As Host City of the ICLEI Oceania Regional Secretariat, the City of Melbourne plays an important role in informing and engaging with cities around Australia and the world on its projects and programs designed to build a sustainable city.

The 1200 Buildings program to retrofit existing buildings, CitySwitch in support of business to be more energy efficient and Sustainable Strata with a focus on the managers and owners of residential apartments underpin the Council’s policy settings of Zero Net Emissions and Total Water Mark and the vision to be a sustainable city.

Ageing, poorly designed buildings with resource hungry tenants represent the biggest opportunity to reduce environmental impact in our urban centres. The City of Melbourne’s recognises the long term effort required to transition Melbourne’s buildings and resources three ten year initiatives to capture the opportunities:

1200 Buildings

Launched in 2010 to support commercial building owners, the first three years of this program is dedicated to understanding who Melbourne’s building owners are and what drives their decision making. Dedicated resources have been developed for audiences that influence decision making; from facility managers to lawyers, to convey the value of improving build assets. A service delivery model is being rolled out to move building owners through stages of understanding, commitment and action.

To address one of the significant barriers for building owners (particularly owners of B-C grade buildings) City of Melbourne uses it statutory power to enable Environmental Upgrade Agreement to be signed between building owner financiers and councils – lower cost private finance over longer terms flows to building owners and is repaid through an Environmental Upgrade Charge levied on the building. Four deals have been signed to date. The City’s focus is currently on facilitating opportunities between building owners and tenants to share the opportunity to improve their built environment.

For further information visit:

www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/1200Buildings/Pages/Home.aspx

Tenants have a significant influence on the performance of Melbourne’s commercial buildings. The CitySwitch program continues to grow in breadth and depth. CitySwitch supports businesses to achieve energy efficiency savings to impact their bottom line and the amount of energy consumed in our city. Since March 2012, 40 new tenancies representing 55,000m² of office space have joined the program. This has grown the membership to a total of 149 tenancies representing around 350,000m² of floor space.

In 2012, CitySwitch in Victoria will report an emissions saving of 12,794 tonnes, importantly this means that the program delivers carbon abatement for only $13 per tonne.

The CitySwitch National Steering Committee is chaired by City of Sydney and includes the Cities of Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth with the Committee for Capital City Lord Mayors. In Victoria, City of Melbourne coordinates efforts with the cities of Yarra and Port Phillip to support tenants across inner Melbourne. From July 1 this year CitySwitch became available to any commercial office business in Victoria and there has been significant interest in many suburban and regional areas.

For further information visit: www.cityswitch.net.au

More than 70 per cent of City of Melbourne’s residents live in apartments and each year, apartment living contributes to:

• 22 per cent of the city’s water usage
• nine per cent of greenhouse gas emissions
• more than 14,000 tonnes of waste.

The City of Melbourne, in partnership with Strata Community Australia (SCA), City of Sydney, Green Strata and Owners Corporation Network, is developing a national energy efficiency education program for apartment owners and managers. This project – Sustainable Strata – was recently successful in securing $1.09m from the Commonwealth Government’s Energy Efficiency Information Grants program.

Councils interested in particpating in the project are encouraged to contact Chloe Knowles, Strata Community Australia at 03 9416 4688 or chloe.knowles@stratacommunity.org.au

For further information visit: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/WhatCanIDo/Pages/SustainableLivingintheCity.aspx

Between July 2012 and December 2013, the City of Melbourne will be reviewing and updating its Zero Net Emissions by 2020 (ZNE)  and Total Water Mark – City as a Catchment (TWM) strategies. These strategies form key elements of the objectives, targets and implementation of our vision for a sustainable city.

The Zero Net Emissions by 2020 strategy was last updated in 2008 and outlines City of Melbourne's commitment to achieving zero net emissions for the municipality of Melbourne by 2020. This document details the emissions profile of Melbourne and key focus areas for emission reduction.

By reviewing Zero Net Emissions by 2020, we will outline a plan which:

• is accessible and easy to understand
• is supported by the City’s key stakeholders
• identifies ambitious, measurable and cost-effective ways of achieving zero net emissions in Melbourne by 2020.

The Total Water Mark – City as a Catchment  strategy, last updated in April 2009, outlines the City of Melbourne approach to practising total water-cycle management, and our goal to become a water sensitive city. This strategy adopts a sustainable water management hierarchy incorporating water supply within and beyond the local catchment. 

By reviewing Total Water Mark we will outline a plan which:

• is accessible and easy to understand 
• builds on existing knowledge and successes
• is supported by the City’s key stakeholders
• addresses water conservation, health, climate change adaptation, liveability, water quality and water security in an integrated way. 

Over the coming months the City of Melbourne will discuss this vision with key stakeholders in order to define a clear vision for success for the city, and we will work with our businesses and community to turn the vision into reality.