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Greenhouse Reduction
The Council is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions at both a corporate level (within the City's operations) and across the community, as a small part of the global effort to mitigate climate change.
Corporate Local Action Plan
In July 2007, the Council adopted the Corporate Local Action Plan which sets goals for reduced greenhouse gas emissions through identified actions. Since then, the City has achieved implementations of a number of actions, such as:
- A series of energy audits to Council buildings to identify cost effective ways of reducing energy usage
- Establishment of internships for university students to focus on the preparation of feasibility studies for renewable energy projects for the City
- Establishment of an annual Revolving Energy Fund to provide "seed" capital to implement the initiatives identified in the energy audits
- Implementation of various energy audit recommendations
- Establishment of a Renewable Energy Projects Fund to fund alternative energy production measures for Council operations
- Installation of a photovoltaic array and associated computer display system at the Warnbro Community Y Recreation Centre
- Planning approval to erect a small wind turbine at the Larkhill Sporting Complex.
For more information on the Corporate Local Action Plan, please download the document below.
Further to the above, the Council had undertaken a number of measures to reduce its energy use, including purchasing of Earth Friendly Power (power generated from traditional sources, but counter-balanced by contributions to greenhouse certified gas reduction projects); installing efficient lighting devices, ongoing energy audits of selected facilities and introducing recycled paper in all office activities.
The City has an Engineering Technical Officer - Transport who works with the community and corporate sector to provide information, motivation and support to reduce reliance on cars, while promoting walking, cycling and the use of public transport.
Renewable Energy
The Council remains abreast of renewable energy technologies and supports Murdoch University's Structured Workplace Learning Program by engaging Renewable Energy Engineering Students, through an internship, to continue research initiatives into renewable energy options for the Rockingham community. In April 2006, the Council received an ICLEI award for its unique partnership with Murdoch University and its dedication to reducing greenhouse gases. Some projects completed to date include;
- installation of photovoltaic cells at the Warnbro Community Centre
- feasibility of geothermal energy to heat the Aqua Jetty pools
- feasibility of solar heated water to heat the Aqua Jetty pools
- feasibility of a wind turbine at Lark Hill.
The 2009 internship investigated measures to reduce the environmental and financial impact of public lights, mainly streetlights.
ClimateWise
The Council is a member of the 'ClimateWise' program along with the City of Canning, City of Cockburn, City of Fremantle, Town of East Fremantle and Town of Kwinana, with the support of the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC). To date, ‘ClimateWise’ has provided a number of different projects including 'Living Smart', Dry-Cell Battery Recycling and Home Energy Assessment Toolkits, the details of which are below, as well, as information for residents to help their efforts at home.
‘Living Smart’ is a series of facilitated workshops that provide practical tips and advice on how to live sustainably around the home. The workshops, which were undertaken in 2007 and 2008, generated a great deal of interest and the high attendance resulted in the equivalent of 280 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions abatement in the 2008/09 period.
The SMRC Dry-Cell Battery Recycling Program aims to help residents recycle their household batteries in an environmentally friendly way. Currently there are four recycle bins located at the Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library (Murdoch University), Safety Bay Library, Warnbro Community Library and at the Council's Administration Building.
Also through ‘ClimateWise’, the City has acquired three ‘Home Energy Assessment Toolkits’ which allow homeowners to easily identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency in their home. The kits are free to borrow and are available from Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library (Murdoch University), Safety Bay Library and Warnbro Community Library.
For more information on the above, please refer to the following webpage links:
www.livingsmart.org.au
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