2019-02-18 GC Agenda Att 1 to Item 8 - Draft Environment Strategy

Strategy 1: Reduce emissions and resource consumption
Target: Noosa Council operations and service activities, and the Noosa community as a whole, will
reach zero net emissions by 2026

In 2016, Noosa Council joined 13 other local organisations in signing the Zero Emissions Noosa
(ZEN) Community Collaborative Partnership Memorandum of Understanding. These groups
included the Noosa Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Tourism Noosa, University of the Sunshine
Coast and several local environmental groups. The goal of the ZEN initiative is to achieve zero net
greenhouse emission in the Noosa Shire by 2026, through action and effective engagement with
the community, industry and government. The MOU provides a shared commitment to this goal to
reduce emissions and to work together towards a Zero Emissions Noosa.

Noosa Shire is vulnerable to the predicted impacts of climate change and it is in the interest of
Council and the community to contribute to global mitigation of those impacts by reducing our
emission of greenhouse gases. We have significant opportunities and resources to reduce
emissions at a greater rate than other regions, therefore our ambitious target can be pursued,
reviewed and updated as the science dictates. Council has set a target to achieve net zero
emissions for its operations by 2026, down from 50,000 tonne of CO2 per year in 2017/18. This
involves:
     calculating emissions in accordance with the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)
     reducing emissions though emission avoidance, energy efficiency and the use of
       renewable energy first, and
     offsetting residual emissions.

Council has implemented a Zero Emissions Noosa Organisational Strategy 2016-2026 to establish
a decision-making framework to provide a cost-effective way forward for Council to achieve net
zero emissions for its own operations by 2026. About 65% of total emissions result from the landfill,
where organic matter such as green waste, paper and food waste decomposes under anaerobic
conditions and produce methane. Methane is 28 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2.
Council extracts the methane and flares or burns it to convert the methane to CO2, and is
implementing initiatives to reduce organic matter going to landfill and investigating treatment
options.

                       Noosa Council's Operations Carbon Footprint
                                        2017/18
                                                      5.29%    2.17%




                                          31.42%

                                                                   55.21%



                                         5.90%


                        Fuels      Landfill      Electricity   Embedded emissions   Other


Noosa Shire Environment Strategy                                                             Page 35