The City of Melbourne’s ambition to be one of the world’s most sustainable cities was set out with Council inviting public comment on its draft Zero Net Emissions and Total Watermark strategies. 

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said sustainability and liveability were inexorably linked. 

“Global thinking and research puts cities at the forefront of the effort on climate change and Melbourne is already highly regarded. Just last month we won a C40 and Siemens Climate Leadership Award for programs including 1200 Buildings, CitySwitch and Smart Blocks but we need to keep the pressure on. 

Environment Portfolio Chair Councillor Arron Wood said the strategies identified new targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the municipality over the next four years, and would build on efforts to capture and use water in a smarter way. 

“Climate change and population growth are constantly challenging our environment. The need to reduce our carbon footprint, increase our resilience, keep our city cool and our landscapes green requires our attention now,” Cr Wood said. 

"In developing these strategies we worked closely with key players in business, government and research. What is very clear is that we can’t do this alone. We have an aspirational goal to reach ‘zero’ by 2020, but commitment to change is needed at all levels to make this happen – from the local community, business and government. 

“The role of the City of Melbourne is to lead by example and to promote and facilitate opportunities with both the private and public sectors. We are committed to working with commercial and residential building owners, transport providers and energy suppliers to tackle emissions."

“We are aiming for 25 per cent renewable energy for Melbourne by 2018. This is an ambitious target but with commitment to alternative sources such as wind and solar in particular, this target is within reach,” Cr Wood said. 

The strategies outline the City of Melbourne’s commitment to making changes in its own operations, like trialling low emissions technologies in Council buildings and increasing uptake of carbon neutral services. It also plans to deliver a new solar program that will help increase the accessibility and affordability of solar for city buildings and a number of water projects to reduce flood risk. 

"Since 2008 we have invested in several large stormwater harvesting schemes located in Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne, Birrarung Marr and Queen Victoria Gardens and have also incorporated water efficient design in many of our streets. It’s initiatives like these that we now want to expand on,” Cr Wood said. 

The strategies are open for public feedback. Visit City of Melbourne