CCP Australia – APRIL/MAY 2008

Ararat Rural City was one of three municipalities selected for participation in ICLEI Oceania's Energise Business project in 2007/08.

The project is an initiative of the Victorian Government's Greenhouse Strategy and is delivered by ICLEI Oceania.

Visit the Outstanding Council Initiative page on the CCP Australia website to read the full story about the latest winner.
 

Does your council have the leading edge on greenhouse abatement?

Formerly known as the 'Initiative of the Month' the Outstanding Council Initiative award goes to a council who has implemented an innovative greenhouse initiative or project.

Initiatives will be featured bi-monthly, coinciding with the publication of the online CCP Bulletin.

If you think your council has implemented an innovative greenhouse initiative or project, or has perhaps created an innovative process for its implementation, you can complete the Case Study and Outstanding Initiative nomination form and return it to your CCP State or Territory Manager.

A Sustainable Transport Forum, attended by representatives from 21 local governments, was held in New South Wales on Wednesday 2 April.

With six speakers from academic, professional and government sectors, the forum was very well received by attendees who were also given the opportunity to network and pose questions to the speakers during a panel session.

The forum was followed by an afternoon of workshops for the nine councils in NSW currently participating in the CCP Sustainable transport Project.

For more information about the event, and access to the speaker presentations and workshop outcomes, please visit the Sustainable Transport project webpages.

The Shire of Yarra Ranges is planning to introduce LPG fuel systems across its fleet of diesel trucks resulting in anticipated reductions in greenhouse emissions of 30%, based on a council trial with one vehicle.

The switch will also lead to a 15% reduction in fleet operating costs giving savings of approximately $22,000 and 43 tonnes CO₂e over six years.

This is just one measure that Council is implementing in an effort to meet its commitment to become carbon neutral by the end of 2008.

On average, transport emissions constitute 11% of CCP councils’ total corporate emissions, with many councils at 15% and above. Other councils across Australia are making concerted efforts to tackle their fleet emissions.

Maribyrnong City Council in Victoria aims to cut oil use by 50% by 2025, with annual goals of 3%. Brisbane City Council has the same target by 2026.

Marrickville Council in New South Wales is to adopt the Oil Depletion Protocol and achieve reductions in oil use of 3% per annum.

Importantly, while not generally the highest emitting sector, transport is the second highest cost sector for CCP councils.

There are significant gains to be made in the transport sector with multiple benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, financial savings, health, social equity, inclusion and well-being, congestion and liveability.

For further information on the kinds of action that local governments can take, please see the Sustainable Transport project webpages or email the Sustainable Transport Manager.

March was a month of reinvigoration for the CCP Sustainable Purchasing Project in Western Australia. Seven councils attended a project workshop on 13 March, along with four representatives from the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA).

Councils shared the sustainable purchasing actions they have been implementing over the last year. This included the purchase of printers with duplex printing capabilities at the Town of Cambridge, biodegradable cups at the City of Belmont and biodiesel for the council fleet at the City of Gosnells.

Councils spoke about how to gain management support for sustainable purchasing by integrating sustainable purchasing into existing policies and plans.

The value of having a green purchasing team was also discussed, as well as how to successfully communicate across council and the wider community the value of thinking green when it comes to procurement.

A highlight of the workshop was a presentation by Darren Turner, Tender Bureau Services Manager at WALGA. Darren explained how to successfully use environmental criteria in tenders with an illustrative analogy on how price is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when you consider the total cost of product ownership.

The workshop was a fantastic opportunity for councils to network and it was particularly great to have so many purchasing and contracts staff participate.

For more information on the project, including a copy of Darren Turner's presentation, visit the Sustainable Purchasing project webpages.

Three CCP participants have collaborated to launch the first Sustainability Demonstration House in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Randwick, Woollahra and Waverley Councils, which formed a three-council Regional Alliance to reduce the eastern suburbs’ ecological footprint, will be retrofitting the former house of Australian film pioneer, Franklyn Barrett, with practical examples of how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

The Sustainability Demonstration House is one of the projects made possible by the Urban Sustainability Grant provided by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC).

The Mayor of Randwick, Cr Bruce Notley-Smith said Barrett House, located in Randwick, will be the sustainable house of the future, showcasing ideas for anyone looking for eco-friendly solutions on the domestic-front.

"It is hoped that people visiting the house will use some of the ideas on show in their own homes and help reduce the ecological footprint of the eastern suburbs, which is the main premise behind the house's conversion," said Cr Notley-Smith.

Respected sustainability coach Michael Mobbs led a project team which worked on designs to retrofit Barrett House to make it more environmentally-friendly, all within a household budget of $15,000.

For more information visit the Randwick City Council website.

The newly formed Cairns Regional Council has demonstrated how collaborative partnerships can result in enhanced greenhouse gas reductions and effective community awareness on the issue of climate change.

Council delivered a successful and effective Earth Hour campaign in collaboration with a variety of local stakeholders.

In addition to encouraging residents and businesses to switch of their lights, Council staged an Earth Hour event that featured a film, locally sourced food and native tree giveaways.

All energy used during the event was offset.

Key stakeholders included:

• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which sponsored the event
• Ergon Energy, which installed two Earth Hour billboards
• The Cairns Post, which sponsored a two-week advertising campaign for Earth Hour and Council's event
• Lincolne Scott Consultants, which purchased the offsets to make the movie event carbon neutral.

A multi stakeholder approach meant Council could achieve more in a short amount of time, as well as increasing its potential audience and opportunities for success.

In addition, as Ergon Energy was a key stakeholder, Council was able to quantify the electricity consumption reductions, which were between 7-10%, equating to around 10 megawatts of energy. This saving will contribute to Council’s greenhouse gas reduction target.

Maree Grenfell, Carins Regional Council’s Sustainability Officer, stated, “As a committee we planned the collaborative event and discovered the synergies we all share in greenhouse gas reduction and community climate change awareness. We are looking forward to working together on future projects.”

Council's event was very successful in terms of community awareness, demonstrated by carbon footprint pledges displayed publicly and the large turnout for the film screening.

The City of Ballarat is in the final stages of converting their diesel fleet to biodiesel in to achieve a quantifiable reduction in exhaust emissions. It has been an exciting project that has contributed many benefits to Council including fuel cost and emission savings.

It has also provided an opportunity to show leadership to the community on the issue of energy management and reduction, with Council engaging in a comprehensive media campaign that included decals on vehicles, newspaper and local radio and television coverage.

Through Council's comprehensive Environment Sustainability Strategy, Ballarat has identified vehicle exhaust emissions as a contributing factor to air quality. Actions identified from this plan include the use of biodiesel for Council’s fleet and to investigate alternative fuel technologies as they arise.

Council's implementation plan included testing of the participating vehicles, which gave it the confidence to convert, where possible, the remaining heavy-vehicle fleet.

This project has also strengthen relationships between Council’s Fleet Management staff and Sustainability staff as well as providing a social, economic and environmental benefit to the City of Ballart.

Biodiesel can have substantial life-cycle impacts, depending on the feedstock and production method. Councils that are using or planning to use biodiesel are strongly encouraged to research the right biodiesel and biodiesel supplier for them.

A good place to start is ICLEI Oceania’s report, Biodiesel in Australia: Benefits, Issues and Opportunities for Local Government Uptake, which includes technical information on the production, characteristics and operational properties of biodiesel. The report can be downloaded from the Biodiesel Research Project Project webpage.