ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee
Agenda
7 November 2017
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that a Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange on Tuesday, 7 November 2017.
Garry Styles
General Manager
For apologies please contact Michelle Catlin on 6393 8246.
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: 2017/2289
AUTHOR: David Waddell, Director Development Services
EXECUTIVE Summary
The previous Council signed up to the Climate Council Cities Power Partnership to drive Orange City Council toward more renewable energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy bills and to provide leadership and resources to the community. This report is provided to inform the new Council and to commence the process of considering which five pledges to adopt within the Council framework.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “1.1 Our City - Provide easily obtainable information on the legal responsibilities of Councillors, Council staff and the community”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
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That the report from the Director Development Services on the Cities Power Partnership Program be acknowledged. |
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
Cities Power Partnership (CPP) is a program of the Climate Council that is launching on 19 July 2017.
The CPP provides a coordinated vehicle to accelerate, celebrate and promote Local Government successes in achieving emission reductions and transitioning towards clean energy.
There are no costs for councils to join the Cities Power Partnership.
The CPP is a program run by the Climate Council, which was launched after the abolition of the Climate Commission. The Climate Council provides independent, authoritative climate change information to the Australian public that is based on the best science available.
The Climate Council was the number one organisation communicating on climate change nationally in 2016 and reaches 8 million people a month online.
21 councils have already signed up to the partnership in the first round. These councils are from around the country. Orange City Council began its formal membership as part of the second round which began in mid-October.
When Councils join the partnership councils are required to:
· Identify five items in the Power Partners Pledge that councils will strive to achieve. Councils have six months from the sign-up date to identify which pledge items these will be.
Note: Projects already in the council pipeline can be included towards a council’s pledge. There are 32 partnership pledge actions to choose from ranging from renewable energy, efficiency, transport and advocacy
· Complete a six monthly online survey that provides the Climate Council with basic information on how councils are progressing on the five pledge items that councils have selected.
· Nominate a point of contact within Council that the Climate Council can liaise with on CPP matters.
· Be buddied with two other local councils to knowledge share.
As Power Partners councils will receive:
· Promotion on the CPP website with a success profile specifically on the achievements and goals of our Council.
· Promotion through the Climate Council’s social media and have your sustainability and renewable energy success stories shared with over 200,000 Climate Council supporters.
· Promotion in the media.
· Access to the CPP knowledge hub, webinars and where possible a visit from Climate Council experts.
· Access to an analytics tool which will allow Council to track and measure greenhouse gas emissions, energy and financial savings to date of specific sustainability, clean energy and efficiency projects.
· Invitations to attend the 2018 CPP summit and awards ceremony with other councils across the country.
· Potential access to exclusive grants and incentives to support renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport goals as they become available.
More information about the program is provided in the attached brochure.
1 CCL 18 July 2017 Climate Council - Brochure - Cities Power Partnership, D17/38944⇩
