Zero Emissions Noosa Inc. (ZEN Inc.) Annual Report · Report

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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                                10 JUNE 2025


ZEN Inc. provides a high return on investment by delivering projects, programs, and community
education around emissions reduction through a predominantly volunteer run organisation.

ZEN Inc.’s has a strong and professional volunteer base, and their commitment to see Noosa
transition to renewable energy and reduce community emissions to zero is commendable, Noosa is
fortunate to have such great organisations working on very important issues in, and for, the Shire.

Noosa Council staff continue to work collaboratively with ZEN Inc. on a range of projects, including
the Noosaville community battery and the EV & Electrify Everything Expo.

ZEN Inc. have two working groups that focus on emissions reduction through electrification and
transport action:
   •   ZENe works on projects related to electrification and stationary emissions reduction
       (households, buildings, businesses).
   •   ZENTAG works on transport related emissions.
Council staff attend both working groups and give input to the ZEN Inc. teams on what Council is
working on in this space and discuss areas for collaboration.

ZEN Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and ran solely on volunteer input and one-off grants. Through a
partnership agreement, Noosa Council has committed to financially support ZEN Inc. from 2023 to
2026. In December 2023/24, ZEN Inc. were allocated $65,000 and a further $125,000 in 24/25. A
financial allocation for 2025-2026 is pending Council’s ongoing budget process. Partnership funding
is used by ZEN Inc. for program support staff that enable the organisation to do project delivery.

Financial Contributions
Financial allocations are primarily based on two criteria:
   1. Availability of council funds and allocations made through the Council budget process.
       a. It is acknowledged in the partnership agreement that the amount to be funded will be
           determined by Council as part of its annual budget process.
   2. Strategic alignment with Council programs and objectives.
        a. Funding is allocated after ZEN Inc. submits an annual report and strategic plan for the
           coming year.
        b. Upon receipt of ZEN Inc.’s strategic plan, Council review this and work with Zen Inc on
           alignment and the best value for Council.
Upon receipt of ZEN Inc.’s yearly strategic plan, Council staff review these against Council’s strategic
and corporate plans to ensure that there is alignment.

 The attached report from ZEN Inc, demonstrates this community not-for-profit organisation has
delivered, and continues to deliver, significant projects for community in the climate mitigation and
sustainability space, delivering on critical and important strategic outcomes in partnership with
Council.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council
   A. Note the report by the Sustainability and Climate Change Officer to the Planning &
      Environment Committee dated 10 June 2025 and note Zero Emissions Noosa Inc. Annual
      Report as provided in Attachment 1;
   B. Note that Zen Inc has fulfilled its requirements under the Funding Agreement, by providing a
      strategic plan and annual report including financial reporting and program updates.

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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                             10 JUNE 2025



REPORT
ZEN Inc.’s 2024 annual report highlights the scale and importance of the task that the organisation
has taken on. The report also identifies the reach that ZEN Inc. has in terms of community outreach
and diverse project delivery. It illustrates that ZEN Inc. is delivering on strategic outcomes that
support Council's priorities and that Council is not able to achieve on its own, given budget and
capacity constraints. ZEN Inc. achieves this in two ways:

   1. By engaging with a highly capable and professional pool of volunteers, who provide a high
      return on investment to council through project delivery, advocacy and community
      engagement.
   2. By successfully receiving and delivering on Federal, State and Council grants. In 2024, ZEN
      Inc. received $190,000 in grants.
One of the strategic objectives that ZEN Inc. has set, and that Council has encouraged, is for the
organisation to pursue opportunities to operate with greater financial sustainability. This includes
exploring ways to generate income beyond intermittent grants. A good example of where ZEN Inc.
has achieved in this space is in delivery of the EV & Electrify Everything Expo, where grants make
up only a small portion of the budget required to deliver the program and the rest is generated
through sponsorships and in-kind support.

ZEN Inc delivers on a variety of projects focussed on emissions reduction in the community. Their
reach is wide and adds value to council’s goals and objectives as set out in various Council
plans. The projects described below are a selection of current projects and more details can be
found in Attachment 1.

Noosaville Community Battery
The partnership of ZEN Inc., Yarra Energy Foundation and Noosa Council has undertaken
substantial work to negotiate the planning and progressing of this project in 2024.
ZEN Inc. led the way in advocating with 54 stakeholders across regulators, government (state &
federal level), industry and consumer energy groups for reduced tariffs and connection fees to make
this and other community batteries financially viable. ZEN Inc. was instrumental in persuading
Energy Qld. to make this battery, the only community owned community battery in Qld., a pilot on
the community energy sector, with Energy Qld. agreeing to cover the tariffs for 5 years, while more
work is done to investigate future financial viability for this and other community batteries.

Rewiring Noosa
A major program of ZEN Inc. is their partnership with Rewiring Australia and the work that they have
done in public awareness and education in their Rewiring Noosa project. ZEN Inc., on behalf of the
Noosa Shire community, was chosen to work with Saul Griffiths Rewiring Aust. project as one of the
original community partners.
Mid-year, ZEN Inc. launched the Rewiring Noosa Toolkit developed for us by Rewiring Australia,
followed by making of 7 video testimonials by Noosa Shire community members who have moved
from traditional energy sources to power highly energy efficient appliances, coupled with solar and
monitoring systems. These tools are to ensure all Noosa Shire community members (home owners
and renters alike) can benefit by saving money, AND reducing their carbon footprint.
This project has received grant funding from Noosa Council through the Climate Change Response
Grants program and delivers community forums to educate the community on the benefits of
transitioning to home electrification.

2024 6th Annual Electric Vehicle & Electrify Everything Expo
Council supported the delivery of the EV and Electrify Everything Expo through a memorandum of
understanding with the Transport branch, and logistical and program support from Sustainability and
Climate Change. This MOU has not been renewed however logistical and programming support will

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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                             10 JUNE 2025


continue to be provided for the event in 2025.

The event attracted 5,500 visitors, over 80% of whom came to learn about electric transport., 69.7%
came to learn about how to save money on home energy e.g. solar, battery, heat pumps. 52% of
Expo visitors will or may purchase an EV in the next 12 months.

The scope of the Expo was expanded in 2024 to include Electrify Everything to assist in household
behaviour change re electricity use and how they can save money, while reducing their emissions.

The event has been planned for 2025 and will include the largest showing of electric vehicles in one
place in the SEQ region. This has become a signature event for ZEN Inc. and Noosa Council is a
proud contributor and supporter.

E-Bike Library
ZEN Inc. was successful in November 2024 obtaining $22,392 from the Dept. of Transport & Main
Roads for the Bike Riding Encouragement Program (BREP) Innovation Grant to be able to set up
an e bike library so people can borrow different types of e bikes for a period of two weeks and try
them out to help them make a purchasing decision. This program will get underway in 2025.

Governance and Strategic Priorities
ZEN Inc. is governed by a Board of up to 10 people, which oversees three Working Groups – ZEN
E (Energy), ZENTAG (Transport) & Expo Working Group. The board’s work is supported in its
operations by three sub-committees:
   •   Governance & Operations
   •   Finance & Fundraising and
   •   Communications & Advocacy.
Further details on projects delivered in 2024 can be found in the attached annual report submitted
by ZEN Inc. Financial contributions from Noosa Council and other income sources, as well as
expenditures can be found in the attached annual report.

Link to Corporate Plan

4.7 Future: Fund and implement the Climate Change Response Plan to support Council, community
and the local economy to build resilience and preparedness for climate risks and to achieve net-zero
emissions by 2026.

A key objective of the Corporate Plan is to “fund and implement the Climate Change Response Plan
to support Council, community and the local economy to build resilience and preparedness for
climate risks and to achieve net zero emissions by 2026. The Corporate Plan recognizes Noosa
Council as a “funder” in that it provides funding to other organisations/service providers to deliver
programs, projects and services


Previous Council Consideration
Previous considerations have been made in the allocation of grant funding as described in the
finance section below.

Finance
A 3-year partnership agreement is in place for 2023-2026.
   •   2023/24, ZEN Inc. were allocated $65,000

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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                                    10 JUNE 2025


   •     24/25, ZEN Inc. were allocated $125,000
   •     A financial allocation for 2025-2026 is pending Council’s ongoing budget process.
Funds are primarily used by ZEN Inc. to employ a Program and Project Manager support.

ZEN Inc has calculated their return on investment to council as 21.3 by adding value of
$2,659,000. Details of these calculations are available in attachment 1.

Risk & Opportunities
Risks
The risk to Council is that ZEN Inc. continues to rely on Noosa Council grant funding to run its
operations. A further risk is that the organisation is heavily reliant on volunteers. However, ZEN Inc.
have indicated in their strategic plan that financial sustainability is a key priority for the organisation
going forward and revenue generation will be part of their planning.

Opportunities
Recognising the return on investment that ZEN Inc. provides, Noosa Council can further leverage
the work of ZEN Inc. in the community to drive targets and actions that support transition to zero
emissions.

Considering the limited time capacity of staff in the Sustainability and Climate Change team,
partnerships like the one with ZEN Inc. allow delivery of things that would not be possible for Council
to achieve utilising staff time alone.

Human Rights
Human Rights Compatibility Statement
In developing this Report, the subject matter has been considered in accordance with the
requirements of the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019. It is considered that the subject matter
does not conflict with any human rights and supports a human rights approach to decision making
by Council. Council representatives will endeavour to act and make decisions under this report in a
manner that is compatible with human rights. This report should be read in conjunction with
Council’s Human Rights Policy.

Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder


Internal Consultation
Departments consulted:
    Office of the CEO, Mayor &            Community Services                  Corporate Services
            Councillors
       Mayor & Councillors              Director                            Director
       Chief Executive Officer          Community Development               Financial Services
       Executive Officers               Sport & Active Lifestyles           Fleet
       Community Engagement             Arts & Culture                      Revenue Services
       People & Culture                 Community Connection                ICT
       Governance                       Customer Experience                 Procurement

                                                                            Commercial Property

       Strategy & Environment          Development & Regulation             Infrastructure Services

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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                        10 JUNE 2025


 x   Director                        Director                 Director
 x   Strategy & Sustainability       Development Assessment   Infrastructure Planning, Design
                                                              and Delivery
     Economic Development        &   Local Laws               Civil and Asset operations
     Destination Management
     Environmental Services          Environmental Health     Waste
     Innovation & Digital Hub        Building & Plumbing      Building & Facilities
                                     Property / Permits       Disaster Management