Penrith City Council
The CCP program has provided Penrith City Council with the framework, impetus and on-going support to enable us to make significant reductions in our own, and the City's greenhouse gas emissions. We have notched up successes, identified room for improvement and gained experience and knowledge for continued action.
A word from the Mayor
Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Community
- Energy Home Rating Tool
Council has piloted the Energy Home Rating Tool for DEUS over three months. The tool provides a 'star' rating for homes based on the previous 12 months electricity bills, and compares the home's energy use with the NSW average to provide the star rating. During the pilot, Penrith City residents were able to receive personalised in-home energy audits or undertake an on-line rating through the Energy Smart Home Rating website. To assist, Council also developed a supporting program involving parents from three local playgroups and a partnership with the Penrith Tenants Association through the establishment of an energy efficiency Welcome Kit for new tenants. It is estimated that the pilot resulted in a reduction of 550 Lifetime tonnes of CO2 (LTT) in Penrith City, a saving of $350,000 in energy costs over the next 10 years. - Sustainability Street
Council has launched a Sustainability Street which is a targeted community program with a focus on greenhouse gas reduction. This program has already been run with four streets within Penrith City, including the SRC at Blackwell Public School, St Clair. This program involves a series of workshops, covering the key sustainability areas of water, waste and energy. The program is aimed at fostering behavioural change and improving energy habits, with participants committing to reduce emissions this year by 30 per cent. Climate change related topics covered included household and transport emissions, saving and offsetting emissions, conducting energy audits and setting reduction targets. Also, a Train the Trainer component built capacity of eight Council educators and the program is expanding to a further four streets. - Solar Challenge
Penrith City Council partnered with Roland DG to hold the 2006 Solar Boat Challenge. This event was open to primary and secondary schools students to compete in both piloted and model solar boats and provided an excellent opportunity for local schools to get involved and actively learn more about solar energy and design. - Local Government Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Project
Council has recently signed up with the NSW Local Government and Shires Association to participate in this project which is seeking to build on Council's existing greenhouse programs and develop a 'Council Climate Change Action Pack' to guide policies and programs and ensure they are informed, relevant and achievable. - Ecosmart
Council participated in a partnership program with the commercial organisation, Ecosmart. The program involved ten local businesses having an energy audit undertaken on their business in 2006. The audit identified areas to reduce energy wastage and greenhouse gas emissions. Individual audit reports were provided to the businesses for implementation and one on one education was undertaken with the business owners during the audit process. - Origin Energy Light Globe Giveaway
Council in conjunction with Origin Energy has undertaken a light globe giveaway to local residents. This saw 17,235 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions abated from the giveaway. - Sustainability Index Survey
As an incentive for completing a Sustainability Index Survey compact fluorescent bulbs were given away. The bulb giveaway and survey was a Sustainable Penrith Initiative to gauge community views on how we can achieve a healthy future for the city. - Community Pledge
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs will be given away at Council's Open Day for 2005 to people who pledge to reduce their ecological footprint. The community pledge includes actions to reduce resident's energy use and waste generated in the home. People who pledge their names will also be published in a full-page advertisement in the local newspaper.
Travel
- Trailing of alternative fuel vehicles
Council purchased a hybrid Toyota Prius in February 2003. Council also trailed Ford's dedicated LPG Falcon as part of its CCP initiatives, saving two tonnes of greenhouse gases and leased 6, four-cylinder fleet cars instead of six-cylinder cars, saving five tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. - Sustainability requirements in Council's fleet tender
Council has introduced Sustainability requirements in Council's fleet tender including safety, vehicle fuel efficiency and fuel technology. This has lead to approximately 45% of the Council vehicle fleet converted to 4 cylinder vehicles. - Piloting CCP Plus Sustainable Transport Checklist.
Corporate
- Energy Performance Contract (EPC)
Council has undertaken an EPC with Siemens Building Technologies, in March 2003. The contract was established to optimise the energy efficiency of existing systems and to install new equipment or systems in Council's the Civic Centre and the Queen Street Centre. The upgrades have included the installation of low flow taps and toilet cisterns, improved air-conditioning controls and energy-efficient lighting. In the first six months, the contract led to $89,356 savings in electricity and water costs and a 680 tonnes reduction in CO2, with energy savings of more than $2 million to be made over the next 15 years. - Developed a Sustainability Revolving Fund (SRF)
Council's decision to fund the EPC by way of an internal loan, with annual financial savings to be used to repay the loan, presented an excellent opportunity to establish the SRF. The concept of the Fund is to secure a funding source that can finance projects, which deliver sustainability objectives such as energy and resource conservation, with the captured savings made from these initiatives reinvested in the Fund to provide funding for future sustainability projects. This has also included developing Sustainability Revolving Fund (SRF) Guidelines for future sustainability projects and a Data Management System to track efficiencies, cost savings and facilitate reporting. - Purchasing a percentage GreenPower for our minor sites
In November 2003, Council negotiated new Electricity Supply Agreements with Energy Australia for all its minor sites, such as children's services centres, neighbourhood and community centres. The new contract consolidated individual contracts for these buildings into the one agreement and resulted in considerable cost savings. To support its emission reduction goal, Council chose to spend the savings on purchasing a percentage of GreenPower for all sites covered under the new contract. This has reduced Council's greenhouse gas emissions by 956.4 tonnes since 2003 to 2005/06 financial year. - Installed Energy Efficient Lighting
New energy efficient lighting at Judges Place Car Park in Penrith have been installed. This involved replacing the light fittings and installing a Clipsal energy controller, saving between 25-30 per cent in energy costs and 20 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. - IT energy reductions
Council's IT department has saved the organisation 287 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in the past year. It replaced the mainframe computer with less 53 servers, 60 desktop computers with more energy efficient notebooks and enabled energy star on all office computers. - Employed a Sustainable Design Advisor
Council employed a Sustainable Design Advisor to assess Councils existing assets and make recommendations for improved efficiency, developing improved design briefs to ensure the sustainable design of future assets. - Piloted CCP Plus Organisational Review
This was undertaken via a series of checklists focusing on 10 key areas, which have been identified as levers to assist in greenhouse action, to gauge and improve Council's organisational response to the CCP program. - Sustainable Building Checklist
Developed Sustainable Building Checklist for commercial areas that enforce minimum energy performance standards. - Installation of Solar HWS (Hot Water System)
Installed 31 Solar HWS across Council owned facilities. - Greenhouse Purchasing Action Plan and Policies
Developed a green purchasing policy and guidelines that incorporate energy efficiency objectives and standards for materials and products.
Future greenhouse abatement actions
- Producing an Energy Saving Action Plan for out top 10 energy sites and implementing actions identified in the plan.
- Investigating the expansion of the EPC to other Council owned facilities.
- Developing and internal Workplace Travel Plan to reduce car dependence from staff.
- Developing a sustainable Events policy and guidelines.
More information
Contact: Krystie Race, Sustainability Research Planner
Web Address: www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au
Updated: April 2007
CCP Facts
State: New South Wales
Date joined:
February 2000
Current Milestone:
CCP Plus
Prius
Credit: Penrith City Council
Library lights
Credit: Penrith City Council