Brisbane City Council
Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Community
- Commissioned the Climate Change and Energy Taskforce to provide a report outlining a range of recommendations for Council to adopt to achieve a carbon neutral Brisbane and measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. These recommendations are currently before Council for consideration.
- Launched the Sustainable Development Incentives Program, which includes a grants scheme to encourage energy and water efficiency features in office blocks.
- Launched the O2 initiative - large scale tree planting across Brisbane and South East Queensland to provide a carbon sink, as well as to improve the condition of the waterways, in turn helping to reduce the environmental impacts on Moreton Bay
- The success of the Watersense 'Blue Van', which has focused on water use to date, will be expanded to include energy use and waste. This is a mobile unit providing information to residents and products at cost, aiming to effect behavioural change. So far it has proven to be an effective means of raising community awareness around water usage.
- Successfully lobbied Queensland State government to regulate greenhouse efficient hot water heaters, efficient lighting and AAA water efficient showerheads for new homes.
- Preparation of 'Sustainable Home Checklists' for units and houses that provide a valuable resource for residents buying, building or renovating their homes.
- Expansion of the types of recyclables that can be collected through Council's kerbside recycling program.
- Commenced biennial Council kerbside green waste collection program.
- Revegetation of cleared areas and protection of existing vegetation (through various programs including Vegetation Protection Orders, Local Laws, Voluntary Conservation Agreements and Land for Wildlife) to reduce the rate of land clearing in Brisbane.
- Funding of a Centre for Subtropical Design Centre to provide expert energy efficiency design advice to industry.
Travel
- Ongoing purchase of new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered buses and replacement of diesel buses with CNG buses, providing greenhouse savings and air quality benefits.
- Purchase of 52 hybrid electric cars for use in Council's vehicle fleet.
- Implementation of vehicle acquisition policies stipulating energy efficiency and vehicle emissions requirements for Council's vehicle fleet.
- Conducted 'Travel Behaviour Change Program' which aimed to find tailored solutions to the travel needs of residents within focus suburbs.
- Continued upgrading and expansion of 550 kilometres of bikeway network (bicycle paths and road lanes), including installing new bike parking, signage and lighting.
- Developed and implemented, with Queensland Transport and Queensland Rail, an integrated public transport ticketing system for south-east Queensland.
Corporate
- Annual purchase of 5 per cent green power for Council owned and operated facilities.
- Traffic signals have been converted to use light emitting diodes (LED), which use much less energy than conventional incandescent traffic lights and also reduce maintenance costs due to longer light life.
- Trial of energy efficient street lighting is underway, which will reduce energy use by 15 per cent.
- Influenced design brief of Brisbane Square (new head-office building) to include state-of-the-art energy and water efficiency features.
- Implementation of the Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) over a total of 73 sites. As part of the project a total of $2.1 million dollars was invested in energy and water efficiency upgrades and achieved a 6-year payback on all investments in energy and water efficiency.
- Generation and use of renewable energy by operation of co-generation plants at Luggage Point and Oxley Creek Water Reuse Plants.
- Generation of renewable energy by operation of two landfill-gas to electricity plants at the Rochedale and Roghan Rd landfill sites and gas collection and flaring at other sites.
- Installed CAMBI biosolids treatment process onto the wastewater digester at Oxley Creek, thereby improving the production of methane as a renewable fuel and reducing the volume of biosolids to be disposed of.
- Implementation of internal waste minimisation plan for reducing Councils waste generation.
- Conducted an E-waste collection trial, collecting 50 tonnes of old computers, tv's, dvd's. Also conduct a 'Mobile Muster' for old mobile phones. Metal and plastic components are recycled.
- Leasing of a new concrete recycling plant to take waste from the construction and demolition industry.
- Facilitated the development of a new Association of Demolishers, Recyclers and Asbestos Contractors and developing guidelines for deconstruction of buildings rather than demolition. Fostering new industry codes of practice based on resource value rather then waste as a liability.
- Implementation of sustainable procurement policy including the requirement to purchase recycled office paper.
Future greenhouse abatement actions
- New actions to result from Climate Change Task Force recommendations, currently before Council for approval.
- Designing a second Council building with state-of-the-art energy and water efficiency features in Fortitude Valley.
- Continued replacement of diesel buses with new CNG buses each financial year.
- Seeking to purchase a hybrid electric/diesel truck for trial
- Commissioning of 1MW landfill gas to energy plant at Bacton Road landfill.
- Continued investigation of opportunities for installing landfill gas to electricity plants at Council's remaining closed landfills.
- Joint venture development between Brisbane City Council and Prime Development of an eco-industrial complex 'Trade Coast Central'. This development will incorporate an Ecologically Sustainable Design Code that will reduce the demand on infrastructure services in the area.
More information
Contact: Barbara Downs
Web Address: www.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Updated: April 2007
CCP Facts
State: Queensland
Date joined:
1998
Current Milestone:
CCP Plus
Sustainable development, Brisbane square
Credit: Brisbane City Council
Sustainable home checklist booklet
Credit: Brisbane City Council