Sustainability programs implemented by Council include the Cities for Cleaner Climate Protection program, Waterwise program and a Corporate Environmental Management System. The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program is an initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Currently 218 local governments in Australia have joined this global campaign to reduce emissions that cause global warming and air pollution. CCP will help Council demonstrate to residents, local businesses and stakeholders that effective greenhouse management makes good environmental and economical sense.
CCP requires participating local governments to complete a five milestone framework:
- Establish a baseline year and a forecast year for both the Corporate and Community sectors;
- Set an emissions reduction goal for each sector;
- Develop and adopt an emissions reduction strategy – the Local Action Plan;
- Implement the Local Action Plan; and
- Monitor and report on the implementation of the Local Action Plan.
Council has achieved a number of milestone in the program, including the development of the Local Action Plan. The Local Action Plan sets out existing greenhouse reduction actions that Council is undertaking, and describes the actions that Council are keen to adopt in the future. Actions that Council is already implementing include:
- Timers on the administration building lights and air-conditioning that enable these to automatically switch off out of business hours;
- Purchasing GreenPower for the administration building;
- Installing waterless urinals in the administration building;
- Recycling of paper in Council buildings;
- Turning green waste into mulch;
- Giving away more than 5000 trees per annum to residential ratepayers; and
- Supporting community projects that aim to educate and assist households to reduce their energy consumption.
Helpful Links
Water efficiency
Water ratings - advice on the Water Efficiency and Labelling Standards (WELS) scheme
Queensland Urban Utilities - water distributor/retailer for Scenic Rim region
Seqwater - bulk water supplier for South East Queensland
Department of Energy and Water Supply - Queensland Government agency
Energy efficiency
Energy ratings - advice on energy efficient appliances
Energex - South East Queensland electricity supplier
Department of Energy and Water Supply - Queensland Government agency
Climate change
Green power - advice on renewable energy solutions
Department of Environment and Energy - Commonwealth Government agency