Sustaining our environment

Looking up to a blue sky through narrow tall trees

Our Environment Strategy (PDF, 621KB)outlines our response to environmental issues and the influence we can have. 

The role of local government in the management of the environment involves natural resource management, community education, greenhouse gas abatement, climate change adaptation and in the planning system.

We embrace our role at a local level to ensure sustainable practices and have a responsibility to:

  • Operate as a business to deliver community and infrastructure services
  • Manage Council and public assets
  • Regulate development
  • Act as a leader, advocate and educator for greener living.

We have also developed a Greenhouse Action Plan(PDF, 2MB) through the Cities for Climate Protection program, which involves the completion of five milestones:

  1. Conduct an inventory and forecast for Community and Corporate (Council) greenhouse gas emissions;
  2. Establish an emissions reduction goal
  3. Develop and adopt a Local Action Plan
  4. Implement the Local Action Plan
  5. Monitor and report on implementation of the Local Action Plan.

We successfully completed the first two milestones with the formal adoption of an Emissions Reduction Goal of 20 per cent reduction in corporate emissions on 2005-2006 levels by 2015-2016, and a 20 per cent reduction in community emissions on 2005-2006 levels by 2015-2016.

We have already achieved many significant gains in addressing climate change in relation to managing public assets. These include:

  • The development and ongoing implementation of a Sustainable Water Use Plan
  • An inventory of streetlights that has identified dayburning lights
  • Ongoing action to seek funding to improve and upgrade assets
  • Provision of support to community groups who manage Council assets
  • Ongoing improvement and upgrading of assets through the capital works program.

 

 

 

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