Sydney’s Georges River Council has won the Energy Efficiency Achievement Award at the 2021 Cities Power Partnership National Climate Awards for its Working Towards Net Zero project, that led to a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Council’s Working Towards Net Zero project covers the extensive work completed towards improving energy efficiency and increasing the renewable energy sources for Council’s operations.
To date, this has included the implementation of Council’s Energy and Water Management Plan 2018, the work undertaken with Ausgrid to replace streetlights with LEDs and the transition to an electric passenger vehicle fleet.
Additionally, Council has installed solar panels on nine Council buildings since 2019, in addition to existing systems, generating close to 272,000 kWh a year.
The solar installations at Council’s early learning centres also provide a learning opportunity for children, with ‘mighty kids’ taking turns to check the UV rating, turn off the lights and keep their teachers and other children accountable.
“We are incredibly proud to have won the Energy Efficiency Achievement Award and to have been recognised for our work in not only improving energy efficiency, but also increasing renewable energy sources,” said Georges River Council General Manager, Gail Connolly.
“Council is committed to sustainability and aims to achieve 100% renewable energy and net zero emissions for Council operations by 2025.
“Our Working Towards Net Zero project was a collaborative effort across Council, and I congratulate all teams involved, especially Council’s Environmental Sustainability and Waste Team who were the lead team on this project. I thank them for their dedication towards improving sustainability for Georges River now and into the future.”
The Cities Power Partnership Awards celebrate outstanding work from local governments in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, community engagement, ambition, collaboration and innovation.
Director of the Cities Power Partnership, Dr Portia Odell congratulated the Council, noting that the winning entry was a pragmatic and effective example of energy efficiency in a competitive field of entrants.
“Energy efficiency is an important step for councils to take when tackling their emissions and it’s great to see Georges River show how it can lead to huge emissions reductions as well as energy and cost savings.”
“The local climate solutions on display at these awards are tangible proof that Australian communities are rising up to meet the challenges of climate change and play a critical role delivering climate solutions in Australia,” she said.
