Kempsey Shire Council has shown a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by adopting a Long-term Renewable Energy and Water Strategy at Tuesday’s Council meeting.
In February, Council signed up to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s (DPIE) Sustainable Councils and Communities Program. As a member of the program, the DPIE engaged the energy, carbon and water management consultancy, 100%Renewables to assist Council in the development of a long-term strategy.
The strategy identifies short, medium and long-term opportunities that Council could implement over several years to improve its energy and water efficiency and reduce Council’s carbon footprint.
Some of the key opportunities from the strategy include:
- Sourcing more of Council’s electricity from renewables
- Installing more solar panels at Council operated sites particularly Council’s Civic Centre and progressing to larger solar systems with battery storage when feasible
- Implementing a trial of electric and hybrid vehicles and investigating electric vehicle charging infrastructure
- Investing in data management systems to enable monitoring of energy and to inform decision making
Council’s Manager Strategic and Asset Planning, Erin Fuller, said the development of a long-term strategy was a key action in Council’s 2020-21 Operating Plan.
“While Council is not solely responsible for implementing actions to reduce carbon emissions for the entire Shire, Council has a leadership role to play in looking at its own practices to reduce energy emissions where possible,” she said.
“Having a strategy in place provides us with a framework around what actions need to be taken and what opportunities are available to improve our processes well into the future.”
The strategy can be viewed on Council’s website.
