests NSW information centre on T: 1300 655 687 or 02 9871 3377, or E: cumberland@sf.nsw.gov.au.

This article appears in the Autumn/Winter 2010 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.