Our journey
What council has achieved in the past in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability
Bayside Council is committed to improving its energy efficiency and broader sustainability as well as supporting the community to achieve gains in these areas. As an active participant in the Southern Sydney Regional organisation of Councils Renewable Energy Master Plan. Bayside Council has committed to achieve a renewable energy target of 30% of Council’s and the communities energy use coming from renewable sources by 2030.
Council is involved in several projects to improve sustainability including;
- 323 kWs of solar installed on five Council facilities
- Planting 850 trees across the the local government area, as well as 4,000 seedlings in bushland reserves as part of the NSW Government’s 5 Million Trees program
- Providing free information and advice to residents and businesses regarding energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies and preferred suppliers (through the SSROC Our Energy Future (OEF) program)
- Working with Ausgrid to progressively upgrade streetlights to LEDs
- Retrofitting our administration building with LEDs, virtual desktops and an offsite cloud server
- A sustainable procurement policy and alternative travel policy allowing staff to purchase a bicycle via salary sacrifice, for riding to work
- Supplying discounted compost bins to residents and running composting and worm farming workshops for residents and schools
- Operating four community gardens within the LGA
- A popular community environmental program consisting of free monthly talks, workshops and tours
- A growing bushcare program with five active groups and 65 volunteers
What council hopes to achieve in the future in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability
Besides several programs to increase our solar installations, improve street lighting and fleet efficiency in 2018 and beyond, Bayside Council is looking at ways to expand our bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and connect our communities to key open space, residential, education, commercial and employment destinations. Providing access to open and green space is a priority for Bayside Council, and we hope to expand on this by greening our streets with native tree and shrub planting programs and with innovative water management options such as raingardens to shape the landscape our streets and develop an eco-sensitive character to our emerging precincts.
What council hopes to gain from being a member of the Cities Power Partnership
Council hopes to learn from other councils as well as share our own knowledge on making a real difference to climate change through working with the local community.