Business performance
$11.28M spent with social benefit suppliers 99.4% 1 of Australian small businesses paid within 30 days We published our fourth Modern Slavery Statement in FY23, in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). Our statement details the risks of modern slavery in our operations and supply chain, as well as action we’ve taken to address identified risks. Action taken during FY23 included: • delivering tailored, region-specific modern slavery practices training • delivering detection training to our US traffic control room officers • delivering training to key community-facing suppliers, such as incident response crews (Australia) • using our supplier evaluation tool to evaluate 70 suppliers, including 48 high-risk- category and high-spend suppliers. We did not identify any instances of modern slavery in our operations or supply chain or on our roads in FY23. We acknowledge that this does not mean that modern slavery was not present. Given this, we are continually enhancing our approach to detecting actual and potential instances of modern slavery. We continue working with our suppliers and the wider industry to share learnings and encourage actions to combat modern slavery. Our FY24 Modern Slavery Statement will be available in late 2024. Gender diversity in construction This year our M7-M12 Integration project in Sydney recruited 11 women looking to kick-start their careers in the construction industry, improving the representation of women in this exciting and rewarding field. As part of an industry-leading pre- employment program, our project delivery partner John Holland offered participants four weeks of paid training, preparing them for an apprenticeship in civil construction and ongoing full-time employment with John Holland, one of the nation’s leading building, infrastructure, rail and transport companies. John Holland’s Flex from the Start policy was available to these new starters, which included the option of a later, 8.45am pre- start, that improves access to construction careers for a more diverse range of candidates than the standard, earlier pre-start time allows.
Buying better Sustainable supply chain focus Our procurement approach is designed to help improve and deliver lasting benefits to communities. We consider all aspects of purchasing, across technical and quality requirements; supply chain policy compliance; risk management and cost optimisation. Our supply chain policies include a range of social, environmental sustainability and governance performance requirements and expectations. Our Sustainable Procurement Program encourages spending towards initiatives that support community social, economic and environmental wellbeing. This means our purchasing is helping create jobs, including for disadvantaged groups. Social enterprise engagement In the US, our agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) requires that we allocate specified portions of our asset and project expenditures towards underrepresented demographics who are certified as disadvantaged business enterprises or as small, women, or minority- owned businesses. To meet our VDOT requirements, we have required these businesses be certified as either a disadvantaged business enterprise or a small, women, or minority-owned business. This year, we broadened the inclusivity of our supplier pool by adding new qualifying certifications (for example, businesses owned by or engaging with veterans, the LGBTQI+ community, and people with disabilities) to our systems. Supporting small business and social enterprise cashflow We recognise reliable and on-time cashflows helps lighten the load of small businesses, making their day-to-day operations easier, and helping them grow and support their people. We voluntarily meet the expectations of the Business Council of Australia’s Supplier Payment Code – including agreeing to pay eligible Australian small businesses on time and within 30 days. We also participate in the Australian Government’s Payment Times Reporting Scheme, that aims to improve payment times for Australian small businesses. Under this scheme, large businesses and government enterprises must report their payment terms and times for small business.
In the first half of FY 24 3.3% of Transurban’s 1 overall Australian spend was with small businesses. During this period, we paid 99.4% of Australian small businesses within 30 days. 1 In late 2023, we extended further support to our social enterprise and First Nations suppliers, and are now paying these invoices within 14 days, giving these businesses additional cashflow confidence. In the US, our Net 14 Payment Terms program offers the same terms to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small, Women- owned, and Minority-owned Business (SWaM) certified suppliers. Our US team envisions expanding our support for social enterprises in the future – with mentorship, financial guidance, and innovation collaboration opportunities being considered by the team. Supplier evaluation tool Our Supplier Evaluation Tool helps us track and measure the actions key suppliers are taking across a range of ESG metrics. The tool was established in FY22 and has been refined further in FY24. This year we began tracking an additional 14 environmental sustainability topics, drawn from our Supplier Sustainability Code of Practice and our Contract Management Framework. Topics include both minimum standard and leadership opportunity metrics. These additions will provide a more detailed picture of suppliers’ maturity and performance against our requirements over time. The tool now captures 68 data points, including 40 related to our Supplier Sustainability Code of Practice, for example: key policies; due diligence actions; and supply chain exposure to labour force and geographical areas. Supplier relationship management program Meaningful collaboration with suppliers can deliver many mutual benefits. We introduced a new structured, systematic approach to supplier relationship management in FY24 that is designed to drive two-way, mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers. A dedicated Supplier Relationship Management team is implementing this program, that complements our existing supplier and contract management activities. Addressing modern slavery risks Modern Slavery is a human rights issue that can be present in any business activity; from the goods we buy to the services and materials we use.
1 E xcluding WestConnex and North America
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