What council has achieved in the past in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability

The City of Cockburn has been taking action on climate change for 20 years.

• Cockburn currently holds the largest inventory of solar photovoltaic systems for Local Government in Western Australia, having installed over 1500kW on its buildings.
• The City recently exceeded its 2020 renewable energy target and currently generates 26 percent of energy for council facilities from solar power. Other renewable energy systems include geothermal pool heating at the City’s Aquatic and Recreation Facility and methane gas extraction at Henderson Waste Recovery Park.
• Cockburn has maintained a Zero Emissions Fleet since 2011 by offsetting the emissions with carbon credits generated from biodiverse tree planting projects in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt.
• Since 2011 the City has sustained a revolving ‘greenhouse action fund’ using savings from previous emission reduction initiatives. To date this fund has allocated over $2 million towards energy saving projects including a 1 mega watt solar PV system on the Cockburn Aquatic and Recreation Centre.
• There are four electric vehicle charging stations located at Council facilities across the municipality.
• The annual State of Sustainability reports provide a balanced representation on the City’s sustainability performance.
• Cockburn has been recognised as a Waterwise Gold Council by the Western Australian Water Corporation.
• The City hosts a Sustainability Internship every semester to provide opportunities for local university students.
• The sustainability grant program has funded 143 local projects in the Cockburn community for local schools, collective households, not-for-profit and small business.
• The annual Sustainable Living Event series offers over 100 workshops and events each year to inspire, educate and empower our community including guided indigenous walks, sustainable business workshops and the Get Wild About Wetlands school holiday program.

What council hopes to achieve in the future in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability.

The City’s Climate Change Strategy 2020-2030 outlines a ‘resilience roadmap’ with aspirational targets to achieve carbon neutrality and build the City’s adaptive capacity. The 14 objectives of the ‘resilience roadmap’ are:

1. Strong Leadership
2. Net zero emissions
3. Zero non-hazardous waste to landfill
4. 100% renewable energy
5. Reduce energy consumption
6. Smart city innovation
7. Zero Emissions fleet
8. Education and Collaboration
9. Waterwise City
10. Conserve biodiversity
11. Coastal adaptation
12. Increase the urban forest
13. Protect community infrastructure
14. Enhance health and wellbeing

Some of the actions in the plan include:

• Diverting 100 per cent of non-hazardous waste from landfill by 2030.
• Increasing our renewable energy target and transitioning towards locally-produced electricity from renewable resources in all major facilities.
• Allocating three per cent of the budget for all new Council buildings (over $1 million in value) towards innovative Environmentally Sustainable Design.
• Exploring innovative ways to utilise renewable energy technology to establish a local network of energy generators and micro grids.
• Investigating the feasibility of developing a renewable energy park on capped landfill cells.
• Rolling out energy efficient street lighting across the municipality.
• Exploring the viability of technology (such as electric hybrids and hydrogen cells) to reduce emissions from the City’s fleet.
• Diverting household waste to the energy from waste facility in East Rockingham.

What council hopes to gain from being a member of the Cities Power Partnership.

The Cities Power Partnership provides a great opportunity to collaborate with other local governments to create a more sustainable future. By joining the Cities Power Partnership we hope to contribute our experience to the national knowledge hub and to be inspired by other members in the power partnership.