Becoming a zero-net emissions organisation

Council has endorsed the organisational zero-net emissions plan. This plan provides a roadmap on how we are to meet our target to be a zero-net emissions organisation by 2041. 

Why are we taking a zero-net emissions approach? 

Our aim in taking a zero-net emissions approach is to meet the Paris Agreement to keep temperature increases to within 2 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels.

Zero-net emissions means an achieved balance between the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced and the GHG emissions removed from the atmosphere. This is achieved by reducing GHG emissions from council's activities through a range of actions. After implementing all the actions to reduce as much greenhouse gas emissions as possible the remaining emissions are then managed through purchasing good quality carbon offsets or credits.

How are we going to reduce our organisational emissions?

The organisational zero-net emissions plan (PDF, 4.6MB) provides a framework to implement emission reduction under 6 key focus areas:

1. Governance and Culture Change
2. Waste
3. Electricity
4. Transport
5. Supply Chain
6. Buildings and Infrastructure.

The key focus areas are based on the major emission sources that currently contribute to council’s organisational greenhouse gas footprint.

Measuring our performance

Council has been measuring its performance on environmental sustainability and reports on it annually through the organisational environmental sustainability benchmarking report. The report shows trends and changes by comparing this year's performance against previous years and from a baseline. It helps to monitor our journey to reduce council's greenhouse gas emissions, a key performance measure in the Corporate Plan 2022-2026.