- Council is committed to sequentially reducing its carbon footprint and targeting Net Zero Emissions for Council activities by 2035.
- We aim to show responsibility and leadership in contributing to global efforts to limit warming to 2°C
- We will provide guidance and support to facilitate the Kingborough community transitioning to a low carbon economy
Kingborough Council Monitoring and Targets
In 2017 Council undertook an audit of its energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions and used this data for comparison with 10 years prior.
The audit found that Council had undertaken significant energy management and greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. These included:
- Progressive changeover of street light to LED technology
- LED lighting changeovers at key buildings including the Civic Centre and Sports Centre
- Installation of over 100kW of solar panels on 4 Council owned buildings
- Inclusion of 2 hybrid vehicles in its light fleet
- The use of 2 electric bicycles by inspectorial staff
- Collection and flaring of landfill gas at the rehabilitated Barretta tip site
- Extensive kerbside collection of recyclables and operation of the recycling facilities at the Barretta Waste Disposal Site
- Energy data documentation and reporting for key facilities
It was highlighted in the audit report that overall Council’s greenhouse gas emissions had doubled in 10 years, primarily due to an increase in waste to landfill.
Kingborough Carbon and Energy Footprint 2019-2022
Working in partnership with the Regional Climate Councils Initiative a carbon and energy footprint for Council has been completed.
The footprint relates to operations and services that Council is directly responsible for and can take action to reduce emissions and energy use. A Carbon Calculator is being used to track progress towards Council’s emissions reduction target and identify critical areas for emissions reduction investment.
The Energy Footprint provides a detailed assessment of emissions across waste to landfill, non-landfill organic waste, electricity, street lighting and fleet fuel. It assesses change over three years from 2019-2022.
The key messages from the assessment are:
- In 2021/22 greenhouse gas emissions from corporate operations totalled 6,217 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent.
- 83% of Council’s emissions were from waste that was disposed to landfill.
- FOGO collected 2,374 tonnes which equates to 109 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (1.8% emissions) from composting the waste. This is about 10% of what would occur if it went to landfill with gas collection.
- Fuel from vehicles and plant are the second highest emitter at 665 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent. 94% of this emission is from diesel use.
- Highest Electricity use: Kingborough Sports Centre (prior to installation of rooftop solar and battery system).
- Average solar power generation 577.5 GJ and solar export to grid (not utilised) 89.4 GJ.
To read the full report click to download here: Carbon and Energy Footprint – Kingborough Council Corporate Inventory and Opportunities report.
Community Carbon and Energy Footprint – Kingborough Municipality Report 2023
In partnership with Council, the Regional Climate Councils Initiative developed a municipal carbon and energy footprint for Kingborough. This information provides an insight into the energy use across the municipality. It is critical is allowing Council and the community to increase awareness of local emissions and support the development of evidence-based mitigation programs.
The energy footprint was developed using a peer reviewed open-source model that uses historic and current energy trends sourced from publicly available Australian Energy Statistics and National Greenhouse Accounts Factor data. The national carbon accounting standards used are mandated by the Australian Government.
The key messages from the assessment are that:
- 275,266 tonnes of CO2 equivalent are released into the atmosphere from activities in Kingborough.
- Industrial and transport sector energy use are the largest emitters (over half community emissions)
- Commercial and residential sectors contribute 14% of emissions.
- Waste, sewerage and agricultural sector contribute 11% of emissions.
- Rooftop solar installations have doubled in a matter of years and provide 9.4 million units back to the grid.
- The number of registered electric vehicles has increased from 7 in 2018 to 27 in 2022.
To read the full report click to download here: Community Carbon and Energy Footprint – Kingborough Municipality Report 2023
Home Energy Audit Toolkits (HEAT)
Council has a number of HEAT kits that are available for the community to loan. They can be used to investigate your energy usage and to plan for practical ways to decrease energy usage and therefore reduce costs. For more information please contact us on (03) 6211 8200.
