Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee
Agenda
2 June 2020
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that an Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held Via online video conferencing platform Zoom on Tuesday, 2 June 2020.
David Waddell
Chief Executive Officer
For apologies please contact Administration on 6393 8218.
Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee 2 June 2020
2.1 Council's Position on Climate Change - Update to CNSWJO
1 Introduction
1.1 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
The provisions of Chapter 14 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (the Act) regulate the way in which Councillors and designated staff of Council conduct themselves to ensure that there is no conflict between their private interests and their public role.
The Act prescribes that where a member of Council (or a Committee of Council) has a direct or indirect financial (pecuniary) interest in a matter to be considered at a meeting of the Council (or Committee), that interest must be disclosed as soon as practicable after the start of the meeting and the reasons given for declaring such interest.
As members are aware, the provisions of the Local Government Act restrict any member who has declared a pecuniary interest in any matter from participating in the discussion or voting on that matter, and requires that member to vacate the Chamber.
Council’s Code of Conduct provides that if members have a non-pecuniary conflict of interest, the nature of the conflict must be disclosed. The Code of Conduct also provides for a number of ways in which a member may manage non pecuniary conflicts of interest.
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Recommendation It is recommended that Committee Members now disclose any conflicts of interest in matters under consideration by the Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee at this meeting. |
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/822
AUTHOR: Lindsay Hall, Sustainability Officer
EXECUTIVE Summary
At its meeting of 7 April 2020, Council resolved to provide advice to the Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO) on its position with regard to climate change and advice on programming being undertaken with a view to this being showcased. This report summarises the information that has been sent to CNSWJO.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “8.2 Preserve - Develop and promote initiatives to reduce water, energy and waste in consultation with the community”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
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That the report on Council’s Position on Climate Change and advice on programming be noted. |
further considerations
Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
In February 2020 Council moved that a strategic policy on Council’s future response to climate change including mitigation, adaptation and risk management issues be developed. In response, Council is developing both a climate change strategic policy and climate change management plan.
Currently a climate change risk assessment process is being conducted in-house which is expected to be completed by July 2020. All operational areas of Council and many staff are involved to provide a comprehensive and cohesive result. The outcomes of this risk assessment will provide Council an opportunity to understand risks and potential actions required to prepare for projected climatic conditions.
Solar systems are already installed on 7 sites totalling approximately 210 kilowatts (Kw), including a large 99Kw system on the Orange Aquatic Centre which has produced 387 Megawatt hours since installation reducing Councils' CO2 emissions by 314 tonnes. Designs for a further 26 sites have been prepared totalling 1923 Kw’s, potentially providing up to 34% of the electricity needs for those sites and potentially saving up to an estimated 2,468,502 Kwh’s of electricity and further reducing 2024 tonnes of Council CO2 emissions, annually.
Council has signed off on the replacement of 8500 streetlights, switching to energy efficient LED’s expecting to save up to $500,000 annually on energy consumption. Works are expected to be completed in the first half of 2020. In addition, designs for LED lighting replacements at 17 Council sites have been prepared which could potentially further reduce equivalent CO2 emissions by 740 tonnes annually.
Council has greatly decreased water demand among its residents during particularly dry periods and has managed to preserve water. From January 2019 the monthly average water use dropped from 224 to 134 litres per person per day by January 2020 as a result of measures implemented by Council. The April 2020 figures show residents are currently using 122 litres per person per day on level 5 water restrictions, level 6 water restriction targets set usage at 120 litres per person per day therefore Council and the residents of Orange are already managing to preserve and save as much water as possible.
The climate change management plan is currently in development which aims to meet the strategic policy objectives, reference the climate change risk assessment and to provide a path forward to take further action in reducing both Councils' risks, operational impacts on the climate, and climate change related service delivery (education, emission reduction opportunities, resourcing) to the broader community.