2016-10-11 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 8 - Delegations of Authority

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                               11 OCTOBER 2016


of available data and a suggested organisational framework to embed zero emissions
governance into Council’s operations. They also provided some observations to feed into the
strategy and action plan development.
One of the most important and challenging decisions required in the development of a
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory is to define the boundaries for the inventory i.e. what
is in and what is not. The approach taken has been to include emissions from all operations for
which Council has legislated responsibility and where it has the full authority to introduce and
implement operating policies.
The exception to this approach is public lighting. The current regulatory framework results in the
bulk of public lighting assets in Noosa Shire being owned and operated by Energex. This means
Council does not currently have authority to take direct action to reduce GHG emissions from
public lighting, although this may change in the future. While Council does not currently have
authority for public lighting, it has been included in the inventory as Council has regulatory
responsibility for the payment of energy consumption for this activity. It is expected that the
detailed Action Plan to support delivery of this Strategy will include an initiative to investigate
means by which public lighting can transition to more energy efficient lighting.

The inventory excluded:
 Leased facilities (e.g. Sunrise Beach shops), but included those where there is a component
   of the activity that generates emissions and that component is paid for by Council (e.g.
   Bicentennial Hall, Doonella House, Noosa Transit Centre etc).
 Emissions from staff commuting to and from work other than if utilising a Council provided
   vehicle.
 Business travel via air or rail.
 Emissions in embedded goods and some contracted services.

BZE used their in-house methodology to assess the baseline emission value. Their advice is that
the methodology is consistent with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol (World Resources
Institute) and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme Measurement Technical
Guidelines.

The assessment indicates total emissions being 10,713 tonnes CO2e based on available data for
2015-16. Data for fuel utilised for waste collection services was excluded due to probity issues
with the new tender currently under evaluation. So the baseline figure will need to be adjusted
after the contract is awarded (post December 2016). The baseline figure will also need to be re-
calculated over time as data capture is improved (particularly for scope 3 emissions).

No estimate has been made of potential growth in emissions – e.g. for new or expanded
buildings or facilities; new public lighting through Council works or contributed assets, or
expansion of services that may include embedded emissions.

Table 1: Summary of Noosa Council’s GHG emissions by sector

              Sector                        GHG Emissions (tonnes CO2e)
Energy
     Buildings – electricity                                         2,799
     Buildings – gas                                                    32
     Street lights                                                   2,099
     Liquid fuel (non-transport)                                       546
Transport                                                              628
Waste                                                                 4609
TOTAL                                                               10,713


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