A group of dedicated AusBiotech leaders have banded together to develop an Australian biotech first, a sector-specific ‘environmental, social and governance’ (ESG) tool, to help companies attract investment and navigate ESG reporting.
AusBiotech’s ESG Working Group is working on the global industry’s first-ever guide to tracking and communicating priority ESG considerations.
The resource will assist organisations in their approach to ESG issues relevant to their own company’s circumstances, including suggestions for how to incorporate priority ESG considerations more effectively into policies and procedures. While the resource will draw on global best practice, it has been developed by, and for, Australia’s biotechnology community, and features suggestions for metrics that can be used for measuring and communicating progress.
The life sciences sector, by nature, contributes much to improving lives and the environment, but stakeholders, including investors, are increasingly wanting to be clearly told how companies are doing that. Reporting on a wide range of ESG issues is becoming the norm in many industries, and for life sciences companies this can mean the difference between attracting investment or not.
AusBiotech wishes to acknowledge the significant input and expertise offered by the members of the ESG Working Group:
- Joanne Boag, CEO, Oncology One;
- Michelle Burke, Non-executive director, Cell Therapies;
- Rebekah Cassidy, Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs, Australia/NZ, Sanofi;
- Helen Fisher, CEO & MD, BioCapital Impact Fund;
- Maria Halasz, Lifespan Ventures;
- Matthew Hoskin, CEO Nirtek;
- Rhiannon Jones, COO Amplia;
- Brooke O’Rourke, Director Government Affairs and Sustainability, Cochlear;
- Siro Perez, Partner & Head of Life Sciences, APAC, IP Group Australia;
- Rebecca Wilson, EVP International, WE Communications; and
- Lisa Renkin, Director, Investment, AusBiotech.