Carbon neutral
Climate change action
The City of Sydney was the first local council in Australia to be certified as carbon neutral under the National Carbon Offset Standard.
Our journey began in 2008 when we first reduced and then offset 100% of our greenhouse gas emissions.
We do this to take action against climate change, meet public and staff expectations, show leadership and reduce costs through energy savings.
By measuring our greenhouse gas emissions, energy emissions, renewable energy and offsets, we monitor our progress and remain carbon neutral each year.
Our emissions
The table below helps to show our progress for each year since 2005/06.
Please note the formula tCO2-e refers to tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Scope guide
Scope 1: gas, fleet fuel and so on.
Scope 2: mains electricity emissions
Scope 3: emissions from flights, taxis, contractors’ fuel, and events.
How we do it
1. Measure
Any carbon neutral claims must be accurate and verified independently.
The City's emissions boundary and factors are based on the National Carbon Offset Standard, National Greenhouse Accounts Factors, National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Guidelines 2008, and the WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
2. Avoid and reduce
The City has been achieving real energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings in our buildings, street lighting, and fleet operations. We have started a water and energy retrofit that will reduce our 2006 property emissions by 23% in addition to savings already achieved.
3. Switch green
In previous years the City of Sydney used 100 per cent GreenPower. We have now instead committed $2 million each year to install renewable energy onto our properties, to generate clean energy locally where and when it is required.
4. Offset
The City reduces carbon liability by avoiding and reducing emissions, as specified above. Offsets are used for emissions that can’t be avoided.
More information
For further reading, you may be interested in downloading our carbon neutral resources.
Contacts
City of Sydney
02 9265 9333council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Last updated: Monday, 27 May 2013