With homelessness as AGL’s core social issue, we’ve established a significant corporate partnership with Mission Australia, widely regarded as a leader in the field of homelessness services. AGL and our employees have had a relationship with Mission Australia for 4 years, initially through our volunteering program, and more recently as an Employee Giving charity partner. Now we’ve expanded that relationship, contributing $750,000 from the AGL Foundation to Mission Australia to fund three major initiatives.

• In South Australia, a 3-year pilot program to be launched in later 2007 will provide financial counselling, energy auditing and budgeting services to people experiencing short or long-term difficulty paying their energy bills. Using referrals from our Staying Connected customer hardship program, as well as from Mission Australia services, a trained Case Manager will conduct an audit of their energy consumption and help them make changes to reduce their energy costs, including access to no interest loans to purchase energy efficient appliances. It will also assist with household budgeting and providing access to other support services to help them get back on track.
• In NSW, AGL is helping fund the planning, design, installation and purchase of a new site for Mission Australia’s relocated Fairfax House service – a program for homeless families, or those at risk of homelessness, currently based in Sydney’s inner west. Our funding will allow the new facility to reflect best practice in terms of energy efficient design and appliances.
• In Victoria, we’ve provided seed funding for the research, planning and development of a best practice homeless facility in Melbourne, similar to the groundbreaking Mission Australia Centre in Surry Hills, which was opened in late 2005.

We’ve also established a relationship with WWF-Australia, already supported by AGL and our employees as one of our Employee Giving charity partners. This year the AGL Foundation contributed $100,000 to WWF-Australia to fund a management strategy for the preservation of marine turtles in far northern Queensland, whose future is threatened by the impacts of
climate change.

The funding also supported the expedition of six talented employees to Mapoon in North Queensland for a 7 day eco-expedition to observe and participate first hand in the conservation activities of local fauna and flora, including the threatened marine turtles. As well as providing a life-changing experience for six of AGL’s future leaders, learnings gained from the visit will improve AGL’s capability to understand the environmental impacts of climate change.

* TOTAL Energy for Life plus relevant community sponsorship.

* TOTAL Energy for Life plus relevant community sponsorship.

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