Council's Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan
Council has developed its Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan to guide how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations over time.
The Plan provides a practical framework for reducing emissions from Council buildings, fleet, infrastructure, procurement, and service delivery. It will help Council make emissions reduction part of everyday planning and decision-making, including asset renewal, capital works, budgeting and purchasing decisions.
The Plan focuses on reducing emissions at the source, including through energy efficiency, renewable electricity, building electrification where feasible, lower emissions fleet options and improved procurement practices.
The development of the Plan was informed by detailed transition planning, including the following:
Progress will be monitored through Council’s annual corporate emissions reporting.
Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024/25
Council's total corporate greenhouse gas emissions for 2024/25 are 12,215 tCO2-e, representing a 10% decrease from the previous year when measured against comparable emissions categories.
These emissions are generated from activities required to deliver Council services and maintain community infrastructure. Key categories include energy used in buildings, fuel used in vehicles and plant equipment, construction materials used in infrastructure projects, and waste generated from Council buildings.
Council tracks these emissions annually to understand where emissions are generated across its operations and to support actions that reduce emissions over time. With this, Council has commenced removing gas from selected Council buildings that will support its permanent emission reduction efforts.
2024/25 also marks the first full year of 100% renewable electricity supplied through Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO) across all Council buildings.
Frequently asked Questions
What activities contribute to these corporate emissions?
| Emissions category |
Contributing Council Operations |
| Natural gas |
Gas used in Council buildings, including Aqualinks, sporting pavilions, and community buildings. |
| Fleet Fuel |
Fuel used in Council passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and heavy plant and equipment such as trucks, mowers, and other machinery. |
| Refrigerants |
Refrigerants topped up in air conditioning systems and heat pumps at Council facilities. |
| Construction materials |
Materials used in Council capital works and infrastructure projects such as asphalt, cement, concrete, bricks and bitumen. |
| Contractor fuel |
Fuel used by contractors delivering Council services such as street sweeping and kerbside and hard waste collection. |
| Waste |
Emissions associated with the tonnage of waste generated from Council facilities and operations. |
| Water |
Water used in Council buildings and irrigation of parks, reserves, and sporting fields. |
How is Council tracking its targets?
Council’s Climate Response Strategy targets (amended 26 May 2025) for its operations are:
- Source 100 per cent renewable electricity for Council operations by 2025 (achieved).
- Aspire for net zero corporate emissions.
The below graph shows Council’s corporate emissions trend from 2005, alongside the emissions reduction targets set by the Victorian State and Federal Governments. Including these targets provides broader context for Council’s emissions trajectory and reflects the wider policy direction for emissions reduction across state and national governments.
Why are there emissions for electricity if Council purchases 100% renewable electricity?
Some electricity-related emissions remain due to small unmetered services, such as CCTV and pedestrian crossing lights, where electricity consumption is estimated by electricity distributors rather than directly metered.
There are also electricity transmission and distribution losses that occur before power reaches buildings which are accounted for in emissions reporting.
What do you mean by comparable emissions categories?
Under the Climate Active program (for 2022/23 and 2023/24), some emissions categories were estimated using financial spend data rather than actual energy or fuel consumption. The methodologies used for these estimates were proprietary to the program. To improve transparency in Council’s emissions reporting, these estimates are no longer included in the annual reporting.
Their exclusion does not indicate that the emissions have been reduced, and Council will continue to monitor and consider these emissions as part of its broader climate actions.
What are expenditure-based emissions?
Expenditure-based emissions are estimates of greenhouse gas emissions associated with goods and services purchased by Council where direct activity data (such as energy use or fuel consumption) is not available.
These emissions are calculated using industry average emissions factors applied to Council’s financial spend in various categories. Examples may include professional services; equipment purchases or other contracted services.
