2022-02-08 Planning and Environment Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 8 FEBRUARY 2022


5.    REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE
      Nil
6.    REPORTS FOR NOTING FOR THE COMMITTEE


1     NOOSA COUNCIL CARBON FOOTPRINT REPORT FY 2020/2021

Author                 Project Officer Carbon Reduction, Anne Nolan

Index                  ECM/ Subject / Carbon Emission Reduction (ZEN)

Attachments            Nil



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Noosa Council’s Zero Emissions Organisational Strategy 2016-2026 (“ZEN Strategy”) aims to
achieve an ambitious net zero emissions target by 2026. The following report provides details of
the FY 2020/21 carbon footprint and outlines the actions that have been undertaken in line with
the ZEN Strategy.
Council’s carbon footprint has been calculated in accordance with the Climate Active Carbon
Neutral Standard for organizations. In FY 2020/21 Council’s carbon footprint was 51,077 tonnes
CO2e. This is a 2% increase from the previous year’s carbon footprint. This is because during FY
2019/20 some Council facilities were closed for several weeks due to COVID, resulting in a reduced
electricity consumption, whereas during FY 2020/21, all facilities were open for the full year. There
was also a slight increase in emissions from Council’s purchased goods and services for capital
and operational works during the FY 2020/21 period compared to the previous year.
Emissions from the landfill comprise 61% of Council’s total carbon footprint. Compared to FY
2019/20 the estimated landfill emissions have reduced by less than 1%, however waste to landfill
increased by 8% in FY 2020/21. Of note, is the average monthly landfill gas capture rates. Landfill
gas capture rates have increased by 69% since the eleven new vertical wells were installed in April
2021, compared to the monthly average before the installation of the wells. This trend is likely to
continue and should result in further emissions in the coming years.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Project Officer, Carbon Reduction to the Planning &
Environment Committee Meeting dated 8 February 2022 that includes a calculation of the FY
2020/201 Carbon Footprint for Noosa Council as an organisation and its progress towards the
target of net zero emissions by 2026.


REPORT
1.      INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to present Council’s carbon footprint for the FY 2020/21 and to advise
of the initiatives undertaken to continue to reduce its emissions The Noosa Environment Strategy
2019 sets a target for Noosa Council to achieve net zero emissions by 2026.
Council measures its annual carbon footprint in accordance with the Climate Active Carbon
Standard for Organisations. This Standard is a voluntary standard to manage greenhouse gas
emissions. It provides best-practice guidance on how to measure, reduce, offset, validate, and
report emissions that occur as a result of the operations of an organization. The data in this report
has been reviewed by an independent Carbon Auditor to ensure all required emissions are
included in the boundary and that the emissions have been calculated in accordance with the
requirements of the standard.
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