Our journey
What council has achieved in the past in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability?
Council has spent the last couple of years developing its Low Carbon Livingstone 2030: A Strategy to Reduce Livingstone Shire Council’s Carbon Footprint, based on a previous carbon audit which identified Council’s carbon footprint. The Strategy provides a roadmap for how the organisation will reduce its carbon emissions by 30% (based on 2014-15 figures) by 2030. Council has also been busy formalising a position on climate change through the development of a governance framework on the topic. Otherwise the main achievements for Council in this space have been the installation of solar lights in the Yeppoon foreshore precinct and in the Smart City precinct in the Yeppoon CBD, installation of Solar PV on the main commercial building in the Yeppoon Foreshore precinct, the ecologically sustainably designed Centre of Excellence for Disaster Management, Innovation and Community Resilience (The Hub), the development of the Sustainable Living(stone) programme, including holding the inaugural Sustainable Living(stone) Expo and some awareness raising and behavioural change within the organisation regarding energy efficiency.
What council hopes to achieve in the future in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport or broader sustainability?
Council hopes to achieve a sustainable future for its community by providing leadership and setting an example for them to follow. A key part of this is to implement the Low Carbon Livingstone 2030: A Strategy to Reduce Livingstone Shire Council’s Carbon Footprint which particularly focuses on Council’s highest carbon emitters which are namely: Landfill, Street Lights, Water Treatment Plants and Fuel Use. Specifically this includes:
- Investigating opportunities for capturing or flaring of landfill gas at the Yeppoon Landfill
- Auditing Council’s fleet and looking at opportunities for utilising more fit for purpose vehicles, more hybrid vehicles, alternative fuels, driver behaviour training and electric vehicles and charging stations
- Rolling out the Sustainable Living(stone) education and awareness raising programme
- Implementing a programme which continually replaces all existing halogen street lights with LED or Solar lights
- Looking at opportunities to retrofit existing Council buildings with solar panel and battery suites
Council is also hoping to further embed awareness of climate change into the organisation through the development of a climate change governance framework, including an organisational policy, strategy and an education and awareness raising program.
What council hopes to gain from being a member of the Cities Power Partnership?
- To be able to utilise the extensive resources the program offers to increase Council’s knowledge and understanding of addressing climate change
- To be able to interact with a network of Councils who are also interested in achieving a sustainable future for their communities.
Partnering with other Councils on Sustainability projects and initiatives - Ultimately to enhance the opportunity for the Livingstone community to attain a sustainable future