The community provided extensive input to our first Environment and Climate Change Strategy 2040. With a 20-year horizon, it reflects the sustainability goals and expectations of our community for the built environment, green neighbourhoods, and sustainable ways of living and operating. Action Plans are being developed and supporting policies have been adopted on community gardens, bushland and biodiversity, asbestos management and single use plastics.

The uptake of waste education and partnership programs has been strong, resulting in a steady reduction of waste generated per capita. More innovative solutions for the waste collected have resulted in much more waste being diverted from landfill and reduced carbon emissions. Kimbriki also accepts more household-problem wastes for recycling including e-waste, paint, fluorescent lights, batteries and mobile phones. Council is also trialling the reuse of glass bottles for sustainable road surfacing materials, to reduce waste, carbon emissions and costs.

Education programs have enabled schools, residents and businesses to implement solutions around food waste, nappies, school uniforms and clothing, single-use plastics, shopping choices, recycling and repurposing in general. Over 60 local businesses are active in the ‘Swap for Good’ program, phasing out their use of single use plastics. Council also provides water refilling stations at many popular reserves and events to discourage the use of plastic water bottles.

Council partnered with Sydney Water to improve water savings with schools and businesses such as cafes and restaurants – 46 business participants are now saving over 112,000 kL each year. We’re also reducing water use in Council buildings, amenities, sportfields, depots and childcare centres – in our facilities alone saving 60,000kL per year. We’re also harvesting rainwater for use at several sites including innovative hydropanels to harvest water at Currawong Holiday Cottages.

Solar energy uptake has increased locally, supported by our Charge Ahead program, providing free advice, a referral service and site analysis using our online SunSPOT tool, a solar mapping tool run by the Australian Photovoltaic Institute. We’re also trialling with Ausgrid the first community battery on the east coast, to help local residents get the most out of their solar power systems.

Council electricity is now running on 100% renewables in our buildings; and we’ve installed energy efficient lighting, air conditioning and over 900kW of solar panels. We’ve also replaced thousands of residential streetlights and some sportsfield floodlights with efficient LEDs, reducing light pollution, carbon emissions and annual power costs.

The community wants to see precincts, dwellings and infrastructure designed sustainably, to improve how we live. Much of this is seen to be driven by government and industry standards, and Council’s planning rules.

There are concerns about resilience for the environment and our community as the population grows here and Sydney-wide. These include protecting and creating natural areas, green neighbourhoods, lifestyles and quality of life, water security, transport and reducing congestion, living costs and waste. Our community want to keep more problematic waste out of landfill, such as high volumes of clothing, mattresses, nappies, furniture, Styrofoam and food waste. The still widespread use of single use plastics is a concern, as a threat to our waterways and marine life.

There is strong community desire for Council to provide leadership in sustainability and resilience, by requiring, enabling and creating better outcomes. Opportunities have also been identified by the community for urban and built design and how we can better enable our local schools and businesses, as outlined below.

Council leadership:

• More water harvesting, increased rainwater storage and the use of recycled water. Better manage stormwater by the use of swales and reduced hard surfaces to improve infiltration

• Aim for Council to be carbon neutral by 2024, with a zero emission fleet
• Seek opportunities for community solar, micro-grids and solar farms. Provide more charging stations for electric vehicles, and lobby government to remove a barrier tax
• Lobby to increase the scope and availability of bottle return schemes
• More inclusion of First Nations people in decision making.

Urban and built design:

• Better building standards for water and energy efficiency, with solar power, green roofs or vertical gardens, and sustainable products that blend into the environment. Encourage efficient smaller dwellings, and retrofitting of existing buildings
• Planning new sustainable precincts, more active transport, greening public spaces and town centres, community gardens and connecting the green grid. These will improve liveability and reduce urban heat
• Opportunities to improve multi-unit dwellings with green roofs and vertical gardens, recycled water systems, clothes drying options, communal gardens and composting, and better integrated waste management

Enabling local schools and business:

• An ongoing advisory service on reducing waste, water and energy

• Improve solar uptake on large roofs such as business and residential units
• Promote incentives and resources available to overcome barriers to change
• Continued focus to reduce single use plastics and packaging
• Better use of gardens to absorb water, manage food waste and create habitats