Greater Shepparton City Council’s vision to be certified Net Zero Emissions by the year 2030 is one step closer, following the adoption of a 2030 Zero Emissions Plan at the December Council Meeting.
The plan outlines the key areas Council will focus on to transition to net zero emissions by the proposed date, and the actions it will undertake to reach the target for all its operations and services.
In creating the plan, Council staff identified a total of 63 actions for implementation which will ensure the 2030 target is reached. These actions, which fall under seven themes, are listed in the Implementation Plan with each identifying responsible teams, indicative budget, resource intensity and timelines for implementation.
The seven themes identified to guide emissions reduction activities are Zero Emission Facilities, Fleet and Plant, Towards Zero Waste to Landfill, Goods and Services, Governance, Our Council and Carbon Sequestration.
Mayor, Cr Kim O’Keeffe said Council had already reduced its emissions by 23 per cent from 2018/2019 levels due to the implementation for the VECO renewable electricity contract, which has the added benefit of lower costs than purchasing fossil fuel generated electricity.
“Council has also incorporated electric vehicles into its passenger pool fleet, installed over 500kw of solar panels on Council facilities, and replaced street lighting with energy efficient globes” she said.
Cr O’Keeffe said Council staff had identified both challenges and opportunities with reducing emissions. Current challenges include switching to low carbon fuels for our heavy fleet, reducing landfill emissions and procuring low-emission goods.
“Despite the challenges there are many opportunities including reduced health impacts from fossil fuel pollution, reduced waste, reduced long-term operational costs of buildings and fleet including future costs of carbon offsets, reduced impacts of climate change on our community and industry, and sharing learnings with our community” she said.
“Council look forward to implementing the actions included in the 2030 Zero Emissions Plan and doing our part to reach this important goal for the ongoing prosperity, health and wellbeing of our region.”
