City of Melbourne
Is a Power Partner
“City of Melbourne looks forward to collaborating and sharing knowledge with other local governments through the Cities Power Partnership. We have a strong track record of taking action on climate change, such as reducing emissions from our operations by more than 50 per cent in just six years, but we acknowledge more needs to be done. We are striving to achieve similar outcomes across the municipality by working with business, residents and other levels of government.”
WINNER - Renewable Energy Achievement Award 2020
The City of Melbourne’s Melbourne Renewable Energy Project 2 united a buying group of seven large energy users to collectively buy renewable energy. The deal is enabled 14 shopping centres, 9 office buildings, 7 educational campuses, and 4 manufacturing facilities to be powered by 100% renewable energy. The project will reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 123,000 tonnes a year, that’s the equivalent of taking more than 28,000 cars off the road every year.
Council has chosen the following pledges
Renewable Energy
Facilitate large energy users collectively tendering and purchasing renewable energy at a low cost.
Energy Efficiency
Set minimum energy efficiency benchmarks for all planning applications.
Renewable Energy
Power council operations by renewable energy, and set targets to increase the level of renewable power for council operations over time.
Work Together and Influence
Lobby state and federal government to address barriers to the take up of renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or sustainable transport.
Work Together and Influence
Develop procurement policy to ensure that the practices of contractors and financers align with council’s renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport goals.
City of Melbourne
What council has achieved in the past in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability
City of Melbourne has a strong record of reducing emissions and restoring and conserving biodiversity. We have:
- been certified carbon neutral for our operations every year since 2012
- cut emissions from our council operations by 53 per cent since 2013
- purchased 100 per cent renewable energy through the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project
- switched our major events such as Melbourne Fashion Week, Melbourne Music Week and Melbourne Knowledge Week to be certified carbon neutral
- planted 3000 trees a year to grow our urban forest, with over 22,000 trees planted since 2012
- invested $40 million in stormwater harvesting and water sensitive design, capturing and reusing around 180,000 kilolitres of water per year.
- invested $17.1 million of Clean Energy Finance Corporation funds in energy efficiency and renewable energy, including 2244 solar panels installed and 11,816 street lights
- increased biodiversity with 16,000 m2 of new understorey vegetation planted in Melbourne since 2018, providing habitat for our wildlife
- greened the city and increased permeability by over 3500 m2 through park expansion and streetscapes projects
- accelerated waste avoidance and resource recovery through centralised garbage and recycling hubs across the city
- What council hopes to achieve in the future in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability
What council hopes to achieve in the future in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability
To support our climate and biodiversity emergency declaration, we have committed to reaching Council’s zero emissions target for the municipality 10 years earlier, by 2040. In order to do this we have identified 10 priorities for accelerated action, based on the areas we can make the most impact.
- Transition council operations from fossil fuels
- Fast track the delivery of 44km of protected bike lanes in four years
- Stimulate circular economy solutions for waste
- Embed climate change and biodiversity action into everything we do
- Mandate greening and zero emissions buildings through the Planning Scheme
- Accelerate renewable energy purchasing by businesses and residents
- Investigate providing rates incentives fro energy efficient buildings
- Build a business coalition to advance the clean and circular economy
- Tell Melbourne’s climate change and biodiversity story; what does climate change mean for our city?
- Undertake bold advocacy on behalf of our community
What council hopes to gain from being a member of the Cities Power Partnership
The City of Melbourne believes in the power of coming together. We realise the climate emergency we are facing requires urgent and collective action. Together with our colleagues in the Cities Power Partnership we can lead and inspire ambitious and rapid climate change action among our residents, community organisations, businesses, investors and all levels of government in Australia and around the world.