ENVIRONMENTAL

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

FOR VICTORIA’S ALPINE RESORTS

As endorsed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change

APRIL 2008

Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council

ABN 87 537 598 625
Level 2, 8 Nicholson Street (PO Box 500) East Melbourne Vic 3002
Phone: (03) 9637 9642 Fax: (03) 9637 8592 E-mail: enquiries@arcc.vic.gov.au
Website: www.arcc.vic.gov.au
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\ TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 5
1.1 Purpose of this Document 5
1.2 Structure of this Report 5

2 PROJECT BACKGROUND 6

3 REPORTING FRAMEWORK & RESPONSIBILITIES 8

3.1 Reporting Framework 8
3.2 The Setting of Targets 8
3.3 Program of Actions and Activities 8
3.4 Monitoring and Reporting 8
3.5 Assessment and Review 8

4 ENVIRONMENTAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 11

4.1 Methodology 11
4.2 Recommended High Level Environmental Goal 12
4.3 Recommended Environmental Themes & Objectives 12
4.4 Recommended Environmental Key Performance Indicators 14

APPENDIX 21

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1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose of this Document
This document is the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council’s (Council) response to a Ministerial
request that the Council facilitates the development of a suite of environmental, social and
economic key performance indicators (KPIs). These indicators are a requirement specified in the
Alpine Resorts Reform Package of 2003 and which are intended to be used to measure the
progress of the Boards towards sustainability. The result of Council’s facilitation efforts is a suite of
environmental KPIs that Council are recommending to be adopted as part of the Reform Package.
Council’s recommendations (which includes the environmental KPIs) along with a summary of their
development are presented in this document.

1.2 Structure of this Report

The structure of this report is as follows:
Chapter 2 – Project Background provides a brief summary of the legislative requirements of the
Resorts including the Alpine Resorts Reform Package of 2003 and the already adopted economic
KPIs.
Chapter 3 – Reporting Framework and Responsibilities describes how the recommended
environmental KPIs could be integrated into the existing reporting activities of the Boards, and the
roles and responsibilities of Boards in the use of these indicators.
Chapter 4 – Environmental Key Performance Indicators includes the environmental KPIs of
which are recommended by the Council for adoption, as well as an outline of the methodology
which was employed to develop these recommendations.

A summary of the key performance indicators is provided in Figure 7.

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2 Project Background
The Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997 establishes five Alpine Resort Management Boards
(‘Boards’) to manage Victoria’s Alpine Resorts. The Boards report to the Minister for Environment
and Climate Change. Section 1A of the Act specifies that the resorts are to be developed,
promoted, managed, and used on a sustainable basis and in a manner that is compatible with the
alpine environment.
The State Government’s Alpine Resorts Reform Package of 2003 commits the Boards to reporting
on these legislative requirements by way of a set of economic, environmental and social KPIs. An
associated document, titled Reporting and Planning Arrangements 2004-2009: Information Paper
was released by the Minister in December 2004, (‘Reporting and Planning Arrangements Paper’).
This document specified the economic KPIs to be used, the reporting format and timeframe for the
KPIs and the requirement to develop targets at the 3 year, 5 year, 10 year and 20 year marks.
In response to a Ministerial request to facilitate the preparation of environmental and social KPIs,
the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council (‘Council’) initiated two separate research projects.
The two research reports are:
• Measuring Sustainability in Victoria’s Alpine Resorts: Identification of Potential
Environmental Key Performance Indicators; and
• Defining and Measuring Social Performance in Victoria’s Alpine Resorts: Identification of
Potential Social Key Performance Indicators.
These research reports are available from the “projects” page on Council’s website
(http://www.arcc.vic.gov.au/projects.htm).
The potential environmental and social KPIs identified through the research were published in a
Summary Report and the public was invited to comment via written submissions. Thirteen
submissions were received, assessed and responded to. A summary of the public submissions
and Council’s response is contained in the Appendix of this report.
Following the assessment of the public submissions and stakeholder consultation, Council have
finalised the environmental KPIs and are now recommending these to the Minister for adoption.
Council’s recommended environmental KPIs and rationale for their adoption are presented in this
document.
The social KPIs are still being developed by the Council and have not been included in this
document. Council intends to, at a later date, recommend to the Minister a suite of social KPIs
which would be suitable for adoption to meet the social reporting requirements of the Alpine
Resorts Reform Package of 2003.
The economic KPIs were adopted by the Minister in 2004. They have been included in this
document, refer to Figure 1. The Boards currently report on the economic KPIs.

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Figure 1 Economic Key Performance Indicators

Indicator Measurement

E1 Net Cash Flow Net Operating Cash Flow plus Net Investing Cash Flow as
reported in Cash Flow Statement

E2 Net Accrual Surplus Net Profit before allocation to reserves as reported in the
Statement of Financial Performance

E3 Business Cycle Ratio of Total Financial Assets less Net Accounts payable
Sustainability less Total Accrued Employee Entitlements to Snow Drought
Reserve Target.

E4 Asset Cycle Ratio of Total Financial Assets less Net Accounts payable
Sustainability less Total Accrued Employee Entitlements less Snow
Drought Fund to Total Accumulated Depreciation of all
Assets.

E5 All Season Report Ratio of non-winter visitors to winter visitors

E6 Average Visitor Spend Ratio of total Revenues to Total Visitors (winter and non-
winter)

Source: Reporting and Planning Arrangements 2004-2009: Information Paper (December 2004).

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3 Reporting Framework & Responsibilities

This section describes the process by which the recommended environmental KPIs could be
integrated into the existing reporting activities of the Boards and the roles and responsibilities of
Boards in the application of these indicators.
3.1 Reporting Framework
As can be seen in Figure 2, the KPIs do not exist in isolation, but are directly linked to the
Government’s planning framework for Alpine Resorts. The KPIs are derived from the Board’s
legislative obligations and inform, and are informed, by the Government’s policy for Alpine Resorts
(the Alpine Resorts 2020 Strategy) and the Board’s Strategic Management Plans and
corporate/business plans.
It is envisaged that the reporting of the environmental KPIs will be incorporated into the existing
corporate planning and reporting frameworks of the Boards and will involve the following elements:
• the setting of targets for each indicator;
• a program of actions and activities to meet the targets;
• monitoring and reporting; and
• assessment and review.
The environmental, social and economic KPIs are intended to be viewed collectively to represent a
credible measure of the Resort’s progress towards all key aspects of sustainability.
3.2 The Setting of Targets
The State Government’s Alpine Resorts Reform Package of 2003 specifies that it is the
responsibility of the Boards to develop KPI targets. The Boards will need to develop these targets
in a manner that is consistent with the strategic directions of the Alpine Resorts 2020 Strategy and
demonstrates progress towards the defined environmental objectives for the KPIs. In some cases,
Boards may use the first round of KPI reporting to define benchmarks, from which they can
determine the targets for subsequent years.
3.3 Program of Actions and Activities
The Boards will need to identify what activities or actions they propose to undertake to meet their
defined economic, environmental and social targets. Again, these activities, and timeframes,
would be developed as part of the Board’s existing corporate planning processes.
3.4 Monitoring and Reporting
The indicators will need to be regularly measured. Reporting would be part of the Board’s annual
reporting process and hence would be included in the Board’s Annual Reports. The ‘Reporting
and Planning Arrangements Paper’ specifies a reporting format including a score card template
which could be used in such reports. A copy of the scorecard is shown in Figure 3.
3.5 Assessment and Review
In preparing their annual corporate/business plans, it is proposed that the Boards assess if their
actions and activities are effective and if they are on track to meet their targets. If not, additional
resources may need to be applied or new actions and activities identified and put in place.

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 Figure 2 Key Performance Indicator’s Relationship with Resort Planning

.
Figure 2

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Key Performance Indicator’s Relationship with Resort Planning
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Source: Reporting and Planning Arrangements 2004-2009: Information Paper” (December 2004)
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Figure 3 KPI Score Card

Source: Reporting and Planning Arrangements 2004-2009: Information Paper (December 2004).

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4 Environmental Key Performance Indicators

This section includes the environmental KPIs, of which are recommended by the Council for
adoption, as well as an outline of the methodology which was employed to develop these
recommendations.
4.1 Methodology
A literature review was undertaken as a precursor to the development of the indicators. Two main
conclusions were derived from the review.
1. Effective performance indicators are typically considered to be indicators that are closely
aligned with policies and goals; are measurable, reliable and easy to understand; and are
associated with time-based targets so to demonstrate performance.
2. Thematic indicator framework is the most successfully applied indicator framework to
develop effective performance indicators.
Thematic indicator frameworks has been applied around the world by notable international
organisations such as the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development, the World
Bank, Global Reporting Initiative, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
and the Australian Federal Government through the National Strategy for Ecological Sustainable
Development and the State of Environment Reporting.
On this basis, a thematic indicator framework was applied with the objective to develop indicators
that are demonstrably aligned with the appropriate policies and goals. A conceptual representation
of the thematic indicator framework is presented in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Thematic Framework

High Level Goal

Themes

Objective Objective Objective Objective

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Indicator Indicator Indicator Indicator

Measure Measure Measure Measure

Target Target Target Target

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The framework guides the development of the indicators by the following tasks:
• the development of a high level environmental goal;
• identification of the main environmental themes;
• development of objectives for each theme;
• indicator selection; and,
• the development of targets.
The thematic framework demonstrates how the indicators are closely aligned with the relevant
policies in environmental sustainability and therefore are suitable for measuring the progress of the
Boards towards environmentally sustainability destinations.
The components of the thematic framework (goal, themes, objectives and indicators) were
developed from relevant legislation, government policy, current environmental reporting by Boards
and others as well as from stakeholder and public consultation.
The components of the thematic framework and hence the recommended environmental KPIs are
provided in the following sections.
4.2 Recommended High Level Environmental Goal
The following recommended high level environmental goal was derived from the Victorian
Government’s ‘Alpine Resorts 2020 Strategy’ and is as follows:
“Well designed and managed Resorts that blend in with the natural environment, known for their
clean air, offering convenient access throughout the year to the broader alpine environment and
parklands. Rich biological diversity, together with a well managed fragile alpine environment for
now and future generations. Waste water treated to high standard, improved water quality
downstream and improved energy efficiency in construction, with lower greenhouse gas
emissions.”
This environmental goal provides a clear definition of what are the key physical elements of an
environmentally sustainable Alpine Resort that can be managed and or influenced through the
activities of the Boards.
4.3 Recommended Environmental Themes & Objectives
The following emerging themes and objectives in environmental sustainability were identified from
the high level environmental goal, international understanding of environmental sustainability,
environmental issues at the Resorts, and key priorities in relevant government policies.
Four themes have been identified, encompassing the main environmental issues facing the
Resorts.
Environmental objectives were developed for each theme. They target relevant activities over
which the Boards have direct control or influence. When these objectives are achieved, the
Resorts could be considered as being managed and operated in an environmentally sustainable
manner.
The recommended environmental themes and objectives (in italics) are presented in Figure 5.

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Figure 5 Recommended Environmental Themes and Objectives

1. Water Management
To manage all water resources within the Resort to ensure water demands are met without
degrading the health of the rivers and creeks, and to encourage water conservation
practices throughout the Resort.
2. Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Management
To increase the proportion of renewable energy consumed by the Board to 20% by the year
2020 (State-wide target), adopt energy efficient practices; and encourage businesses within
the Resort to do the same.
To reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from Board activities within the Resort by 60% of
the levels in “2000” by the year 2050, and to encourage businesses within the Resort to do
the same.
3. Solid Waste Management
To move towards zero waste in the Resort – by consistently reducing the amount of solid
waste per capita disposed to landfill.
4. Biodiversity Management
To maintain alpine ecosystem health and vitality within the Resort – by implementing
actions that assists with the recovery of threatened species and communities and enhance
of habitat quality.

For the purposes of Alpine Resort sustainability reporting, each objective can be considered as the
long term (20 year) target. This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 6.

Figure 6 Graphical Representation of KPI measures,

environmental objectives and targets

20 yr Target
(Objective)

10yr Target

Indicator
Measure

5yr Target

3yr Target

0yr 3yr 5yr 10yr 20yr

Time

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4.4 Recommended Environmental Key Performance Indicators

A series of environmental indicators have been selected to measure the performance of the
Resorts in achieving the above objectives for each environmental theme.
The indicators are not intended to provide a detailed account of performance but to rather inform
decision and policy makers on the progress of the Resorts towards environmental sustainability.
On this basis, a small set of indicators has been identified – seven in all.
The environmental indicators are listed under the recommended environmental themes in Figure 7
and summarise below:
• Compliance with water licence conditions
• Potable water consumption
• Renewable energy consumption by board
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Solid waste disposed to landfill
• Activities implemented that protect threatened species populations and communities
• Extent of good quality of habitat within the Resort
Inherently associated with indicators is the measure and unit. The measure is the physical aspect
of the indicator, i.e. what is actually recorded, and the unit is the metric or scale. One example of
an indicator is potable water consumption. Its measure is annual potable water delivered from the
pump station. The unit is ML/year.
Recommended measures, units and description are also provided for each indicator in Figure 7.

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Recommended Environmental Key Performance Indicators

Figure 7

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APPENDIX
Summary of Public Submissions and Council’s Response

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