Alluvium_capability_MW_final

Provision of Specialist Consulting Services - Melbourne Water

Introduction Melbourne Water supports healthy people, places and the environment and enhances Melbourne’s reputation as one of the world’s most liveable cities. We have been servicing Melbourne Water for over a decade and our business has substantially changed over this time in a direct response to Melbourne Water needs. This document explains our areas of technical capability and strength to support Melbourne Water to deliver best practice.

We have enhanced our capability First up, we would like to explain the change in our business over the past five years. We recognised that the needs of Melbourne Water and our broader client base had changed and a model of greater integration between biophysical and social science, economics and engineering was needed to continue to deliver work to a quality our clients expected. Working through our growth strategy helped to reinforce that what makes us unique is our technical specialisation. It allows us to align our leadership, research and development efforts, and staff training to excel in a technical space. Significantly it also helps us to attract the best people to our business. Our business model is driven by a genuine belief that technical specialisation serves our clients better. For Melbourne Water it means you can access our key economics and social science people through the existing Alluvium Consulting panel arrangements. This broader group brings together scientists, planners, engineers, strategists, analysts and economists. We combine these skills to address the complex, systemic and intractable issues that face our society, environment and economy. By helping to solve these problems, we transform the way we live and the health and productivity of our catchments, rivers, coasts and communities. .



The last 13 years Before we get going, a very quick reflection on the past 13 years. Over this time we have delivered over 500 individual projects to help advance strategy and planning, engineering design, understanding ecohydrology relationships and advance the concepts of liveability. We have worked together on projects which have reshaped Melbourne and influenced catchment and river health planning and design across Australia and beyond. We have presented our Melbourne Water project data from 2006 below showing trend over time and overall allocation of our work across 11 technical disciplines relevant to Melbourne Water. Policy, planning and strategy Waterway engineering Urban water asset engineering Land development planning and engineering Geomorphic assessment Ecohydrology and environmental flows Liveability studies and strategy Program evaluation Threatened species planning and engineering Catchment modelling Economic assessment



Capability We provide an integrated skill set to solve the complex and systemic challenges facing our society and environment. We have presented some capability content in the following pages and deliberately selected a mixture of Melbourne Water, Australian and International case studies to demonstrate the diversity of experience and skills within Alluvium. Strategy River health Natural Capital Urban Water Engineering Livability Coastal Water design management resources Ecohydrology Economics Natural Events Evaluation

1. Policy and strategy Developing quality policy, program frameworks, and strategy documents requires practicality, experience, compassion, and an understanding of context. We bring a high level of expertise in the development of policy and strategy as it applies to green infrastructure, water resources and natural resource management systems. Our strength is we bring together skills in-house skills in economics, bio physical science and social science to deliver well informed and well-designed solutions. • Policy design, analysis and review • Governance frameworks • Strategy development • Risk management • Engagement and facilitation Development of Basin Plan Science Strategy Since the completion of the Basin Plan, there has been something of a proliferation of scientific studies and projects, often without strong linkages to Basin Plan outcomes, or to each other. Adding complexity, the various existing science programs, projects and reporting requirements in the Murray-Darling Basin have differing funding, governance, and decision‐making models. Alluvium was engaged to support the commonwealth and state governments to better define the science and knowledge needs of the Murray-Darling Basin and provide a more integrated governance model to ensure there is a clear science platform. This project required an investigation of relevant national and international examples of successful science program strategies, including any relevant reviews or investigations undertaken by Basin jurisdictions, and how the lessons from these could be considered in a Basin Science Strategy. The strategy development was driven by a number of multi-jurisdictional workshops and provides a model for incorporating future and emerging risks (e.g. climate change), and other significant stressors on the aquatic environment (e.g. thermal pollution). It outlined a process for optimising science outcomes with social and economic outcomes, including the need for parallel economic studies as part of science project development, and had agreed selection and project approval criteria that proposed science projects must meet before they are approved (including a risk assessment framework), to ensure alignment with the strategy. The strategy required an agreed governance and decision‐making model for science delivery that involves all jurisdictions, and a process for data and knowledge and sharing across jurisdictions to allow sharing of learnings and outcomes. It also articulated a five-year and 10-year success criteria, to be incorporated into science project objectives and the science plan program logic.

2. River health We specialise in river health science, stream restoration and channel design. Core to our success is that we work with nature rather than against it. Our ability to understand the future trajectory of stream systems allows us to design solutions that complement natural processes resulting in more efficient, resilient and sustainable design solutions. • Stream restoration and channel design • Geomorphic investigations and assessments • River health and ecological restoration • Hydrologic and hydraulic modelling • River diversion design • Fish passage design and mitigation • Stream bank stabilisation Fitzroy River fluvial geomorphology assessment and restoration plan The Fitzroy Basin is located in Central Queensland and drains into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon near Rockhampton. The floodplains of the lower Fitzroy River have undergone extensive changes since European settlement in the area. The removal of floodplain and riparian vegetation and the introduction of stock to the landscape have reduced bank stability. Significant erosion has occurred throughout the catchment since the 1950s resulting in excessive sediment loads being delivered to the Great Barrier Reef. Alluvium undertook a detailed river morphology assessment and developed a restoration plan for the lower 200 km of the Fitzroy River. The project involved the classification of the geomorphology , geomorphic units and riparian condition within the river and multi-temporal spatial analysis of LiDAR data and aerial imagery to determine areas of high fine sediment generation. We worked with the Fitzroy Basin Association and other key stakeholders including local and state government to develop a restoration plan to reduce sediment loss and improve riverine ecosystem health. In 2019 we designed and delivered the largest stream bank stabilisation project ever undertaken in Australia which has resulted in a fine sediment reduction of 30,000 tonnes/year. Click here for a short video of the Fitzroy River restoration, and here for further information on our work with the Fitzroy Basin Authority

3. Natural Capital Natural Capital refers to the world’s stocks of natural assets, which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things. Humans derive a wide range of services from Natural Capital, often called ecosystem services. Our understanding of natural, farming and economic systems allows us to develop natural capital programs to benefit both landholders and the environment • Ecosystem service definition • Natural capital market development • Sustainable finance options • Natural Capital strategy development • Risk Management • Engagement and facilitation Valuation of Ecosystem services in the Ayeyarwady basin The Ayeyarwady Basin is vitally important to the stock of natural capital, the nation’s economy, and the livelihoods of the people of Myanmar. If the Ayeyarwady Basin is not well managed, there are significant risks to the physical integrity and condition of the basin’s natural capital. The physical impacts of poor management could be profound and will have consequences that interfere with socio- economic values. A key building block in the development of integrated river basin management in the Ayeyarwady Basin is the development of a comprehensive environmental, social, and economic baseline. Developing an understanding of the economic values attributable to the Ayeyarwady Basin (the ecosystem services) is vital to appreciating the current benefits of good Ayeyarwady Basin management and to providing insight for assessing the planning, management, and investment options for the Ayeyarwady Basin in the future. Working for the Australian Water Partnership, we undertook a detailed economic valuation of key ecosystem services. The work provided an estimation of the value of ecosystem services and applies appropriate methodologies to value different ecosystem services for: irrigation, inland water transport, fisheries and aquaculture, potable water supply, biodiversity, and ecotourism. We estimate the aggregate value of the ecosystem services that we have assessed is in the range of $2.5 billion United States dollars (USD) to USD 6.9 billion per annum.

4. Urban Water We work across all areas of urban surface water management. This work includes research, policy development, catchment scale planning strategies, option evaluation and prioritisation, feasibility assessments, concept and detailed design. We plan and design these assets with amenity, cooling, natural system protection and community health benefits in mind. • Water Sensitive Urban Design • Urban waterway naturalisation • Climate change adaption and resilience • Integrated water management • Hydrologic and hydraulic modelling • GIS Spatial analysis • Engagement and facilitation Arnolds Creek Channel Naturalisation Now, more than ever, people are valuing their accessible green spaces: Click here to view a short video of the neighbourhood parks, bush walks Arnolds Creek project next to local creeks, and cycle tracks along rivers. However, the quality of people’s experiences is likely to vary widely depending on their local access to public spaces with nature. The liveability of our local neighbourhoods has never been more important, as more and more people use and connect with our public green spaces. Alluvium’s team have been active over the past decade in advancing the policy, science, planning, and engineering of waterway naturalisation. More recently, this has included creating designs to maximise social and community benefits, along with ecological and flood management outcomes. Alluvium lead the design of one of Melbourne Water’s first major naturalisation projects, and within this program was reimagining 1.4 km of Arnolds Creek in Melton West. The Reimagining program has an emphasis on community input and included significant community engagement throughout the design process to inform the desired outcomes and design elements at the site. The restoration of the waterway and creation of high-quality open space not only provides for improved ecological conditions, but also improves amenity of public open space, ultimately encouraging the community to use the space.

5. Engineering design and construction management We specialise in constructed waterway, wetland and river engineering design. We work actively in constructed waterways, wetland and shallow lake engineering and we always pursue design solutions which incorporate elements of liveability, cultural integration and community health benefits. Our engineering skills include stream restoration and channel design and core to our success is that we work with nature rather than against it • Constructed wetland and shallow lake engineering design • Retarding basin engineering design • Waterway bed and bank stabilisation engineering • Instream water regulation structure design • Urban constructed waterway engineering • Pipe daylighting/channel naturalisation engineering • Fish passage design and engineering • Liveability integration into built assets Merri Edgars Wetland design and construction Alluvium designed and managed construction of this 0.4 ha wetland which treats an urban catchment of 10 ha. The primary purpose of the wetland is to provide habitat and assist in the reintroduction of a range of locally native flora and fauna, whilst also improving the quality of water entering the Merri and Edgars Creek. Prior to European settlement ephemeral wetland environments would have been commonplace along waterways such as the Merri Creek. The wetland design focused on complementing the existing natural open space experience of both Merri and Edgars Creek so valued by many in the local community. Click here for friends of Merri Creek news item Key to our work is we provide Melbourne Water with multiple engineering managers containing chartered status through Engineers Australia. Our dedication to safety is reflective of the organisational culture of Alluvium and we are highly committed to all aspects of safety in practice. Formal Safety-in-Design (SiD) is a key process Alluvium engineers and is a legislated requirement in which our engineers consider safety aspects in the construction, operation and maintenance phases of the project to identify potential improvements that can be built into the design to remove hazards, improve accessibility, accommodate WH&S constraints, and enhance safety.

6. Livability Cities and communities Water and green infrastructure play a central role in creating viable, sustainable and resilient cities. We employ specialists in green/blue infrastructure policy, strategy and design at the city-scale. We work with government agencies and private industry to create greener, cooler and healthier cities. • Shaping cities and communities • Urban cooling and comfort analysis • Resilience planning • Climate change adaption and resilience • Social analysis • Liveability concepts and planning Cooling benefit of urban forestry for Amaravati in India Mosaic Insights was engaged by the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, the Australian Water Partnership and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to analyse the cooling benefit of urban forestry and irrigation for the city of Amaravati in India, which is currently under construction. Basing spatial information on a masterplan we applied the CRC developed TARGET model to the city-scale and to the street-scale to quantify how urban forestry will impact the temperature and heat stress levels in this new city. We determined that throughout the city increased street trees and irrigated grass has the potential to reduce temperatures and improve human thermal comfort across the city, while at the street scale adding trees along the canals gives the most benefits in the morning as opposed to the afternoon. We also conducted street orientation analysis to determine which streets would benefit the most from the shading effects of trees, an analysis of the height- width ratios of different parts of the city to determine whether shading from trees can add cooling value, and an analysis of street orientations to understand those that benefit most from green facades and meteorological analysis of the prevailing winds to potentially influence design decisions for the city. The insights gained from this project will inform future planning and design decisions for the new city of Amaravti.

7. Coastal and marine management The coastline is a dynamic setting to work in. We have a well-established core team of specialists who have a strong focus on integrated catchment, coastal and marine management. We undertake a range of technical and strategic assessments including coastal processes studies, trajectory of landscape change, hydrodynamics, coastal engineering, ecosystem studies, coastal hazard adaptation, and coastal and marine management plans. • Coastal processes and erosion • Coastal hazard assessment • Engineering design • Coastal and marine ecosystems • Climate change adaption and resilience • Engagement and facilitation. Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy for Queensland local Click here for more insights governments into the Douglas Shire Coastal Alluvium is a leading provider of the Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) work being delivered under the Story QCoast2100 program in Queensland. The coastal hazard adaptation strategy is a process designed to assess the risk from the projected effects of climate change over the medium to long term; propose adaptation measures to mitigate these impacts; and establish an implementation program for the mitigation measures. A CHAS is the product of a series of studies that seek to: • Identify coastal hazard areas • Understand vulnerabilities and risks to a range of assets • Engage with the community to understand their preferred approach to adaptation • Determine the costs, priorities and timeframes for their implementation This process provides each coastal Council with a long-term strategy for the future management of their coastal areas. The development of the strategy has a strong focus on understanding the needs of stakeholders and communities. It integrates technical assessments that incorporate increasing sea-levels and changing climate, robust economic assessment, and flexible and adaptable management and engineering options, to help increase the resilience of their coastal areas. Our team has been supporting ten Councils, including Douglas Shire Council who are now the first in the State to complete their final strategy.

8. Water resource management Alluvium has been instrumental in assessing and addressing the issues of water stressed systems across Australia. We work to improve environmental water management, balancing the needs of the environment with consumptive needs and other pressures across various scales – from small floodplain wetlands to heavily regulated river systems and landscape watering projects. We bring knowledge of river hydrology, hydraulics, ecology and geomorphic processes and link these processes to agreed objectives. • Environmental water management • Catchment hydrology • Catchment modelling • Climate science and analysis • GIS Spatial analysis Click here for news items from Delivering environmental flows in the Nimmie Caira the Nature Conservancy and One of the most successful Basin Plan projects is the restoration of the here for ABC news items Nimmie Caira. The Nimmie-Caira forms part of the lower Murrumbidgee River system located in southern NSW and comprises the southern floodplain for the Murrumbidgee River. The floodplain area is dominated by lignum shrub land that supports significant colonial nesting bird rookeries and prior to European settlement, the lignum shrublands were inundated as a result of regular natural flooding along the lower Murrumbidgee system. However, following settlement the land was developed for irrigated agriculture and land use intensified significantly and had substantial impacts on the flow and subsequent health of rivers and wetlands. In 2012, the Government purchase the land with the intent of returning the water to the system for both productive use and ecological outcomes. Alluvium was engaged to develop a comprehensive understanding of how water moves through the landscape and the eco-hydrological relationships associated with high value ecological assets and functions. We developed ecological objectives and conceptual modes, and development of hydraulic and hydrodynamic modelling. Following this work we developed concept, functional and detailed design of the water infrastructure to return areas of high ecological value back to a normal watering regime. Alluvium then developed a complete Land and Water Management Plan and supported the commercialisation negotiation. Concluding the 4 years of our involvement with the Nimmie Caira was the hand over of the site to a consortium made up of the Nature Conservancy, the Nari Nari Tribal Council and other partners who will now take on the future management of the 85,000 hectare site.

9. Ecohydrology We have played a key role in the development of environmental water plans, balancing competing environmental and consumptive needs. Our experience in environmental flows science extends well beyond the delivery of FLOWS studies and we have led the science in the understanding of ecological functions as they pertain to hydrological indices. We regularly support our clients to developed ecohydrology conceptual models. Our work in understanding environmental flows extends to both rural and urban catchments • Environmental flows studies • Eco hydrology science • Conceptual models • Environmental analytics and modelling • GIS Spatial analysis Reporting framework for environmental watering outcomes The Office for the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability engaged Alluvium and Natural Capital Economics to develop a framework to evaluate and report on environmental watering outcomes in Victoria. The framework provides the means for an independent assessment of the Victorian approach to environmental water and commentary around its effectiveness in meeting agreed objectives. This work affords transparency of outcomes and allowed the Victorian government to advance its thinking and approach to managing the environment. The process to develop this framework involved a number of innovative steps which have endeavoured to operationalise the key SoE reform directions outlined in Framework for the Victorian 2018 State of the Environment Report: State and Benefit (2017). Key was the developing the conceptual framework (based on the ecosystem services framework) to also reflect important principles and . directions outlined in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The work developed an evaluation and reporting framework ensuring that a holistic conceptual understanding of environmental watering was established and framing environmental watering in line with the directions of the UN SDGs. The project also established a sound and shared understanding of environmental watering based on the ecosystem services framework to provide a valuable conceptual framework for analysing the linkages between the natural environment and people.

10. Economics We focus on integrating science and economics and our business is focused on helping clients understand and resolve the most complex and pressing challenges related to climate change, energy and water resources, agriculture, and our natural environment. We regularly undertake detailed socio-economic impacts assessments to inform policy and investment decisions. • Socio-economic impact assessments • Cost benefit analysis • Non-Market Valuation • Market design and analysis • Pricing, cost-sharing and co-investment Economic benefits of open space in metropolitan Melbourne The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) was seeking to further understand the economic value of investing in urban open spaces. Such investment may be to improve accessibility, preserve natural capital and restore modified urban open spaces. Given that the services offered by urban natural capital are not directly traded in a market, non-market valuation techniques were used to estimate the economic values of the relevant assets and their services to the community. The valuation approach utilised an ecosystem services framework to scope and value benefits of open spaces. Moreland local government area (LGA) in Victoria was used as a study area. It is located in the inner north of Greater Melbourne and has an estimated 1,005 ha of open space, which is approximately 20% of the total LGA area. Over half of this area is public open spaces (576 ha), and 344 ha is restricted public land. Only 85 ha is private open spaces. An ecosystem services approach was u.sed to identify the following services associated with open spaces within the study area: • Carbon sequestration (regulating service) • Contribution to property price premiums (aesthetics – cultural services) • Mitigation of climate extremes (climate regulating service) • Noise pollution reduction (regulating service) • Air quality improvements (regulating service) • Support for human well-being through improved physical activity, stress reduction and general relaxation (cultural services) • Visual amenity to local and visiting population (cultural services) • Casual or commute trip connection passages/paths leading to traffic Public recreation and exercise areas (cultural services). The study findings provide monetary values for benefits of urban natural open spaces and can also be used to inform business cases development and cost- sharing arrangements between government and private property developers. The project findings will be used to inform policy, support efficient resource allocation and support the prioritisation of different open space works.

11. Natural events Alluvium plays a key role in supporting our client in planning and responding to fire, floods and drought. We are one of the most experienced consultants supporting regional authorities in flood recovery, and in particular helping authorities with Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) funded planning and works. Our skills also extend to drought policy and planning as we have provided a leadership role in supporting entities to understand sediment generation and movement following fire. • Flood recovery assessment • Rapid prioritisation of immediate works • Community and economic impact assessment • Post fire sediment modelling • Drought refuge planning • Drought structure adjustment programs Regional-scale mapping of fire severity and erosion risk Through an internally funded initiative, Alluvium has mapped fire severities and modelled post-fire erosion risk for 6 million hectares of burned areas in temperate forests of eastern Australia. The work draws on the most recent research on bushfire hydrology in Australia and has been carried out in collaboration with Forest Hydrology Group at The University of Melbourne. The outputs from the project includes maps of fire severity, pre-fire erosion rates and post-fire erosion rates at a 1 x 1 km resolution. These maps are provided as high-resolution images in the links below. Click here for detailed maps

12. Evaluation We work with our clients to facilitate the development of program logics and theory of change. Our program models are then used as a basis for developing an integrated monitoring and evaluation framework. We advise on the audience, appropriate scale, evaluation questions, performance criteria, indicators, data sources and methods. In a collaborative process we also deliver evaluation services to help our clients to determine the worth and efficacy of policies, strategy, projects, programs and services. • Evaluation frameworks • Program evaluation • Data analytics and visualisation • Engagement and facilitation Evaluating Landscape-Scale Change across QLD Over the last 20 years, the Queensland Government has invested significant resources in natural resource management (NRM) using a regionally-based delivery model, primarily through Queensland’s regional NRM bodies. The decision to move to a regionally-based delivery model was driven by the belief that it would result in more responsive, legitimate and effective governance that would take better account of local circumstance, and that regional groups could provide the much-needed link between the community and government priorities for strategic planning and investment. This project specifically sets out to design and implement an evaluation process that would focus on the assessment of landscape scale change towards a number of priority NRM outcome areas across all fourteen NRM regions in Queensland using a collaborative knowledge synthesis approach. Our work developed and trailed a process that assessed change at the intermediate outcome scale but that also a) incorporates multiple views and knowledge claims by a wide number of stakeholders; b) builds capacity and tactic knowledge of the participants involved in the process; and c) documents potential data sources of evidence to substantiate the claims. Alluvium worked with all 14 NRM regional bodies across Queensland to understand how and to what extent change has occurred as a result of 10 years of NRM investment. To do this we relied on the use of ‘impact pathways’ that describe the logic and assumptions behind investment decisions and how these propose to achieve a range of NRM-related outcomes at a landscape scale. Eleven outcomes and their associated indicators were identified across the four impact pathways – socio-economic, soil, water and biodiversity.



Recent insights and news items We regularly produce industry news items and the links below provide some thought pieces. Re(connecting) urban rivers with nature Policy and planning to manage extreme heat The economic value of open space and urban waterways Regional-scale mapping of fire severity and erosion risk Advancing river health science and economics in the Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar Managing impact of bushfire on catchments and water resources A resilient Murray-Darling Basin into the future – is it possible? Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) for Queensland local governments Ecological restoration post-fire Modelling environmental water with climate change



Key Contacts Although our capability is presented over eight core areas, we have a number of specialist technical leaders who lead project delivery. Waterway Waterway Catchment Catchment Ecology: engineering: planning: Hydrology: modelling: Rob Dabal Lisa Walpole Tony Weber Stuart Cleven Ross Hardie Policy & planning: Evaluation: Coastal systems: Coastal engineer: Environmental flows: Lisa Kitson Amanda Wealands Elisa Zavadil Phebe Bicknell Amanda Shipp Economics: Ecohydrology: Spatial analysis: Stormwater strategy: Social science: Lili Pechey Bill Moulden Petter Nyman Jonathan Mclean Agata Chmielewski Geomorphology: Integrated water Liveability: Urban heat: Engagement and Misko Ivezich planning: Dom Blackham Stephanie Jacobs stakeholders: Dan O’Halloran Fiona Chandler



Our social responsibility The final part of our capability that we would like to communicate is the advancement of our efforts in developing our social licence to operate. We recognise that technical excellence and focused client service is not enough and we know we have a role to improve environmental and social outcomes more broadly. Alluvium is currently finalising our Reconciliation Action Plan and B Corp Certification. The following outlines components of our social commitment.

Workforce and wellbeing Relevant existing policies The Alluvium Board has established a Work Environment Policy, Leave Policy and Family Violence Policy. These together address our overall approach to managing the wellbeing of our workforce. Promotion of secure employment We care about our people. We have demonstrated this care in tough times when we put our people first. For example, during the global financial crisis, we accepted several quarters of zero profit, rather than undertaking widespread redundancies. This had major implications on cash flow, debt servicing and value of the business. Promotion of physical and mental well being Alluvium has an established Employee Assistance Program to provide extended professional support to manage the wellbeing of staff and their families. As part of this program we provide mental health awareness education to all staff and educate line managers to identify and directly support mental health issues in others. Freedom of feedback and active reporting We strive to ensure all people, regardless of their role or position have a voice in our business and can raise concerns without fear of recrimination or disadvantage. We have a documented dispute resolution process in place. Wellbeing of supply chain Alluvium monitors labour rights and requires our labour suppliers to comply with relevant legislation (executed via our sub-consultant agreement). Our subcontractor management process ensures our wider team complies with statutory obligations, Melbourne Water’s contract and the Victorian Social Procurement Framework.

Business integrity Relevant existing policies The Alluvium Board has established an Ethical Conduct Policy. This outlines our strong sense of responsibility to treat people respectfully, both within our business, our clients and partners. It commits us to maintaining ethical business standards in all the markets in which we operate and ensures that we: Transparency as an employee-owned company As an employee-owned company, Alluvium has a culture built on transparency and disclosure. As employees and shareholders, our people expect open and honest interaction and appreciate the importance of financial responsibility and clear communication. Independent staff culture survey We conduct an annual employee survey through a third-party that allows our people to provide anonymous feedback on company performance, culture and priorities. Results are presented anonymously to our Operations Group and form the basis for internal strategic initiatives over the next year ahead. Through our EAP provider, we also provide an avenue for our people to raise workplace issues in a safe and confidential environment; the trends arising from the EAP are also reported anonymously to our Operations Group for specific attention. Professional conduct and reputation The role of a trusted advisor is one we take very seriously. We do not engage in collusive or exploitative activities with our commercial partners or clients and look to collaborate with third parties whose values are consistent with our own. We acknowledge our obligation to uphold our own professional reputation through our quality standards and conduct, and by not engaging in conduct that may damage our clients’ reputation through association. Independence and objectivity are an important brand attribute for Alluvium. Confidentiality and privacy Alluvium recognises the sensitive nature of the work we perform and the data we handle. We abide by non-disclosure agreements and the management of our data and information pertaining to them. We outsource the provision and maintenance of our IT systems and network to a specialist managed services provider to more effectively manage technology and cybersecurity risk.

Supply Chain Relevant existing policies The Alluvium Board has established a Sustainable Procurement Policy and Environment Policy. Together these address our overall approach to managing our supply chain and are supported by a range of procurement procedures. These procurement procedures outline our approach to procuring services and vetting suppliers, to ensure we contribute to the development of supply chains that are free from human rights abuse and that promote improved environmental and economic outcomes, through ethical sourcing and social enterprise advancement. Sustainable procurement Alluvium has a procurement vision that aligns with ISO 20400 and aims to integrate sustainability into the procurement process. Our approach to sustainable procurement is built on the following: • Environmental management • Support of fair practices in our supply base • Ethical trading • Promoting fair employment practices • Community benefits Social procurement Alluvium is highly aware of the obligations set out for companies under the new Modern Slavery legislation introduced in November 2018. As part of their agreement with us, our subconsultants are required to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and codes of conduct or standards (whether or not having the force of law) in relation to the provision of their services. Prior to engagement, we ensure our suppliers meet and agree to our requirements for quality, health and safety, anti-corruption, probity, conflicts of interest, insurance, sustainability and environmental protection. By unbundling our procurement, we empower our regions to support local procurement in their offices and provide opportunities to local business for the supply of goods and services, including the support of social enterprises. For example, in Melbourne we source our cleaning products from EcoStore. A portion of all EcoStore profits go toward their social enterprise Fairground Foundation, that takes on challenging social and environmental projects such as green inner-city housing projects, and a flora/fauna conservation crowdfunding platform.

Gender Diversity Relevant existing policies The Alluvium Board has established a Diversity and Equal Opportunity Policy. This outlines our commitment to attracting and selecting a diverse range of people based on merit and through fair and equitable processes, without regard to personal attributes. The policy identifies that by 2022 we aim to achieve: • equal representation of gender in our Board positions • equal representation of gender in senior roles Gender diversity strategies We acknowledge that there is a legacy of gender imbalance across our industry that may, at times, limit our ability to achieve these targets. Despite this, we continue to support and encourage the development of women into these positions and strive to achieve our targets by: • Ensuring our policies reflect our intention, including flexible working schedules, provision of technology and tools to enable flexible and remote work, extended leave policies and return to work programs • Supporting development through coaching, and participation in leadership training and other targeted development • Facilitating mentoring (as mentee and mentor) opportunities • Raising awareness through events such as International Women’s Day • Promoting the representation Progress We have progressed towards our Board target and currently have greater than 30% women on our Board. We are comfortable with our ability to meet our targets of 50% by 2022. We have a 50% representation by women Across our business in senior leadership roles in our national business (including Practice Leaders and Team Managers). In our Melbourne office we have 55% of line management roles filled by women. We will report on gender diversity across our Board, all staff and senior roles in our annual reporting. Gender pay gap Our commitment to gender diversity includes a review of salary arrangements. We undertake pay equity audits and review why any gender pay gaps occur. We can confirm in the last review the results indicated: P1 No statistical difference P2 2% gap in favour of males P3 2% gap in favour of females P4 No statistical difference P5 No statistical difference P6 No statistical difference We will continue to focus and report on reducing the gap through our annual report and actions.

Reconciliation Commitment to reconciliation and advancement Alluvium has initiated a process to establish our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) with Reconciliation Australia, to continue our commitment and contribution to reconciliation in Australia. Our Board has expressed support for this and we have formed a working party to engage and educate our people, as a precursor to developing our vision, strategy and actions over the next 12 months. Activities are likely to include: • Indigenous cultural awareness training • Opportunities for partnerships focused on increasing Indigenous employment within the engineering and associated professions • Identification of procurement opportunities that support greater participation from Aboriginal businesses • Acknowledging country and significant Aboriginal events and dates e.g. NAIDOC Week, 1967 Referendum anniversary, National Reconciliation Week, Apology Day, UN International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples To advance our efforts Alluvium has recently employed Phil Duncan who is the first Aboriginal chair of Murray-Darling Basin Community Committee. The Gomeroi man has a more than 38 years of experience working with Aboriginal people, communities and liaising with governments. He was chair of the National Water Commission's First People's Water Engagement Council and for many years has been actively involved in native fish management in the Basin. Phil will play a key role in advancing out reconciliation efforts.

Environmental footprint Relevant existing policies The Alluvium Board has established an Environment Policy. This seeks to protect the environment by outlining our approach to environmental management and to increase awareness of environmental responsibilities among staff, suppliers and subcontractors who work with us. Minimising our emissions footprint • All flights are purchased with carbon offsets • Uptake of digital meeting technologies to reduce flight travel • Purchase of 100% green power in our self-managed tenancies • Provision of end-of-trip facilities (~30% of our staff cycle to work weekly) • Office locations targeted to be close to major public transport hubs e.g. Melbourne head office is within 600m of Richmond station • Conscious avoidance of offering salary sacrifice arrangements for cars Efficient use of energy, water and natural resources • Optimise use of natural ventilation and cooling • Sensor lighting system in meeting rooms • Water-efficient fixtures and off-peak energy options Maximising recyclable/recovered content • e-waste program participant • Purchase office supplies made from recycled material, and supply KeepCups and food containers for takeaway purchases • Four stream waste separation (hard recycling, soft plastics, organic and landfill) and focus on conscious consumption to reduce landfill • Undertake internal waste audits to track performance Minimising habitat destruction and environmental degradation • Conducting our fieldwork using habitat sensitive investigation methods through effective site assessment as per our Environmental, Quality and Safety framework • In our workplace, we promote digital ways of working and focus on reducing reliance on paper, printing and consumables • Purchase and use of ‘green’ products and supplies

Melbourne 03 9421 2532 Canberra 02 6249 7475 Sydney 02 7201 8414 Brisbane 07 3257 1628 Newcastle 02 7201 8414 Townsville 07 3257 1628 Byron Bay 0401 048 241 New Delhi +91 98119 30902 www.alluvium.com.au www.nceconomics.com www.mosaicinsights.com.au www.ruralwateradvisory.com.au