Local governments play a critical role helping their communities reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
Local governments are leading climate change action all around the world. The state government is committed to working effectively with local government to help Victorian communities meet the challenges of climate change.
Councils have many different strategies to reduce emissions through energy efficiency and renewable energy. Many Victorian local governments have pledged to reduce their emissions through TAKE2.
Local governments are often the first to respond to localised climate change impacts, and their strong connections to the community and local knowledge mean they are often best-placed to recognise the need for adaptation at a local scale. Read about the Government’s commitment to working with local governments on adapting to climate change in Victoria’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2017-2020.
A strong partnership between state and local government will build capacity and resilience in our communities in the face of climate change. Working together, state and local governments have already delivered a range of climate change projects across Victoria.
State-local government climate change projects
| Councils | Project Details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Borough of Queenscliff Council | Community action on climate change in Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale 2014 - 2016 This project supported the Queenscliffe and Point Lonsdale communities to manage their climate risks through co-ordinated community action. A partnership of community members helped increase community understanding of climate risks, assisting residents to make more informed decisions. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Borough of Queenscliffe Council | Working towards carbon neutrality in the Borough of Queenscliffe 2012 - 2013 This project developed a Carbon Neutral Action Plan to create a carbon neutral council by 2013 and the community by 2020. | Mitigation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Colac Otway Shire Council | Achieving carbon neutrality In Colac Otway Shire 2012 - 2013 Project had the goal of enabling Colac Otway Shire Council operations and services to be carbon neutral by 2016, via: - A reduction in pollution; - A reduction in emissions contributing to climate change; and - Leadership to the broader Colac Otway Shire community | Mitigation Energy Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Borough
of Queenscliff Council Colac Otway Shire Council Corangamite Shire Council Glenelg Shire Council Golden Plains Shire Council Moyne Shire Council Southern Grampians Shire Council Surf Coast Shire Council Warrnambool City Councill | Climate resilient communities of the Barwon South West 2012 - 2017 Development of regionally appropriate climate preparedness plans for the communities in South Western Victoria. The project will build capacity to reduce greenhouse gas impacts and prepare communities for climate change through adaptation responses. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Education, training and research Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Colac Otway Shire Council | Embedding climate adaptation in Colac Otway projects, programmes and processes 2014 - 2015 Project provided a range of training programs, protocols and processes to assist council staff to identify and manage climate change impacts identified in a range of local and regional strategic documents. | Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Corangamite Shire Council | Building Corangamite's biodiversity knowledge base for climate change adaptation 2012 - 2013 Project helped improve council's biodiversity asset mapping by verifying and ground-truthing existing databases. | Adaptation Natural environment |
| Corangamite Shire Council | Corangamite Shire climate risk management program 2014 - 2016 Project to help council manage its exposure to climate risks and identify growing opportunities through developing a strategic carbon management plan to embed climate risk planning and adaptation actions into council organisational plans and decision making processes. | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
| Glenelg Shire Council | Solar PV cell installation 2011 - 2012 Installation of solar PV system on council owned building to assist council with energy reduction and resource efficiency. | Mitigation Energy |
| Glenelg Shire Council | Roadside biodiversity value mapping for bushfire risk 2014 Project assisted Glenelg Shire Council in mapping roadside native flora and fauna along roads at risk of bushfire. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment |
| Greater Geelong City Council | Green Infrastructure Standards 2012 - 2014 This project created a "green" infrastructure standard for inclusion in council's Infrastructure Design Manuals (IDM). Infrastructure design standards are a tool used by councils to communicate design and construction expectations for civil infrastructure projects. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Planning |
| Greater
Geelong City Council Surf Coast Shire Council | Heatwaves and social vulnerability 2014 - 2016 This project will identify and build on the levels of resilience of those who are most vulnerable from a social perspective to the impacts of heatwaves and increased heat within the City of Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| Greater
Geelong City Council Yarra City Council | Understanding support context for embedding climate change adaptation in councils 2014 - 2016 Using the City of Greater Geelong, Net Balance and RMIT Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit (the Toolkit), this project investigated the support context requirements for implementing the Toolkit and for embedding climate change considerations across council. | Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Greater Geelong City Council | Bellarine Peninsula and Corio Bay coastal climate change risk assessment 2014 - 2016 The Bellarine Peninsula and Corio Bay coastal climate change risk assessment project helps build capacity of coastal communities, State/Local Government, and service authorities to use climate change information along with coastal hazard data to assess risks. | Adaptation Planning |
| Moyne Shire Council | Land capability & biodiversity study incorporating a planning scheme overlay 2007 - 2010 This project developed an overlay covering all Moyne Shire to better inform development and zoning within the municipality. | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Moyne Shire Council | Moving Moyne Minus Motors 2012 - 2015 This project employed a project officer to review council's local greenhouse gas emissions reduction action plan (2004); revise its emissions inventory by undertaking audits and collating updated data; and then taking action to reduce emission across Moyne Council's operations. | Mitigation Energy |
| Moyne Shire Council | Moyne Shire coastal hazard climate change adaptation plan 2014 - 2016 In consultation with the community, a climate change adaptation plan was prepared for the Port Fairy coastline in response to the hazards identified in the Port Fairy local coastal hazard assessment. | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Surf Coast Shire CouncilWarrnambool City Council | Surf Coast Shire greenhouse gas emissions management plan 2012 - 2013 Under its Climate Change Strategy (2011-2016), the Surf Coast Shire Council Buildings Energy Efficiency Program seeks to contribute to council achieving, and potentially exceeding, its emissions reduction target of 30% by 2020. | Mitigation Energy Planning |
| Surf Coast Shire Council | Climate risk and adaptation planning 2015 - 2016 This project is the development of an "Asset@Risk" register and adaptation plan that, combined, provides a comprehensive list of council assets exposed to climate risk together with embedding specific adaptation actions into organisational plans across council. | Adaptation Planning |
| Corangamite
Shire Council Warrnambool City Council | Land suitability and decision framework for rural Victoria 2009 - 2012 A case study involving Warrnambool and Corangamite Shires to develop appropriately-scaled land capability, biodiversity and land suitability data and to examine the fit between local data and similar data available at landscape scale. This project assists local government to align regional land capability and biodiversity data to justify strategic planning at a regional scale, as well as helping guide conservations related to settlement and land use patterns. | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Greater Geelong City Council | Shellfish reefs for shoreline protection 2015 - 2017 Shellfish reefs are effective in mitigating the effects of storm tides on vulnerable coasts and have been used across a range of areas in North America. This project is a trial in the shallow waters of Port Phillip and Western Port Bays. Anecdotal evidence suggests there were extensive areas of naturally occurring shellfish reefs in the past so this project has the potential to restore habitat. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment |
| Warrnambool City Council | Barwon South West Local Coastal Hazard Assessment 2015 - 2017 This project is phase one of the Local Coastal Hazard Assessment for the Barwon South West coast. It includes development of a regional project brief, request for quote and further scoping including an assessment of current data available and a gap analysis | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Borough of Queenscliff Council | Supporting Queenscliff and Pt Lonsdale prepare for climate change 2015 - 2017 This projects is providing householders, businesses and schools with one-to-one advice on energy efficiency and renewable energy options to give them the confidence to undertake changes in their homes, businesses and schools to make them more resilient to climate change. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Economic development and business Education, training and research Energy |
| Moyne Shire Council | East Beach seawall design 2015 -2017 This project is designing a replacement rock seawall to defend East Beach, Port Fairy, from a forecasted 2100 sea level rise. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment Planning |
| Councils | Project details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| East Gippsland Shire Council | Urban waterway strategy development 2011 - 2013 Development of a strategy for urban waterway development and management in East Gippsland. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Water |
| East Gippsland Shire Council | Climate risk and resilience information provision for property buyers 2014 - 2016 Project trialled a simple method for providing prospective property buyers with information regarding the climate risk and resilience of properties. | Adaptation Education, training and research |
| East Gippsland Shire Council | Concept design for coastal flooding adaptation 2014 - 2016 Concept design of coastal adaptation solutions for two township areas vulnerable to coastal climate change impacts including sea level rise, inundation, erosion, estuarine flooding and storm surge. | Adaptation Natural environment |
| Bass
Coast Shire Council Baw Baw Shire Council East Gippsland Shire Council Latrobe City Council South Gippsland Shire Council Wellington Shire Council | Integrating climatic impacts into local government processes across Gippsland 2014 - 2016 Regional project with all Gippsland councils to help staff understand climate change impacts and embed responses into existing plans and strategies of each council. | Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance |
| South Gippsland Shire Council | South Gippsland Shire sustainability works 2011 - 2013 The South Gippsland Sustainability works project included activities and strategies to promote and educate the community in sustainability principles and practices. Different channels were used to convey messages about climate change, food security and other sustainability issues. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Economic development and business Education, training and research |
| Bass
Coast Shire Council Baw Baw Shire Council East Gippsland Shire Counci lLatrobe City Council South Gippsland Shire Council Wellington Shire Council | Sustainability Gippsland 2011 - 2014 This project utilised web-based tools and trained locally based facilitators to engage and support local governments, individuals, organisations and businesses across Gippsland to help co-ordinate, enhance and promote activity to create a more sustainable Gippsland. The project was undertaken in partnership with the Gippsland Climate Change Network, Baw Baw Sustainability Network, Latrobe Valley Sustainability Group and Monash University. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Economic development and business Education, training and research |
| Bass
Coast Shire Council South Gippsland Shire Council | Agricultural resilience and shared climate change opportunities in Southern Gippsland 2014 - 2016 This project supported South Gippsland and Bass Coast food producers by providing better adaptation options to climate change. | Adaptation Economic development and business |
| Wellington Shire Council | Progressing sustainable action within the Wellington Shire 2011 - 2013 The Progressing Sustainable Action within the Wellington Shire Project supported the implementation of Wellington Shire Council's Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2011-15 | Mitigation / Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| East Gippsland Shire Council | East Gippsland renewable energy feasibility 2015 -2017 With local partners, this project is investigating renewable energy feasibility for East Gippsland, including potential feedstock sources, distribution network conditions, heat and power customers and community appetite for different technologies. It will develop and prioritise innovative scenarios with a clear roadmap for progression. | Mitigation Energy |
| South Gippsland Shire Council | Investigating the impact of climate change on seawalls 2015 - 2017 This project is assessing the condition and adequacy of existing seawalls and drains within the municipality against a combined king tide/storm surge and sea level rise. It will provide recommendations regarding the ongoing maintenance, renewal and risk of retaining of these seawalls and drains. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Planning |
| Bass Coast Shire Council | Communities making energy together 2015 -2017 The project builds on collaborative work already undertaken. It will assess the feasibility of a number of approaches to mid-to-large scale energy projects, taking into account site location, technology and community engagement within the region. This is an innovative opportunity for council to partner with the community to actively participate in regional climate change mitigation. | Mitigation Energy |
| Councils | Project details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Plains Shire Council | Building adaptative capacity on roadsides 2014 - 2016 Golden Plains Shire is responsible for managing 1834 kilometres of road reserves. Road reserves are used not only for transport, but also as service corridors, in fire prevention, for recreation and, occasionally, for agricultural pursuits. This project explored better management of roadsides in the face of climate change. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment |
| Hepburn Shire Council | Sustainable building management plan 2012 - 2013 This plan demonstrated Hepburn Shire Council's commitment to their 2013 carbon negative targets through action on sustainable building design to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Planning |
| Golden
Plains Shire Council Hepburn Shire Council Moorabool Shire Council Pyrenees Shire Council | Listening to the land; looking to the future 2014 - 2016 This project is informing planning to help optimise food and fibre producing landscapes in a changing climate. | Adaptation Economic development and business Natural environment Planning |
| Hindmarsh Shire Council | Improving sustainability in the Wimmera Mallee 2009 - 2011 This project prepared a Regional Climate Change Risk Audit and developed regional templates for individual shire Local Action Plans. The project delivered practical information and assistance to regional organisations, both government and private in the application of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. It assisted local government with the provision of significant information to assist appropriate decision making through the use of specifically designed tools and guidelines. The project was delivered in 5 phases: - Data audit and benchmarking – gap analysis - Climate Change Risk Analysis – regional template for action planning - Regional Strategic Sustainability Plan - Localised action planning - Implementation of Regional Strategic Sustainability Plan and localised action plans | Mitigation / Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Hindmarsh Shire Council | Project Officer: Hindmarsh roadside management strategy review and implementation 2011 - 2013 A project officer was employed to review, update and implement council's Roadside Management Strategy to respond to and mitigate climate change. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment |
| Greater
Bendigo City Council Hepburn Shire Council Hindmarsh Shire Council Horsham Rural City Council Southern Grampians Shire Council | Building local government change agents for resilient and sustainable communities 2011 - 2014 The project provided local government staff with the research, training and support to assist them to deliver behaviour change programs to address their sustainability priorities. | Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance |
| Moorabool Shire Council | Land & biodiversity asset mapping 2007 - 2010 This project mapped areas of natural significance. A planning kit was developed to explain the process to map and protect assets via planning scheme amendments. Identifying and mapping natural areas of significance (including threatened species, high value habitat and erodable land) help with incorporating the protection of land and biodiversity assets in the planning scheme and for assessing any proposed planning scheme amendments. | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Moorabool Shire Council | Sustainable planning for Melbourne's peri-urban region 2008 - 2011 The project applied data on trends to build capacity and develop planning tools for local government. Tools to improve sustainability outcomes were developed in the water, agriculture, land use, biodiversity, and natural resource sectors and address emerging threats to peri-urban areas. A large body of State and regional policy on social, regional, land use and land and water sectors exists but is often not used at a local level. The possibility of establishing a peri-urban regional policy framework based on commonalities between peri-urban municipalities was explored. Options for governance arrangements to improve cross-sectoral management were also outlined, drawing on integration principles for policy development within and between councils, and between all levels of government. | Adaptation Energy Leadership and Governance Natural environment Planning Water |
| Northern Grampians Shire Council | Supporting change and adaptation in Northern Grampians Shire 2014 - 2015 The project employed a sustainability officer to help build Northern Grampian's capacity to provide leadership in the area of sustainability and influence the changes and actions that will contribute to the economic, environmental and social health of the region. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Economic development and business Leadership and Governance Natural environment Planning |
| Pyrenees Shire Council | Demonstrating leadership & climate change adaptation through operational delivery 2011 - 2013 The project carried out carbon accounting and data collection for council with a view to implementing future energy efficiencies; develop an energy meter loan scheme for the community; and install solar power on a Council building as a demonstration. | Mitigation Energy |
| Ararat
Rural City Council Ballarat City Council Buloke Shire Council Golden Plains Shire Council Hepburn Shire Council Hindmarsh Shire Council Horsham Rural City Council Moorabool Shire Council Northern Grampians Shire Council Southern Grampians Shire Council West Wimmera Shire Council Yarriambiack Shire Council | Building community resilience and adaptation to climate change through distributed bio-energy 2012 - 2014 The regional bioenergy project was a commercial bioenergy demonstration plant at the Beaufort Hospital and the development of a bioenergy project in the Wimmera. The project was a collaboration between the Victorian Government, local councils, Waste Management Groups and other regional stakeholders. | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
| Southern Grampians Shire Council | Regional sustainability indicators framework for South West Victoria 2010 - 2012 The project developed a set of indicators that builds on research by Deakin University. It tested and evaluated the indicators to determine if they are easily replicable at different scales and boundaries and developed timelines for ongoing reporting. | Mitigation / Adaptation Planning |
| Southern Grampians Shire Council | Southern Grampians energy management demonstration 2011 - 2013 This project implemented key energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy applications in selected council buildings. | Mitigation Energy |
| Southern Grampians Shire Council | Understanding and adapting land use capability under a changing climate 2014 - 2015 This project considered water, soil, climate and topography characteristics of the region and how a changing climate will impact upon overall land use capabilities. The goal is to assist the agricultural sector and future investors to adapt to a changing climate. | Adaptation Economic development and business Natural environment |
| Southern Grampians Shire Council | Enabling adaptation action for vulnerable rural persons (Rural People; Resilient Futures) 2014 - 2015 This project investigated ways to increase the capacity of vulnerable rural populations to better plan for the impacts of climate change which have ramifications on health and wellbeing. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| West Wimmera Shire Council | Building resilience in farming communities and agri-business 2014 - 2016 This was an action research project investigating blockers for farmers and agri-business to sourcing and implementing innovations and sustainable practices. It developed an information and knowledge brokering service. | Adaptation Economic development and business Education, training and research |
| Yarriambiack Shire Council | Yarriambiack Shire Council resource efficiency 2011 - 2014 This project helped reduce water use, energy use and carbon emissions of the Yarriambiack Shire Council. | Mitigation Energy Water |
| Moorabool Shire Council | Natural assets support program 2012 - 2015 The aim of this project was to undertake a review of existing biodiversity protection schemes that are available for private landowners to access, such as Bushbroker and Trust for Nature, investigate the barriers that exist and the role that council could play. | Adaptation Natural environment |
| Hepburn Shire Council | Climate resilient recreation facilities 2015 - 2017 This project is developing an implementation strategy to minimise the vulnerability of council's recreation facilities to climate change, and exploring innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions and water/resource consumption. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Planning |
| Pyrenees Shire Council | Beaufort sustainable water use plan 2015 -2017 This project is developing a sustainable water use plan for the Beaufort township by investigating alternative water sources and matching potential users with those sources, reducing demand on current supplies. | Mitigation / Adaptation Water |
| Golden Plains Shire Council | Fire, Conservation and Construction 2015 - 2017 This project is developing online mapping tools and templates to help the community produce more informed environmental, fire and land management plans. | Adaptation Emergency management Natural environment Planning |
| Councils | Project details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Benalla
Rural City Council Campaspe Shire Council Greater Shepparton City Council Mansfield Shire Council Mitchell Shire Council Moira Shire Council Murrindindi Shire Council Strathbogie Shire Council | Goulburn Broken climate change impact analysis project 2010 - 2012 This project helped identify regional climate change impacts, interpreted and prioritised the impacts for each partner council and then translated them into strategic actions around climate change adaptation | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Benalla
Rural City Council Campaspe Shire Council Greater Shepparton City Council Mansfield Shire Council Mitchell Shire Council Moira Shire Council Murrindindi Shire Council Strathbogie Shire Council | Goulburn Broken local government sustainability training program 2012 - 2014 Staff development program that provideed LGA staff, management and councillors with an understanding of environmental sustainability challenges for communities and LG organisations in the Goulburn Broken region due to climate change impacts. | Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Indigo Shire Council | Roadside partnership program connecting landholders to catchment management 2009 - 2011 The Roadside Partnership Project consisted of three main phases: - Reassessments of conservation values for existing high-value and targeted roadsides, their weed activity and points of interest to incorporate into future management strategies and procedures. New GIS data sets and maps were the result. - Review of existing Roadside Management Plans for council. Using data collected in Phase 1, council's roadside management plans and practices were analysed to identify opportunities for improvement. The review incorporated changes in regulation and identified areas in which further training and education for staff and the community were required. - The Landholder Engagement Program (LEP). The LEP engaged with targeted landholders adjacent to valuable roadside corridors to improve their understanding of the ecological significance and value of high quality habitat. The aim was to empower landowners to manage and preserve high quality components of their land and nearby roadsides. The program included a social behaviour assessment to identify initial knowledge of participants and the capacity of the project to improve their awareness and participation in the designated conservation activities. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment Planning |
| Alpine
Shire Council Benalla Rural City Council Indigo Shire Council Mansfield Shire Council Towong Shire Council | Reduce, Green and Sustain - next generation procurement 2012 - 2016 The project is developing practical tools, templates, processes and training to enable two demonstration councils and three replication councils to increase their environmental sustainability and reduce carbon emissions by focusing on three core components of procurement. | Mitigation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance |
| Indigo Shire Council | Mapping and brokering local energy solutions in Indigo 2011 - 2013 This project examined the potential for local renewable energy throughout Indigo Shire and provided an overview of opportunities for generation at various commercial scales. | Mitigation Energy |
| Indigo Shire Council | Climate Change Adaptation Action Plans 2014 - 2017 This project is providing a comprehensive risk assessment of the potential impacts on the shire's operations, environment, community and economy arising from predicted changes to the climate, enabling council to identify and prioritise actions within it. | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Mitchell
Shire Council Strathbogie Shire Council | Sustainable Communities Program 2009 - 2010 The project was a three-year "green-living" project that delivered practical workshops across the shires of Mitchell and Strathbogie, as well as the Puckapunyal Military Area, covering a collective population of 40,000. Organisations contributing to the project were Resource GV, Goulburn Valley Water, Yarra Valley Water, BEAM Mitchell Environment Group. The project also collaborated with the Violet Town EcoLiving Project.The program was designed for regional and rural residents and local enterprises, to provide the tools and confidence to enable them to implement sustainable practices in their homes and at work. It aligned with the councils' environment-based strategies that aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, potable water consumption and volume of waste sent to land-fill. | Mitigation / Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Mitchell Shire Council | Don't Waste, Go Solar! 2012 - 2013 Solar PV panels were installed at the Wallan transfer station and depot, as well as a large screen illustrating the site's energy consumption, generation and footprint. An educational programme and campaign for the community was also developed as part of the project. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
| Moira Shire Council | Backbone to Biolinks 2010 - 2012 This project developed, trialed and delivered an education and training package to local government staff, landholders and community at a number of events within the municipality. | Adaptation Education, training and research Natural environment |
| Greater
Shepparton City Council Moira Shire Council | Greening local supply chains for local government 2012 - 2014 The project aimed to improve the sustainability of local government procurement and supply chains. The project delivered a framework and toolkit which can be utilised by regional and rural councils to help support local businesses and industry. | Mitigation / Adaptation Economic development and business Leadership and Governance |
| Moira
Shire Council Swan Hill Rural City Council | Virtual Renewable Power Stations 2014 - 2016 This project is using regional community owned assets to host renewable energy infrastructure to create a virtual renewable power station and drive adaptation to, and investment in, decentralised electricity generation and distribution infrastructure. | Mitigation Energy |
| Benalla
Rural City Council Campaspe Shire Council Greater Shepparton City Council Mansfield Shire Council Moira Shire Council Murrindindi Shire Council Strathbogie Shire Council | Climate-smart agricultural development in the Goulburn Broken 2014 - 2016 This project generated and communicated specific long-term data, information and strategic plans to enable local government and agribusinesses in the Goulburn-Broken region to adapt to climate change effectively, with a focus on regional development. The project was undertaken in partnership with Dairy Australia, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, the Goulburn Broken Greenhouse Alliance and the University of Melbourne. | Adaptation Economic development and business |
| Murrindindi Shire Council | Development of a resource and energy efficiency program for key council facilities 2012 - 2014 The project designed a green building program for council. This included strategic identification of sources and levels of greenhouse gas emissions in a selection of council's highest energy using facilities. | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
| Wangaratta Rural City Council | Place and issue based community capacity building 2014 - 2016 This project helped local communities build their understanding of adaptation through an issue based project. Participatory processes helped encourage the community to translate the initial project to broader applications of climate change adaptation. | Adaptation
Community health and wellbeing Education, training and research |
| Alpine
Shire Council Benalla Rural City Council Indigo Shire Council Towong Shire Council Wangaratta Rural City Council Wodonga City Council | Resilient Community Facilities 2014 - 2016 This project identified actions to improve the value of community facilities and adapt to climate change impacts. Guidelines have been developed to build resilience into future projects. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing |
| Wodonga City Council | Sustainable water management - Bonegilla Migrant Experience 2012 - 2013 This project helped secure a reliable water supply source for the Bonegilla Migrant Experience Heritage Park and improved water use efficiency. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Water |
| Towong Shire Council | Banking on our solar future 2015 - 2017 "Banking on our solar future - innovation for resilient communities" will deliver a demonstration solar bank to educate the community and provide opportunities for individuals and business owners to make more informed investments in energy storage and solar electricity systems. | Mitigation Energy |
| Indigo Shire Council | Battery storage revolution 2015 - 2017 Battery storage offers numerous benefits to vulnerable communities by supporting energy management and building resilience. This project will present the latest information on this rapidly evolving technology for residents thinking about energy storage. Understanding will be enhanced through a demonstration site. | Mitigation Energy |
| Councils | Project details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Buloke Shire Council | Harvesting Our Solar Energy 2011 - 2012 Installation of a 21kW solar PV system on council building. | Mitigation Energy |
| Buloke
Shire Council Central Goldfields Shire Council Gannawarra Shire Council Loddon Shire Council Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mount Alexander Shire Council | Resilient community assets 2014 - 2016 The primary objective of the project is to improve the capacity of the six councils (Central Goldfields, Gannawarra, Buloke, Loddon, Mount Alexander and Macedon Ranges) to embed climate change adaptation policies and programs. | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Gannawarra Shire Council | Living green in Gannawarra and surrounds 2009 - 2011 The project focused on education and community engagement, to foster long term sustainibility behaviour change. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Education, training and research |
| Greater Bendigo City Council | A Shared Journey: service delivery in a changing climate 2011 - 2012 Development of a workshop series delivered to council staff and councillors, embedding sustainability issues across the various sectors of council business. | Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Buloke
Shire Council Central Goldfields Shire Council Greater Bendigo City Council Loddon Shire Council Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mount Alexander Shire Council | Creating a climate resilient Southern Loddon Mallee 2012 - 2015 This project sought to understand the current and potential future climate-related vulnerability of the Southern Loddon Mallee Region's economy and community. This understanding will contribute to identifying and implementing ongoing practical action. | Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Loddon Shire Council | Loddon Shire Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2012 - 2015 Project focussed on implementing prioritised actions from the updated Loddon Shire Environmental Sustainability Plan | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Macedon Ranges Shire Council | Adaptive natural area management plans for council's bushland reserves 2011 - 2013 Project helped develop natural area management plans to ensure that management techniques are in place to protect and enhance the sustainability and well being of land under council's protection. | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Mildura Rural City Council | Educating and engaging a sustainable community 2012 - 2015 This project developed and delivered targeted sustainability messages to the Mildura community. | Mitigation / Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Mount Alexander Shire Council | Building the Buzz 2012 - 2015 Boosting council's sustainability knowledge and commitment offering opportunities for council staff to upskill in embedding sustainability into daily work, including: green scholarships; skill sharing with metropolitan councils; sustainability events; and behaviour change techniques. | Mitigation / Adaptation Education, training and research Leadership and Governance |
| Swan Hill Rural City Counci | Smarter Buildings project 2012 - 2013 This project was a review of energy use creating the opportunity to retrofit council owned buildings. The project included educating and empowering council staff about energy reduction opportunities. | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Education, training and research |
| Mount Alexander Shire Council | Mount Alexander waste-to-energy 2015 - 2017 The Mount Alexander Sustainability Group's community renewable waste-to-energy project has undertaken a pre-feasibility of bio-energy opportunities at the Castlemaine waste (landfill and sewerage) and heavy industry (foundry and panel beater) precinct. Council is now supporting the next stage of the project; a detailed feasibility study of the three identified waste-to-energy technologies and their potential integration. | Adaptation Energy |
| Gannawarra Shire Council | Be cool in Gannawarra 2015 -2017 This project will further develop council's Home and Community Care and Maternal Child Health assessment processes to include heat as a vulnerability. This will facilitate discussions with clients, leading to a pathway that will result in better understanding and preparation for the most vulnerable in the region's community. "Heat packs" for vulnerable people will be developed, including resources providing practical advice, support and other information. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| Councils | Project details | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Boroondara
City Council Knox City Council Maroondah City Council Monash City Council Stonnington City Council Whitehorse City Council Yarra Ranges Shire Council | Bushland and urban biodiversity management in a changing climate 2014 - 2015 This project developed and tested a framework for monitoring biodiversity and habitat health together with potential climate-related impacts to help councils manage their biodiversity assets better. | Adaptation Natural environment |
| Cardinia Shire Council | Tracking utility data to enable council reporting against targets 2012 This project employed a Utility Officer for 12 months to assess, make recommendations, and implement a utility tracking system that provided council with the capacity to report against their greenhouse gas emission and water consumption targets. | Mitigation Energy Water |
| Casey City Council | Protecting the Western Port community from the impacts of climate change 2009 - 2010 Projected impacts due to climate change around Western Port include an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Typically, the response to these events is provided through a largely volunteer service. The project provided intensive community engagement for dealing with emergency response, including developing community preparedness to minimise the impacts of events. | Adaptation Community health and wellbeing Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Bass
Coast Shire Council Baw Baw Shire Council Bayside City Council Cardinia Shire Council Casey City Council Greater Dandenong City Council Kingston City Council Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | Local Government Climate Change Financial Risk Adaptation Planning (FRAP) 2014 - 2016 The FRAP project developed a framework for risk assessment and financial analysis to assist council risk managers and planners understand the budgetary risks to south east councils from climate change and build adaptation into their financial planning. Project was managed by the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA). | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Economic development and business Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Darebin City Council | Public Lighting Action Program 2007 - 2009 Sustainable street lighting (project managed by the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action) | Mitigation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
| Darebin City Council | Talking my Language: environmental information and action in diverse communities 2011 - 2012 Project helped engage with culturally and linguistically diverse communities on the topics of sustainability and climate change. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| Darebin
City Council Melbourne City Council Whittlesea City Council Yarra City Council | Adaptation mechanisms for vulnerable low income and rental households 2014 - 2015 This project sought to address information and financial barriers to improving the climate resilience of housing for vulnerable low income and rental households. It tested the effectiveness of both direct and mediated approaches through two different engagement channels to engage and encourage rental landlords to improve their properties. The first channel was through the council's rates database; the second was through real estate agents. Financial barriers were assessed through an investigation of the effectiveness of using the rates mechanism to access difficult to reach groups and the use of incentives to enable housing retrofits. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Economic development and business Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Greater Dandenong City Council | Developing a model to build councils capacity to work together on NRM projects 2010 - 2011 The objective of the project was to use the experiences and lessons learnt from developing a successful collaborative program ("Living Links"). Elements were identified to enable councils to participate and facilitate multi-council and natural resource agency projects. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Planning |
| Hobsons Bay City Council | Kororoit Creek: a structure for implementing sustainable catchment management 2007 - 2010 Led by Hobsons Bay City Council in partnership with Melton Shire, Brimbank City, and Wyndham City councils as well as the Victorian State Government, Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria this project developed an agreed management approach to coordinate and implement actions within the Kororoit Creek Regional Strategy 2005 – 2030 | Adaptation Natural environment Planning |
| Hume City Council | Public Lighting Action Program 2010 - 2012 Sustainable street lighting (project managed by the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action). | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| Hume City Council | Heatwave help for Hume home care clients 2014 - 2015 Free retrofits were made available to home care clients who are most vulnerable to heatwave impacts. These retrofits included draught sealing, window coverings and the provision of fans. Information on keeping cool and low cost cooling options were also provided to eligible residents who took up the offer. Hume Council engaged agency staff to conduct retrofits, and heat wave training was provided to Hume Direct Care Workers via Kildonan Uniting Care. | Mitigation / Adaptation Community health and wellbeing |
| Alpine
Shire Council Knox City Council Melbourne City Council Port Phillip City Council Yarra Ranges Shire Council | Sustainability In the Early Years 2012 - 2015 This project employed a project officer to work with five urban and rural councils across Victoria to develop an Early Years Education for Sustainability Framework, piloted in multiple early years service settings in each partner council. The Framework and supporting resources, tools and training programs were developed to be flexible across different local government management structures and designed to be transferrable. | Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Darebin
City Council Manningham City Council Moreland City Council Yarra City Council | Accelerating sustainable buildings in the local government sector
2008 - 2010 Project helped to reduce the environmental impact of council buildings. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport |
| Manningham City Council | Communicating energy use In local communities 2012 - 2013 This project developed a response plan to address climate change risks to the western metropolitan Melbourne region and was undertaken in partnership with the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action and its member councils. | Adaptation
Energy Leadership and Governance |
| Brimbank
City Council Greater Geelong City Council Hobsons Bay City Council Maribyrnong City Council Moonee Valley City Council Moorabool Shire Council Wyndham City Council | Climate change risk adaptation response plan 2012 - 2013 Partner councils developed a response plan to address climate change risks to the western metropolitan Melbourne region. This project was undertaken in partnership with the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action. | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Boroondara
City Council Knox City Council Maroondah City Council Monash City Council Stonnington City Council Whitehorse City Council Yarra Ranges Shire Council | Climate change adaptation roadmap for decision makers in Melbourne’s East 2013 - 2016 Partner councils undertook a regional climate change risk assessment and determined the cross-municipality adaptation response actions for integration into existing plans and strategies of each member council. This project was undertaken in partnership with the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action. | Mitigation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Melbourne City Council | Valuing urban trees 2010 - 2012 This project helped place a financial value on the environmental benefits of urban trees to provide future guidance for urban decision makers such as urban designers, planners and policy makers. | Mitigation / Adaptation Planning |
| Melbourne City Council | Growing green guide for Melbourne: a how-to guide for green roofs, walls and facades 2012 - 2014 This project developed "The Growing Green Guide" which provides a practical tool to help increase the knowledge and reduce the technical barriers related to green roof, green wall and facade construction. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Natural environment Planning |
| Banyule
City Council Kingston City Council Moonee Valley City Council | Assessing the economic value of green infrastructure 2014 - 2015 This project developed an economic framework to value the benefits of green infrastructure to help with the development of business cases. Green infrastructure helps build resilience to drought, extreme heat and floods, improves health and liveability, and provides ecosystem services. This project was undertaken in partnership with Victoria University. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Natural environment Planning |
| Moreland City Council | Sustainable design assessment in the planning process 2007 - 2014 This project was a partnership between the Moreland Energy Foundation (MEFL) and 16 local councils to develop and implement a sustainable design assessment in the planning process. This process has now evolved into the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS). | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Planning |
| Bayside
City Council Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | Are you ready? 2014 - 2016 Development of an interactive website (http://www.climateready.com.au/) to assist residents of all partner councils to learn about the risks to their property and lifestyle associated with climate change and help them to plan for the future. The website allows residents to prepare individual action plans based on their specific climate change risks and situation. This project was undertaken with Green Cross Australia. | Adaptation Education, training and research |
| Bayside
City Council Borough of Queenscliff Council Frankston City Council Greater Geelong City Council Hobsons Bay City Council Kingston City Council Melbourne City Council Port Phillip City Council | Plan for Port Phillip Bay - a regional coastal adaptation framework 2014 - 2016 A regional level partnership between Association of Bayside Municipality member councils (and others) to establish and implement a common approach to embed climate change adaptation in coastal decision making and to build capacity to use climate and non-climate assessment information. It involves guiding investment, planning, infrastructure and decision making with a regionally consistent methodogy, built on a strong commitment to a Regional Coastal Adaptation Framework to drive and coordinate implementation at a regional and local level. | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Natural environment Planning |
| Banyule
City Council Darebin City Council Hume City Council Manningham City Council Melbourne City Council Moreland City Council Nillumbik Shire Council Whittlesea City Council Yarra City Council | Integrated Regional Vulnerability Assessment 2014 - 2015 The Integrated Regional Vulnerability Assessment built upon a regional approach to climate change adaptation planning through the development of an integrated vulnerability assessment and regional adaptation plan. This project was undertaken with the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA). | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Brimbank
City Council Greater Geelong City Council Hobsons Bay City Council Maribyrnong City Council Moonee Valley City Council Moorabool Shire Council Wyndham City Council | How Well Are We Adapting? 2014 - 2016 This project involved the research and development of: - a framework to monitor, evaluate and report on participating councils' climate change adaptation performance in key services, including a set of tested indicators; and - best-practice tools for reporting to the community on climate change adaptation performance. This project was undertaken with the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA). | Adaptation Leadership and Governance Planning |
| Yarra City Council | Towards Zero Net Emissions 2008 - 2009 This project helped council move towards zero net emissions by enabling the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action partnership to research carbon offsets and develop a common methodology for carbon projects for all local governments. | Mitigation Energy |
| Banyule
City Council Darebin City Council Hume City Council Manningham City Council Melbourne City Council Moreland City Council Nillumbik Shire Council Yarra City Council | Local Energy Consumption Data 2010 - 2011 In this project, Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA) members advanced data sharing arrangements and management of community energy consumption data to provide a basis for tracking progress on energy consumption at the local level. | Mitigation Energy |
| Yarra Ranges Shire Council | Bushland management and climate change 2011 - 2014 Yarra Ranges Council investigated the current understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on the ability of local governments to manage their biodiversity and bushland assets. The goal was to identify challenges and opportunities, and, ultimately, identify next steps to enable success. This project was undertaken with the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action. | Mitigation Natural environment Planning |
| Moreland City Council | Working together to cool communities 2015 - 2017 This project is investigating how the impacts of the urban heat island effect can be minimised for vulnerable social housing residents. It is trialling and evaluating cost-effective mitigation measures and delivery options, and will create a replicable model for wider implementation. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Community health and wellbeing Planning |
| Yarra City Council | Embedding green infrastructure toolkit 2015 - 2017 This project is developing an "Embedding Green Infrastructure Best Practice Toolkit" to increase tree planting, water sensitive urban design and other green infrastructure. It will be an evidence-based manual on how to embed into local government decision making and operations. | Mitigation / Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Natural environment Planning Water |
| Yarra Ranges Shire Council | Eastern Sporting Savers 2015 - 2017 The seven councils of the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (EAGA) will deliver a customised engagement program to assist the region's sports clubs save on their energy bills in a way that's fun, achievable and community-led. | Adaptation Assets, infrastructure and transport Energy |
Page last updated: 02/05/21