GESB Super earns ESG Leader Award for a fifth consecutive year

GESB Super has received the Rainmaker ESG Leader Award for the fifth consecutive year.

Rainmaker Information’s ESG Leader Award recognises Australia’s best super funds that perform environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles to a high level, while having a track record of strong investment performance.

Only 11 super funds were named ESG Leaders this year.

The award considers five areas: governance, investment transparency, ESG reporting, investment processes and performance.

GESB Super has received the award every year since 2021.

The ESG Leader Award considers a broad range of ESG characteristics, including leadership diversity, stakeholder engagement, portfolio transparency and ESG reporting, investment processes and performance.

This means the award recognises not only how a fund approaches responsible investing, but also how ESG is reflected across its broader business practices.

ESG goes beyond responsible investing

Responsible investing is an important part of ESG, but it’s not the whole picture.

It’s also about integrating responsible practices into our everyday operations. This includes how we work, govern our organisation, choose the companies we work with, engage with communities and manage the resources we use.

In practice, this touches many areas across GESB, from governance and reporting through to community engagement and day-to-day operations.

Five of our seven Board Directors are women, reflecting our membership, which is more than 70% women.¹ Our Employer and Member Directors, as majority current or former public servants themselves, bring an understanding of the WA public sector and the needs of the members we serve.

We also recognise that unique perspectives, ideas and contributions help strengthen our team. Through our Diversity and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) and Multicultural Access Plan (MAP), we work to create an inclusive workplace and better meet the needs of our diverse membership.

Transparency and reporting are important parts of our approach. Each year, we report on our climate change commitments, including our progress towards transitioning our portfolio to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We also report annually on our progress against our DAIP and MAP initiatives.

We partner with organisations to support regional WA communities, including First Nations peoples, to assist more people to engage with and access their super. As part of reconciliation initiatives, we’re also developing culturally appropriate processes to help remove barriers to super.

ESG considerations also inform how we manage our own operations and their environmental impact.

Looking at our own operations

We are working alongside other government departments to understand, monitor and reduce our own operational footprint.

We operate within the framework of the WA Government’s Emissions Interim Target, which aims to reduce whole-of-government greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2020 levels, and participate in a range of government initiatives to reduce emissions.

In August 2025, we transitioned all our company cars from petrol to hybrid electric vehicles (EV), ahead of the State Government’s EV transition target.

Our offices are highly rated under the NABERS national rating system, which measures the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality of a building and its impact on the environment.

Across our operations and supply chains, we also carry out processes to identity, assess and address modern slavery risks, building on government procurement obligations. Modern slavery is a significant global human rights issue and one we believe we have a responsibility to understand.

Supporting long-term outcomes for members

To responsibly manage our members’ retirement savings, we embed ESG considerations into the investment process and extend these responsible practices to how we operate.

This work takes many forms across GESB, from governance and transparency to community engagement and environmental initiatives.

Receiving the ESG Leader Award for the fifth year running is a welcome recognition of the work happening across the organisation.

1 GESB Annual Report 2025/26, September 2026.