Energy and Water Strategy 2007-2010 - Sustainable Blue Mountains

ENERGY AND WATER 

STRATEGY 

2007 – 2010 

1

BLUE MOUNTAINS CITY COUNCIL – ENERGY AND WATER STRATEGY 

This Energy and Water Strategy is Blue Mountains City Council’s 

blueprint for improving the energy and water performance in its own 

operations, and for influencing energy and water performance in the 

community. 

The Strategy is the central document that sets out the priority areas 

for energy and water performance improvement, and is a dynamic 

tool used by Council staff to guide them in developing specific energy 

and water related projects and actions. 

The Strategy is a major component of Council’s Energy and Water 

Management System, which is the overarching framework developed 

by Council to achieve the energy and water improvement targets of 

the City in an efficient and cost effective way. 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

HOW TO USE THIS STRATEGY 4 

BACKGROUND TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GREENHOUSE ISSUE 6 

RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GREENHOUSE ISSUE 11 

THE ENERGY AND WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 17 

PREVIOUS ENERGY AND WATER PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES 19 

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO ENERGY AND WATER PERFORMANCE 23 

IMPROVEMENT 

HISTORICAL AND CURRENT ENERGY AND WATER PERFORMANCE – PLANET 24 

FOOTPRINT REPORTS 

CURRENT ENERGY AND WATER OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS 37 

CURRENT AREAS OF FOCUS: 2007-2010 39 

ENERGY AND WATER ISSUES AND ACTIONS REGISTER – CORPORATE 40 

ACTIONS 

ENERGY AND WATER ACTIONS REGISTER – COMMUNITY ACTIONS 53 

APPENDIX 1 – THE ENERGY AND WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

APPENDIX 2 – CITY OF BLUE MOUNTAINS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 

PROFILE – CCP MILESTONE 1 SUMMARY 

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HOW TO USE THIS STRATEGY 

This Energy and Water Strategy is a ‘living’ document that will be continually updated and adjusted 

to ensure it remains a powerful tool for managers and staff of Council. 

The Strategy comprises the following sections: 

- Background information on climate change, including response by various levels of 

government 

- A background to the Strategy, Council’s previous energy and water initiatives, and the 

Energy and Water Management System 

- Details of the historical energy and water performance of the organisation 

- Current energy and water objectives and targets 

- Current areas of focus for the current Strategy 

- An extract of the Energy and Water Issues and Actions Register. 

The Strategy also comprises a number of Appendices that provide background information on 

Council’s greenhouse gas emissions profile, and specific details of the Energy and Water 

Management System. 

Updating the Energy and Water Strategy 

The Energy and Water Strategy is adjusted every year by updating the Energy and Water Issues 

and Actions Register, and the objectives and targets (if necessary). The Strategy is also 

‘overhauled’ every three years to update the broad areas of focus and adjust any other parts of the 

Strategy that require updating. The broad areas of focus are generally those where the 

corresponding actions in the Issues and Actions Register are rated as ‘high priority’ for 

implementation. 

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Using the Energy and Water Strategy to develop annual project 

plans and budgets 

Following the development of the energy and water targets for the year, the Sustainability 

Coordinator and Energy and Water Steering Team liaise with individual managers to identify 

the specific actions that will be implemented that year. These actions are drawn from the 

actions listed in the Energy and Water Issues and Actions Register, and are selected so they 

contribute towards achieving the energy and water objectives and targets. 

Once actions are identified, the Energy and Water Steering Team, led by the Sustainability 

Coordinator, work with managers to ensure these actions are included in departmental 

submissions for annual budgeting and planning purposes. Managers are responsible for 

ensuring the projects and budget requests they submit to the Council every year will 

contribute to achieving the energy and water targets related to their area of responsibility. 

Projects submitted to the Council by managers for inclusion in the budget allocation process 

are first subjected to a Capital Works triple bottom line assessment to reinforce the 

importance of projects and assist Councillors and Executive Managers to prioritise projects for 

funding according to energy and water outcomes. 

The outcome of this process is a set of specific actions and projects to achieve the energy 

and water objectives and targets and improve energy and water performance within Blue 

Mountains City Council. 

Linking the Energy and Water Strategy to the City of Blue 

Mountains’ 25 Year City Vision 

A focus on improving the Council’s energy and water performance closely aligns with the 

community endorsed 25-year City Vision for a more sustainable Blue Mountains. In particular, 

the pursuit of energy and water performance improvement will directly help to meet the City’s 

objectives of conserving resources and encouraging low consumption lifestyles, as set out in 

the City Vision document. 

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BACKGROUND TO CLIMATE 

CHANGE AND THE 

GREENHOUSE ISSUE 

The Greenhouse Effect 

The ‘greenhouse effect’ is a natural phenomenon that traps the sun’s warmth in a blanket of 

gases in the troposphere (lower atmosphere, 0-10 km above the ground), keeping the Earth’s 

temperature at a level necessary to support life. Most of the heat is re-radiated towards space but 

the gases in the atmosphere maintain the heat balance of the earth, keeping the earth at 

approximately 33 0 C warmer than it would otherwise be (See Figure 1). 

Figure 1: The Greenhouse Effect 

(Source: Australian Greenhouse Office) 

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Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) methane (CH 4 ), ozone (O 2 ) nitrous 

oxide (N 2 O) and halocarbons. Human activities are increasing the level of greenhouse gases (with 

the exception of water vapour) in the atmosphere. It is now generally believed that this increase in 

concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is contributing to an ‘enhanced 

greenhouse effect’ (See Figure 2). These additional gases trap more heat in the atmosphere 

causing ‘global warming’ and climate change. 

Figure 2: The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect 

(Source: Australian Greenhouse Office) 

The principal greenhouse gas emitted by human activities is carbon dioxide, which is produced by 

burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. Carbon dioxide is also released by deforestation and 

land clearing, as vegetation stores large quantities of carbon. Another potent greenhouse gas is 

methane, which is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas and oil. Methane 

emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, 

and livestock. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during 

combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels. 

Very powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring include halocarbons such as 

hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons which are generated in a variety of industrial processes. 

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Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere and all are converted to 

units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO -e 2 ) so that gases of different strengths can be compared and 

added together. For example, one unit of methane equals 21 (CO -e 2 ) which means that methane 

traps 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. 

Australia Greenhouse Gas Production 

Australia has produced a National Greenhouse Gas Inventory annually since 1990. It is based on 

international guidelines established by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These 

inventories provide a baseline from which we are able to monitor and review response action and 

develop projections of greenhouse gas emissions into the future. 

The 2005 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory is the latest report on Australia's greenhouse gas 

emissions. The Inventory provides greenhouse gas emission estimates in two formats, to meet 

accounting provisions for the Australian Kyoto target, and for the United Nations Framework 

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

The Australian Government along with State, Territory and Local governments have already 

implemented a range of polices and programs, which are expected to cut greenhouse gas 

emissions by approximately 67 million tonnes CO -e 2 per year by 2008-12. Without the savings from 

implemented measures the ‘business as usual’ emissions growth for Australia would reach 123% 

by 2008-12. 

The Energy sector (covering the Stationary Energy, Transport and Fugitive emissions sectors) 

contributed the majority of Australia’s total emissions in 2005. This is mainly due to the fact that 

Australia relies heavily on fossil fuels for energy generation. Several factors have contributed to the 

uniqueness of Australia’s emissions profile which has also ranked Australians as the highest per 

capita emitters of greenhouse gases in the world (See Figure 3 below). Reasons for this include: 

• Australia has one of the highest rates of economic growth of any developed country 

(international demand for Australia’s resources, greenhouse intensive exports i.e. 

primary products, energy and energy intensive products); 

• Wide range of climatic zones 

• Relatively high population growth; 

• Long distances separating urban centres 

• Land use patterns still undergoing significant change 

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The principal greenhouse gases emitted in Australia are carbon dioxide (approximately 71% of the 

total contribution to global warming), methane (24%) and nitrous oxide (5%). 

Australians are the highest per capita 

emitters of greenhouse gas pollution 

Per capital annual greenhouse gas emissions 

Emissions (tonnes of CO2 

equivalent) 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Australia Canada EU Japan New 

Zealand 

Russian 

Fed. 

Ukraine 

USA 

Country 

Source: Based on reports by The Australia Institute 

-e) 

Figure 3: Highest per capita annual Greenhouse Emitting Countries (CO 2 

(Source: Based on reports from the Australian Institute) 

Potential impacts of the Greenhouse Effect 

There is strong evidence and international consensus that the global climate is changing and that 

increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere play a significant role. Evidence 

that recent observed changes in climate have already affected a variety of physical and biological 

systems has been highlighted by both the IPCC and Australia’s CSIRO. 

Impacts of global climate change may lead to significant effects on natural ecosystems resulting in 

adverse impacts on socio-economic sectors including food supply, water resources and human 

health. A summary of potential impacts include: 

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• Most of Australia may warm 0.4 to 2.0ºC by 2030 and 1 to 6 ºC by 2070, with 

slightly less warming near the coast. This is likely to result in more evaporation, 

more hot days and fewer cold days 

• Changes in rainfall patterns. Where average rainfall increases, more extremely 

wet years are projected, and where average rainfall decreases more dry spells 

are projected. 

• An increase in sea level due to warmer ocean temperatures which may include 

flooding of low lying coastal areas 

• Some inland and eastern coastal areas may experience wetter summers 

• Increase in intensity, duration and frequency of storms and cyclones 

• Natural systems that are already under pressure, for example from introduced 

pests, urban expansion, pollution and salinity, will be more vulnerable to climate 

change. 

• Flora and fauna habitat distribution - ability of species with local distribution to 

adapt by moving may be limited by soil types and fragmentation of natural areas. 

• Increases in fire risk 

• Spread of pests and tropical diseases 

• Disturbance to agricultural systems 

Potential Impacts on Blue Mountains City Council 

The enhanced greenhouse effect may have significant impact on Blue Mountains City Council. 

Temperature and rainfall variation may have a significant impact on local ecosystems, particularly 

those which are directly dependent on groundwater, such as wetlands. 

The temperature and rainfall variation may also cause significant negative impact on the flora and 

fauna of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, which would have a subsequent impact on 

tourism and the local economy. 

There may also be an increased fire risk as a result of the enhanced greenhouse effect, which will 

be of concern to most residents living in the City due to most residents’ proximity to bushland. 

Impacts of fire on bushland areas will of course also include impacts on flora and fauna in those 

areas. 

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RESPONSES TO CLIMATE 

CHANGE AND THE 

GREENHOUSE ISSUE 

International Response to Climate Change 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

Growing international concern over climate change and the enhanced greenhouse effect led 

to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the 1980’s. 

The IPCC published extensive reports in 1990, 1996 and in 2001, The Third Assessment 

Report. These reports have been used in discussions and decision-making regarding the 

enhanced greenhouse effect. The Fourth Assessment Report was released on 17 November 

2007. Projected regional impacts for Australia and New Zealand identified in this Report 

include: 

• By 2020, significant loss of biodiversity is projected to occur in some ecologically rich 

sites including the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland Wet Tropics; 

• By 2030, water security problems are projected to intensify in southern and eastern 

Australia and, in New Zealand, in Northland and some eastern regions; 

• By 2030, production from agriculture and forestry is projected to decline over much of 

southern and eastern Australia, and over parts of eastern New Zealand, due to 

increased drought and fire. However, in New Zealand, initial benefits are projected in 

some other regions; 

• By 2050, ongoing coastal development and population growth in some areas of 

Australia and New Zealand are projected to exacerbate risks from sea level rise and 

increases in the severity and frequency of storms and coastal flooding. 

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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was convened due to 

the mounting evidence that humans were contributing towards a human induced climate 

change. Australia signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in June 

1992 at the Rio Earth Summit and ratified it in December 1992. 

The objective of the Convention were to achieve: - 

Stabilisation of the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent 

dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved 

within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure 

that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a 

sustainable manner. 

To achieve this objective the Convention contains a number of principles to guide the Parties’ 

actions and a series of general commitment for Parties, including requirements to: - 

• Prepare national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks. 

• Develop, implement and report on national programs to mitigate climate change and 

develop adaptation strategies. 

• Cooperate in the development and transfer of technologies, practices and processes that 

control, reduce or prevent the emissions of greenhouse gases. 

• Take climate change considerations into account in relevant social, economic and 

environmental policies and actions. 

The countries that are parties to the convention have met regularly since Rio to determine the 

details of the Convention’s implementation. These meetings are known as the Conference of 

Parties. Of particular note is that the Conference of Parties can adopt protocols to the 

Convention, which are subsidiary treaties that would legally bind the Parties to the Protocol. 

The first Conference of Parties met in Berlin (1995), with the next Conference of Parties 

(COP13) to be held in Bali in December 2007. 

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The Kyoto Protocol 

In - December 1997 the Conference of Parties met in Kyoto and agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, 

which requires Annex 1 countries to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at 

least 5% below 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. In an attempt to reach these targets 

individual countries have agreed to differentiate their targets depending on economic 

circumstances and differing capacities to make emissions reductions. Australia’s target is to 

reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the target period to no more than 8% above 1990 

levels. In achieving their targets, countries can take account of emission reductions; carbon 

sink enhancement and changes in land clearing. 

Under the Protocol, countries can use a range of flexible mechanisms to meet their reduction 

commitments, including emissions trading, joint implementation of measures with other 

countries, emissions banking and emissions reduction credits for assistance to developing 

countries. 

Australia’s Response to Climate Change 

Although Australia only contributes just over 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, its per 

capita emissions are the highest in the world. This is due to 90% of Australia’s electricity 

being generated from coal-fired power, extensive land clearing, a large agricultural base, high 

transport use and energy intensive industries and export products. 

Current projections suggest that there will be a substantial growth in Australia’s emissions in 

the next decade. 

Australia’s commitment to greenhouse gas abatement began in 1992 with the endorsement of 

the National Greenhouse Response Strategy. The National Greenhouse Strategy provides 

the strategic framework for advancing Australia’s domestic greenhouse response. Australia’s 

domestic action encompasses a wide range of measures, both regulatory and voluntary, 

across all sectors and sources of greenhouse gases. Australia’s infrastructure for monitoring, 

analysing and responding to climate change includes the following measures. 

• The Mandatory Renewable Energy Target is a world first in creating a national renewable 

energy market that is backed by legislation. This market is expected to deliver enough 

renewable electricity per year by 2010 to meet the residential electricity needs of four million 

people. 

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• The A$400 million Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program is expected to deliver total savings 

equivalent to the annual emissions of over two million cars. The program targets opportunities 

for large-scale, cost-effective and sustained abatement from a range of sectors. 

• A$464 million in grants-related programs is being provided to encourage the 

commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy and alternative fuels. 

• The Greenhouse Challenge program now includes over 700 business and industry bodies in 

greenhouse action, with members reporting significant annual savings. 

• The National Carbon Accounting System assists in monitoring land use change and its 

impact on Australia’s emissions. It is consistent with world’s best practice in scientific methods 

and is tailored to Australia’s unique environment. 

• The Greenhouse Friendly certification program enables companies to obtain certification for 

products or services whose greenhouse emissions have been fully offset by greenhouse 

abatement activities. 

• Australia has one of the largest Cities for Climate Change Protection Programs in the world, 

with over 200 councils participating. This program allows local government to contribute to 

abating greenhouse gas emissions. 

• Australia has mandatory labeling and minimum energy performance standards to drive 

energy efficiency improvement in appliances and equipment. 

• One of the objectives of the A$1.4 billion National Action Plan for Salinity and Water 

Quality is to prevent, stabilise and reverse trends in dryland salinity which is expected to 

substantially enhance Australia’s greenhouse sink capacity. 

New South Wales’ Response to Climate Change 

The New South Wales government has released a Greenhouse Plan for 2005-2008. This 

Plan is the state’s blueprint for addressing the issue of climate change and sets out action for 

the NSW Government for the next three years and beyond – to reduce the emissions of its 

own activities and to work with other stakeholders to reduce the emissions from their 

activities. 

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The main objectives of the Plan are to: 

• Increase awareness among those expected to be most affected by the impacts of 

climate change. 

• Begin to develop adaptation strategies to those climate change impacts we cannot 

avoid. 

• Put NSW on track to meeting its targets of limiting 2025 emissions to 2000 levels; and 

reducing emissions by 60% by 2050. 

To ensure the NSW Greenhouse Plan remains relevant and effective, additional policies will 

be developed and added as commitments are delivered and new opportunities emerge. The 

NSW Greenhouse Plan will be reviewed and updated regularly. The Government will actively 

seek the views of key stakeholders and the wider community when preparing updates and 

developing additional actions. The NSW Greenhouse Advisory Panel will also be involved in 

keeping the plan updated. 

The Local Government Response – the Cities for Climate 

Protection Program 

The primary response to the greenhouse issue by local governments has been through the CCP 

Program. The CCP Program was conceived in January 1993 at the First Municipal Leaders 

Summit on Climate Change, held at the United Nations in New York. ICLEI initiated the CCP 

Campaign in response to the widespread scientific agreement that the global climate is changing 

as a result of human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. 

CCP is an international initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives 

(ICLEI). In Australia the Program is delivered in collaboration with the Australian Greenhouse 

Office, an agency of the Australian Government. 

The CCP program is based on a five milestone framework set out to allow Councils to work 

strategically to identify the level and sources of both community and corporate emissions, 

prioritise actions, and identify locally relevant greenhouse gas reduction measures. 

Local Governments are the focus of the campaign because they are the tier of government closest 

to the community that can subsequently directly and/or indirectly influence activities that lead to 

greenhouse emissions from their municipality. In response to the recognition of the important role 

local government can play in the reduction of greenhouse gases, the Commonwealth Government 

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allocated $13 million to the CCP TM Program in 1997. Australia is a world leader with the highest 

number of participating councils involved in the program. There are 225 CCP councils, 

representing 82% of Australia's population currently involved in the CCP program. 

Blue Mountains City Council’s Response 

Blue Mountains City Council resolved to participate in the CCP Program in April 2005. Omega 

Environmental Pty Limited was engaged to facilitate the development the initial inventory of 

greenhouse gas emissions consistent with Milestone One of the CCP program. The City 

successfully completed Milestone 1 of the CCP program in April 2006 by developing an inventory 

for 2004-2005 for the Corporate sector and 2001 for the Community Sector (based on 2001 

Census data). A forecast of emissions growth under a ‘business as usual’ scenario was also 

prepared to 2010. 

Following this, Council set about establishing an emissions reduction goal to satisfy the 

requirements for completion of Milestone Two of the CCP program. In July 2006, Council 

endorsed the following reduction goals: 

• A 10% reduction in Corporate emissions on 2004-2005 levels by 2012. 

• A 10% reduction in Community emissions on 2001 levels by 2012 

Omega Environmental Pty Limited was further engaged to assist Council in the preparation of an 

Energy Action Plan to satisfy requirements of Milestone Three of the CCP program. 

16


THE ENERGY AND WATER 

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

This Strategy forms a key component of Council’s Energy and Water Management System 

(EWMS), which has been developed to consolidate all current and future energy and water related 

plans, strategies and processes under a single strategic management framework. The aim of this 

framework is to provide the City with a simple and streamlined approach to improving its energy 

and water performance, in a way that integrates energy and water management into the core 

business of the organisation. 

The EWMS is based on a continuous improvement model, comprising a ‘Plan – Implement – 

Check – Adjust’ framework. The model comprises documented processes for: 

- identifying what needs to be done to improve the energy and water performance of 

the organisation, and listing the significant issues affecting Council’s energy and 

water performance 

- setting objectives and targets to address these energy and water performance issues 

- developing plans to achieve the objectives and targets 

- implementing these plans effectively 

- ensuring routine, everyday operations are carried out with regard to energy and water 

efficiency 

- monitoring the effectiveness of the EWMS and the outcomes it generates 

- reviewing the system and adjusting it on a regular basis 

The EWMS model and components are shown in Figure 1. Appendix 1 describes each 

EWMS component and EWMS documentation in detail. 

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18


PREVIOUS ENERGY AND 

WATER PROGRAMS AND 

INITIATIVES 

Council has been involved in a number of initiatives over recent years to accelerate its energy and 

water performance improvement. These include: 

- the Cities for Climate Protection Program 

- Energy Performance Contracts 

- Energy and Water Savings Action Plans 

- Every Drop Counts Program 

The processes for implementing the requirements of each of these initiatives have been integrated 

into the EWMS, ensuring a streamlined approach to energy and water performance improvement 

overall. 

Cities for Climate Protection Program 

Blue Mountains City Council is a member of the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Program. CCP 

is an international initiative of ICLEI ANZ – Local Governments for Sustainability, and is delivered in 

collaboration with the Australian Greenhouse Office, an agency of the Australian Government. The 

aim of the CCP Program is to build capacity in local government to help them reduce their own 

energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and to influence the reduction of emissions in 

the community. 

Blue Mountains City Council resolved to participate in the CCP Program in April 2005. The 

Program is based on a five Milestone framework: 

Milestone 1: 

Prepare an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for both Council 

(Corporate) and LGA (Community) activities and a forecast of emissions 

growth for the future. 

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Milestone 2: 

Set reduction goals for corporate and community emissions. 

Milestone 3: 

Prepare and adopt a Local Greenhouse Action Plan documenting 

measures to be undertaken to achieve the reduction goal. 

Milestone 4: 

Commence implementation of the Local Greenhouse Action Plan. 

Milestone 5: 

Monitor and report on the implementation, and review the Local 

Greenhouse Action Plan. 

The City successfully completed Milestone 1 of the CCP program in May 2006 by developing 

an inventory of energy use for Council operations using a base year of 2004-2005, and the 

Community using a base year of 2001. 

The inventory showed that Council emissions generated 18,367 tonnes of CO -e 2 , and the 

Community Sector generated 1,115,180 tonnes of CO -e 

2 in the respective base years. 

Buildings and streetlighting produced the highest emissions for Council operations, while in 

the Community Sector the majority of emissions were produced by the residential sector 

followed by City transport. Emissions forecasts to the year 2011/12 were also carried out, 

predicting an increase in emissions in all areas. 

Detailed information on Council’s 2004-2005 emissions profile can be found in Appendix 2. 

In June 2006 Blue Mountains City Council achieved Milestone Two of the CCP Program by 

endorsing the following greenhouse gas reduction goals: 

(1) Reduce Council greenhouse gas emissions from 2004 levels by 10% by 2012 

(2) Reduce community greenhouse gas emissions from 2001 levels by 10% by 

2012. 

This Energy and Water Strategy will meet the requirements for awarding of Milestone Three 

of the CCP program, while implementation of the EWMS will help Council to achieve 

Milestones 4 and 5 of the Program during 2007-2008. 

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Energy Performance Contracts 

Council has been involved in two Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) with the aim of 

reducing energy consumption from its major sites. 

The first contract was completed in 2004, and focused on upgrading the efficiency of lighting 

in Council’s Administration Building. The cost of works carried out under the contract was 

$96,408, which resulted in Council reducing its annual energy consumption by 130,000 kWh, 

achieving a greenhouse gas abatement of 132 tonnes of CO 2 equivalent, and saving $17,500 

per year in energy costs. 

The second EPC started in 2005 and involved the upgrading of air conditioning and heating 

systems, lighting efficiency projects and hot water system upgrades at the depots, sports 

centres and pools, libraries and Administration buildings. The cost of works carried out under 

the contract was $548,585, which resulted in Council achieving a greenhouse gas abatement 

of 617 tonnes of CO 2 equivalent, and saving $101,500 per year in energy costs. 

Every Drop Counts Program 

Blue Mountains City Council is participating in two Sydney Water “Every Drop Counts” pilot 

projects. 

The first is an assessment and audit of water use in aquatic centres, with Springwood Aquatic 

and Fitness Centre being targeted in the Blue Mountains. It will also look at energy use on 

the site. 

The second is an assessment of water use at irrigated sporting facilities. Summerhayes Park 

will be the focus of this assessment. 

Each of these will see Blue Mountains City Council receive a findings report with 

recommendations for water savings while maintaining quality conditions for users. 

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Energy and Water Savings Action Plans 

The New South Wales State Government realised that high energy users, including some 

local Councils, can play a large and important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as 

part of an overall attempt to cease global warming and climate change. As a result, the New 

South Wales Minister for Utilities gazetted an Energy Savings Order on 28 October 2005 

requiring Councils with high energy and water use to prepare Energy and Water Savings 

Action Plans. These Plans were to be developed in accordance with section 34R of the 

Energy and Utilities Administration Act 1987, and submitted to the Minister for approval. 

Schedule 2 designates Blue Mountains City Council as an energy and water user and 

requires the Council to prepare Energy and Water Savings Plans. 

Council prepared a draft Energy Savings Plan and submitted it to the Minister for review in 

December 2006. Soon after, Council commenced development of its EWMS and Energy and 

Water Strategy, and subsequently informed the Department of Energy, Utilities and 

Sustainability that it would be re-submitting the Energy Savings Plan in the form of an overall 

Energy and Water Strategy (i.e. this document) in August 2007. 

A Water Savings Action Plan was also submitted by the Council to the Minister for review, in 

May 2006. This document was subsequently accepted by the Minister. The majority of the 

actions designated for implementation in the Water Savings Plans have since been 

implemented, with the remainder transferred to the Energy and Water Issues and Actions 

Register, to ensure integration of the Water Savings Action Plan into the Energy and Water 

Strategy and broader EWMS. 

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STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT 

TO ENERGY AND WATER 

PERFORMANCE 

IMPROVEMENT 

Blue Mountains City Council is pursuing a sustainable future, with a focus on 

improving our energy and water efficiency. 

Blue Mountains City Council will endeavour to: 

• Proactively identify aspects of Council’s operations that may be energy or water 

inefficient, set targets, implement programs and continually monitor performance 

• Train, involve and communicate openly with all Council employees 

• Liaise with, educate and encourage the community and lead by example 

• Comply with all regulatory requirements 

• Implement and maintain an energy and water management system to serve as the 

primary tool for delivering these outcomes 

Blue Mountains City Council recognises that an energy and water efficient 

organisation and community is an integral part of its successful operation, and crucial 

to its ability to deliver quality services to the community now and in the future. 

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HISTORICAL AND CURRENT 

ENERGY AND WATER 

PERFORMANCE – PLANET 

FOOTPRINT REPORTS 

Blue Mountains City Council is a subscriber to the Planet Footprint Program for Local 

Government, which enables it to receive on demand reports that show Council’s energy and 

water performance. These reports highlight Council’s stand-alone performance, as well as 

providing information on Council’s performance compared with the performance of other 

Councils across Australia. 

The following Planet Footprint Reports detail Council’s energy and water performance up to 

30 June 2007. More recent reports are available through the EWMS Coordinator. 

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Blue Mountains City Council 

Organisation Footprint - ENERGY 

(not including street lighting) 

To End of Financial Quarter 4, 2006-2007 

Ref: RPT_FPEC_Energy BLU 2007Q2 Run on: 18 Oct 2007 at 15:18 

Page 25 

© 2007 Planet Footprint Pty Ltd 

www.planetfootprint.com E&OE




Part A: Stand-alone Performance Over Time 

Blue outlined bars indicate high proportion of estimates for that quarter. See Part D for further details. 

Totals on these graphs may not reconcile to totals in other report sections because time-based trend analysis intentionally excludes assets 

that have poor data collection history. 

Part B: Annual Energy Mix (last 4 quarters) 

Mix Consumption (GJ) Total Charges GHG t CO2 Unit cost per GJ t CO2 / GJ 

Electricity 73.51% 37,036 $968,167.34 10,987 $26.14 0.297 

Natural Gas 26.49% 13,349 $165,630.69 952 $12.41 0.071 

All Energy 50,385 $1,133,798.02 11,939 $22.50 0.237 


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Part C: Comparisons with other Councils 

Blue Mountains City Council is a candidate for comparison with the following groups: 

Comparison 

Candidate 

Councils 

WSROC councils only 6 

All Australian Planet Footprint councils 56 

About Corporate Comparisons 

Council's performance is shown against the best, mean and median of several groupings: 

- ‘Region of Councils’ (ROC) membership 

- Australian Classification of Local Government (ACLG) [coming soon] 

- All Australian Councils 

Only councils that subscribe to Planet Footprint are included in the comparisons. 

 

Planet Footprint further improves the equity of comparisons by applying indicators that bring compared councils to a ‘level playing field’ 

based on indicators, for example, ‘Energy consumption per resident per day’. These indicators are divided into 'Primary Indicators' (the 

results for which are shown as graphs) and 'Secondary Indicators' (the results for which are shown in a table below the Primary Indicator 

graphs). 

 

Each council’s data must meet a standard of completeness to qualify for comparison with other councils. 

 

For further information on how comparisons are carried out please contact Planet Footprint. 

print. 


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Comparison of: 


within the following council grouping: 

WSROC councils only 

Financial Quarter 4, 2006-2007 

Councils 

Best 

Median 

Mean 

Blue 

Mountains 

City Council 

Energy consumption per resident 

per day 

MJ/resident/day 

6 

0.39 

0.80 

0.89 

1.72 

Energy total charges per resident 

per day 

cents/resident/day 

6 

1.14 

1.84 

2.13 

4.06 

Greenhouse gas per resident per 

day 

kg 

CO2/resident/day 

6 

0.104 

0.182 

0.210 

0.445 


Page 28 









All Australian Planet Footprint councils 


Councils 

Best 

Median 

Mean 



City Council 

Energy consumption per resident 

per day 

MJ/resident/day 

39 

0.27 

0.80 

1.15 

1.72 

Energy total charges per resident 

per day 


39 

0.72 

2.05 

3.39 

4.06 

Greenhouse gas per resident per 

day 

kg 

CO2/resident/day 

39 

0.066 

0.192 

0.287 

0.445 


Page 29 






Part D: Service Summaries (Last Five Quarters) 

Energy Sources 

Financial 

Year 2005- 

2006 

Financial Year 2006-2007 

Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Electricity Consumption 

cons (kWh) 

2,737,110 

2,851,083 

2,384,147 

2,312,350 

2,740,239 

Electricity 

Electricity Usage Charges 

Electricity Service Charges 

usage ($) 

service ($) 

52,876 

48,142 

64,990 

60,781 

53,116 

54,810 

49,140 

50,581 

58,985 

56,398 

Electricity Total Charges 

total ($) 

240,568 

261,505 

227,907 

224,525 

254,230 

Electricity Green Consumption 

green cons 

(kWh) 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Electricity GHG Emissions 

GHG (tonnes) 

2,923 

3,045 

2,546 

2,470 

2,927 

Gas Consumption 

cons (MJ) 

3,285,500 

3,341,486 

4,938,338 

3,076,730 

1,992,699 

Natural Gas 

Gas Usage Charges 

Gas Service Charges 

usage ($) 

service ($) 

36,657 

569 

40,563 

583 

59,790 

566 

37,863 

538 

25,180 

547 

Gas Total Charges 

total ($) 

40,100 

41,146 

60,357 

38,401 

25,727 

Gas GHG Emissions 

GHG (tonnes) 

234 

238 

352 

219 

142 

Other Indicators 

Financial 

Year 2005- 

2006 


Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Land Area 

area km 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

Population 

population 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

Notes: 

1 kWh = 0.0036 GJ. 1 MJ = 0.001 GJ. 

Coloured numbers mean that for part of the period the data was: 

blue = more than 10% of quarter is estimated 

There will often be a significant percentage of estimated data in the most recent quarter due to supplier billing cycles. 

For details by account see Planet Footprint Service Detail Reports. 

Please contact Planet Footprint on 02 4234 4747 or reports@planetfootprint.com should you have any questions regarding this report. 


Page 30 




Organisation Footprint - WATER 


Ref: RPT_FPEC_Water BLU 2007Q2 Run on: 18 Oct 2007 at 15:20 

Page 31 



Organisation Footprint - Water 



Part A: Stand-alone Performance Over Time 

Blue outlined bars indicate high proportion of estimates for that quarter. See Part C for further details. 

Totals on these graphs may not reconcile to totals in other report sections because time-based trend analysis intentionally excludes assets 

that have poor data collection history. 


Page 32 






Part B: Comparisons with other Councils 

Blue Mountains City Council is a candidate for comparison with the following groups: 

Comparison 

Candidate 

Councils 

WSROC councils only 6 

All Australian Planet Footprint councils 56 

About Corporate Comparisons 

Council's performance is shown against the best, mean and median of several groupings: 

- ‘Region of Councils’ (ROC) membership 

- Australian Classification of Local Government (ACLG) [coming soon] 

- All Australian Councils 

Only councils that subscribe to Planet Footprint are included in the comparisons. 

 

Planet Footprint further improves the equity of comparisons by applying indicators that bring compared councils to a ‘level playing field’ 

based on indicators, for example, ‘Energy consumption per resident per day’. These indicators are divided into 'Primary Indicators' (the 

results for which are shown as graphs) and 'Secondary Indicators' (the results for which are shown in a table below the Primary Indicator 

graphs). 

 

Each council’s data must meet a standard of completeness to qualify for comparison with other councils. 

 

For further information on how comparisons are carried out please contact Planet Footprint. 

print. 


Page 33 









WSROC councils only 


Councils 

Best 

Median 

Mean 



City Council 

Water consumption per resident 

per day 

L/resident/day 

6 

2.34 

3.49 

3.61 

4.09 

Water total charges per resident 

per day 


6 

0.46 

0.72 

0.72 

0.97 


Page 34 









All Australian Planet Footprint councils 


Councils 

Best 

Median 

Mean 



City Council 

Water consumption per resident 

per day 

L/resident/day 

31 

1.23 

4.31 

7.85 

4.09 

Water total charges per resident 

per day 


29 

0.27 

0.81 

1.04 

0.97 


Page 35 






Part D: Service Summaries (Last Five Quarters) 

Water Sources 

Financial 

Year 2005- 

2006 


Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Water 

Water Consumption 

cons (kL) 

36,653 

26,105 

49,653 

38,313 

28,225 

Water Usage Charges 

usage ($) 

61,524 

43,368 

82,921 

67,661 

51,842 

Water Service Charges 

service ($) 

14,798 

16,382 

16,684 

15,115 

14,766 

Water Total Charges 

total ($) 

76,323 

59,750 

99,605 

82,776 

66,608 

Other Indicators 

Financial 

Year 2005- 

2006 


Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Land Area 

area km 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

1,432 

Population 

population 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

75,770 

Notes: 

Coloured numbers mean that for part of the period the data was: 

blue = more than 10% of quarter is estimated 

There will often be a significant percentage of estimated data in the most recent quarter due to supplier billing cycles. 

For details by account see Planet Footprint Service Detail Reports. 

Please contact Planet Footprint on 02 4234 4747 or reports@planetfootprint.com should you have any questions regarding this report. 


Page 36 



CURRENT ENERGY AND 

WATER OBJECTIVES AND 

TARGETS 

Energy 

Council will be working to establish specific energy targets for key parts of its operations during 

2007-2008. This will involve assessment of historical performance and liaison with staff as to the 

most appropriate targets that should be established for each section. 

In the meantime, Council will continue to work towards achieving its overall energy-related 

objectives set as part of Milestone 2 of the Cities for Climate Protection Program. 

The current energy/greenhouse related objectives are: 

(1) Reduce Council greenhouse gas emissions from 2004 levels by 10% by 2012 

(2) Reduce community greenhouse gas emissions from 2001 levels by 10% by 

2012. 


Council will be working to establish specific water targets for key parts of its operations during 

2007-2008. This will involve assessment of historical performance and liaison with staff as to the 

most appropriate targets that should be established for each section. 

In the meantime, Council will continue to work towards achieving its overall water-related objectives 

set as a legislated requirement of the New South Wales government. 

The current water related objectives are: 

37


Reduce water use from 2001/02-2002/03 levels by 20% by 2010. 

38


CURRENT AREAS OF FOCUS 

2007-2010 

Energy 

1. Staff awareness and behavioural actions. 

2. Completion of EPC related projects. 

3. Improvement to the efficiency of heating and cooling in Council buildings. 

4. Commencement of community greenhouse capacity building projects. 


1. Staff awareness and behavioural actions. 

2. Upgrade inefficient water ‘equipment’ and improve water flow controls in all assets. 

39


ENERGY AND WATER ISSUES 

AND ACTIONS REGISTER – 

CORPORATE ACTIONS 

The following table is an extract from the Energy and Water Issues and Actions Register. 

Please refer to the full Register (located on the BMCC Intranet as an Excel Spreadsheet) 

which includes: 

• Asset 

• Issue 

• Reference (source) 

• Water 

• Energy 

• Category 

• Potential Action/Project to address the issue 

• Estimated cost 

• Estimated annual financial saving 

• Estimated annual environmental saving 

• Responsible Manager 

• Operational controls 

• Priority 

• Funding source 

• Addressed/Implemented 

40

COUNCIL 

ASSET 

`All EPC 

buildings 

All EPC 

buildings 

All occupied 

buildings 

ISSUE WATER ENERGY ACTIONS/PROJECTS 

Poor leak management Yes Further investigate and repair potential 

leakages. Use sub meters to aid in determining 

leakage location. 

Staff don't understand the EPC measures Yes Conduct brief practical information sessions at 

all sites where EPC measures have been 

implemented 

Low levels of energy and water awareness Yes Yes Implement an ongoing energy and water 

awareness campaign for staff 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 

Low = 4+ years 

Ongoing 

High 

High 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

the level of energy saving features and behavioural 

issues relating to computer workstations is 

unknown 

Yes 

Survey the current status of behaviour and 

energy savings implemented on computer 

workstations at all sites 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

A plan is needed to roll-out potential computer 

energy savings 

Yes 

Develop an energy saving plan in consultation 

with the IT department 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Hot water boilers are not needed in some areas 

and oversized in others 

Yes 

Assess the need for water oilers at all sites, 

remove where appropriate or downsize if a 

spare is available 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Some areas are over-lit Yes Conduct a simple assessment of lighting and 

remove excess lighting where appropriate 

High 

41


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

All occupied 

buildings 

Other areas only need to have lights on for a 

limited amount of time each day 

Yes 

Opportunities for simple retrofits such as 

motion sensors and light-level sensors should 

also be investigated and acted on. 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Energy star features may not be implemented on 

all appliances 

Yes 

Implement Energy Star features on all 

appliances with this as option 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Office equipment has high standby power 

consumption 

Yes 

For other large appliances, or where standby 

load remains significant, install programmable 

timers to switch them off after hours 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Status of refrigerator and freezer use is unknown Yes Conduct a refrigerator audit, particularly in 

Council's administration buildings and public 

pool kiosks 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

Refrigerators and freezers appear to be overused 

in some areas 

Yes 

Consolidate and re-organise units after staff at 

each site have been consulted about any 

proposed changes 

High 

All occupied 

buildings 

The thermal performance of most buildings can be 

easily improved 

Yes 

Create a master list of opportunities to improve 

building thermal performance in the key areas 

of air leakage, insulation and shading 

High 

42


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

All occupied 

buildings and 

public toilets 

Urinals presently use either manual or automatic 

flush systems which waste water 

Yes Waterless urinal systems could potentially be 

rolled out to all these sites 

High 

All pool sites 

Pool heating is by far Council's single biggest 

energy consuming activity 

Yes Yes Staff education programs and other initiatives 

should reflect this with a focus on raising 

awareness at the pool centres and making 

energy saving investments where necessary 

High 

All pool sites 

the use of pool covers may not be as diligent as 

possible 

Yes Yes Develop a clear pool cover usage schedule for 

all sites 

High 

All public toilets 

and sports 

facilities 

Inefficient taps Yes Install timer taps in all public toilets and sports 

facilities 

High 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Blaxland 

Complex 

Vandalised showerheads Yes Yes Install 10 water efficient anti-vandal 

showerheads in amenities block 

Inefficient bathroom taps Yes Yes Install inline flow control devices in bathroom 

tapware 

Inefficient water use in all buildings Yes Yes Install flow control devices and float adjustment 

in toilet cisterns. 

High 

High 

High 

43


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Excessive water flow to urinals, basins, showers 

and toilet systems; Excess water use in toilets; 

Vandalised showerheads 

Yes Install flow control valves to all taps under EPC; 

Adjust floats in toilet systems; Install vandal 

proof showerheads. 

High 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Lost opportunity for water reuse Yes Install backwash holding tank High 

Cleaning hose nozzle inefficient Yes Upgrade cleaning hose nozzle. High 

Excessive off season water use Yes Investigate water use during off season. High 

Katoomba Civic 

Centre and 

Library 

Excessive water flow to urinals, basins and toilet 

systems; Leaking urinal; Excess water use in 

toilets 

Yes Yes Install flow control valves to all taps under EPC; 

Fix leaking urinal; Adjust floats in toilet systems 

High 



Library 

Constant flush urinal in community centre Yes Upgrade of large urinal in community centre to 

sensor flush from constant flush. 

High 

Katoomba Falls 

Caravan Park 

Vandalised showerheads Yes Yes Install 10 water efficient anti-vandal 

showerheads in amenities block 

High 

44


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


Caravan Park 


Caravan Park 


Inefficient shower heads in park cabins Yes Yes Install water efficient showerheads for park 

cabins 

Inefficient bathroom taps Yes Yes Install inline flow control devices in bathroom 

tapware 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

High 

High 


Caravan Park 

Inefficient urinal Yes Yes Convert urinal to waterless operation High 


Caravan Park 

Excessive taps around camping ground, with 

increased potential for leaks and unnecessary 

maintenance 

Yes Reduce number of external taps where 

possible 

High 

Katoomba 

Headquarters 

Excessive water flow to urinals, basins and toilet 

systems. 

Yes Yes Install flow control valves to all internal basins, 

taps, urinals and toilet systems under EPC. 

High 

Katoomba 

Headquarters 

Leaks going unreported Yes Installation of signage for reporting of leaks High 

Katoomba 

Showground 

Inefficient water use in amenities building Yes Yes Install water efficient showerheads and flow 

restrictors in amenities building. 

High 

45


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Katoomba 

Sports and 

Aquatic Centre 

Excessive water flow to urinals, basins, showers 

and toilet systems; Excess water use in toilets; 

Vandalised showerheads 

Yes Yes Install flow control valves to all taps under EPC; 

Adjust floats in toilet systems; Install vandal 

proof showerheads. 

High 

Katoomba 



Lack of awareness of water issues by staff and 

patrons 

Yes Install water awareness signage High 

Katoomba 



Poor water savings practices re backwashing and 

water retention 

Yes Investigation into potential use of water 

collected from rooftop and options for recycling 

of backwashed waste water. 

High 

Katoomba 

Waste 

Management 

Facility 

Katoomba 

Waste 

Management 

Facility 

Katoomba 

Works Depot 

Lost opportunity for renewable energy use Yes Investigate the potential to use solar power at 

the proposed Katoomba Waste Transfer 

Station 

Lost opportunity for water re-use Yes Install water tanks on proposed new 

infrastructure for the Katoomba Waste Transfer 

Station 

Inefficient water use in all buildings Yes Yes Install water savings measure including flow 

control devices and upgrading showerheads. 

High 

High 

High 

46


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Knapsack Park Vandalised showerheads Yes Yes Install water efficient anti-vandal showerheads 

in amenities block 

High 

Lawson Aquatic 

Centre 

Inefficient water use in all buildings Yes Yes Install flow control devices and upgrade 

showerheads 

High 

N/A Lost opportunity for renewable energy use Yes Yes Investigate the potential for utilising 'Green 

Power' sources at Council properties 

N/A Lost opportunity for funding further initiatives Yes Yes Investigate the merit of implementing a 

revolving fund to finance energy and water 

savings initiatives, as opposed to the merit of 

implementing further Energy Performance 

Contracts to fund these initiatives. 

High 

High 

Springwood 

Fitness and 


Evaporation and heat loss from 25 metre and 

learners pool 

Yes Yes Install pool blankets for the 25 metre and 

learners pools 

High 

Springwood 



Need detailed audit of facility to understand issue Yes Conduct detailed audit of aquatic centre as part 

of EDC program. 

High 

47


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Springwood 



Recommendations from EDC audit to be reviewed 

and actioned as appropriate 

Yes Review and action recommendations from EDC 

audit 

High 

Springwood 



Fire hoses used to clean Yes Cease use of fire hoses in cleaning processes 

and provide appropriate hoses and fixtures 

High 

Springwood 



Poor water savings practices re backwashing and 

water retention 

Yes Investigation into potential use of water 

collected from rooftop and options for recycling 

of backwashed waste water. 

High 

Springwood 

Library and 

Offices 

Inefficient water use in all buildings Yes Yes Install flow control devices and float adjustment 

in toilet cisterns. 

High 

Summerhayes 

Park 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Vandalised showerheads Yes Yes Install water efficient anti-vandal showerheads 

in amenities block 

Inefficient single flush toilets Yes Upgrade toilets cisterns to dual flush 6L/3L 

models 

High 

Medium 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Inefficient washing machines in caravan park 

communal laundry 

Yes Yes Install 3 x front loading Maytag industrial 

washing machines 

Medium 

48


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Inefficient capture of water runoff from amenities 

block 

Yes Install rain harvesting in amenities block for use 

in toilet flushing 

Medium 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Inefficient pool filtration plant Yes Upgrade pool filtration plant. Medium 


Caravan Park 

Inefficient single flush toilets Yes Upgrade toilets cisterns to dual flush 6L/3L 

models 

Medium 


Caravan Park 

Inefficient washing machines in caravan park 

communal laundry 

Yes Yes Install 3 x front loading Maytag industrial 

washing machines 

Medium 


Caravan Park 

Inefficient capture of water runoff from amenities 

block 

Yes Install rain harvesting in amenities block for use 

in toilet flushing 

Medium 

Katoomba 



Water wastage through inefficient backwashing 

practices 

Yes Recycle backwashed wastewater Medium 

Springwood 



Lost opportunity for renewable energy use Yes Install solar panels on Springwood Fitness and 


Medium 

49


COUNCIL 

ASSET 

Springwood 




Water wastage through poor retention Yes Utilise water collected from rainwater 

harvesting 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Medium 

Springwood 



Water wastage through inefficient backwashing 

practices 

Yes Recycle backwashed wastewater Medium 

Summerhayes 

Park 

Lost opportunity for water reuse Yes Install water tanks on the soccer club house Medium 

Various town 

centres 

Lost opportunity for water re-use on street side 

garden beds, particularly in high tourist areas 

Yes Install water tanks on commercial/village 

buildings nearby to garden beds 

Medium 

Summerhayes 

Park 

Lost opportunity for water reuse Yes Investigate water reuse from Winmalee 

Sewerage Treatment Plant as an option for 

Summerhayes Park and other water users in 

the Winmalee area including Springwood Golf 

Course. If feasible, implement water reuse from 

Winmalee SPT project. 

Medium 

(investigation) 

Dependent on 

funding 

(implementation) 

City 

Streetlighting 

Inefficient City streetlighting Yes Work with streetlighting provider/s to trial new 

streetlighting technologies within the City. 

Medium 

50


COUNCIL 

ASSET 

City 

Streetlighting 


Inefficient City streetlighting Yes Develop agreement with streetlighting provider 

so that Council is consulted during installation 

of new lights or replacement of old lights, to 

ensure best available technology is considered 

for installation. 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Medium 

Blackheath 

Caravan Park 

Leaks and poor water performance going 

unreported 

Yes Develop and implement a program for regular 

inspection and maintenance of water using 

fixtures 

Ongoing 

Glenbrook 

Swimming Pool 

Filter sand not being replaced regularly Yes Develop and implement program for replacing 

filter sand every three years 

Ongoing 



Library 

Insufficient water performance monitoring (meter 

and/or bill monitoring) 

Yes Yes Implement effective process for tracking water 

and energy usage, trends and comparisons 

with other Councils 

Ongoing 


Caravan Park 

Leaks and poor water performance going 

unreported 

Yes Develop and implement a program for regular 

inspection and maintenance of water using 

fixtures 

Ongoing 

Katoomba 

Headquarters 

Some issues going undetected. Yes Yes Implement regular and effective inspection and 

maintenance programs for all infrastructure. 

Ongoing 

51


COUNCIL 

ASSET 


PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 

years 

Medium = 2-4 

years 


Ongoing 

Katoomba 

Headquarters 

Insufficient water performance monitoring (meter 

and/or bill monitoring) 

Yes Yes Implement effective process for tracking water 

and energy usage, trends and comparisons 

with other Councils 

Ongoing 

Katoomba 

Showground 

Irrigation system leakage Yes Turn off irrigation system at the main when not 

in use, to prevent leakage occurring. 

Ongoing 

Springwood 



Detailed (at least daily) meter monitoring needed 

to better understand site issues 

Yes Implement a process that extends core 

monitoring to include more frequent collection 

of results (e.g. daily) 

Ongoing 

52


ENERGY AND WATER ACTIONS REGISTER - 

COMMUNITY ACTIONS 

Council is focussing on actions to reduce emissions from Council sectors as a first priority, and will add to the following list of community actions as the 

Strategy implementation progresses. 

ACTION 

Provide and install energy efficient light globes to all homes in Linden 

Provide and install energy efficient light globes to all homes in Blackheath 

Promote Green Power alternatives to the community 

Review and enhance options, processes and procedures for incorporating energy efficiency initiatives into the design of 

new developments (including energy efficient streetlights, pumps etc). 

Implement an Energy Smart Homes Policy. 

Investigate options for purchasing of carbon credits from the community 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 years 

Medium = 2-4 years 


Ongoing 

High 

High 

High 

High 

High 

High 

53


ACTION 

Develop an energy-efficiency education package for the local community. 

Encourage the use of public transport in the community. 

Encourage the uptake of rainwater tanks in the City through developing education tools and programs that promote the 

use of tanks, and by linking these Council programs with state government rainwater tank rebate initiatives 

Carry out commercial recycling services to divert materials from landfill 

Form partnerships with key industry and business players and work with these groups to develop models for greenhouse 

gas reduction strategies among other industrial and commercial organisations. 

Hold workshops with business on ways to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Promote the uptake of sustainability and Environmental Management Systems among local industry. 

Carry out domestic recycling services to divert materials from landfill 

Carry out mulching services at Waste Management Facilities to re-use tree wastes to divert this organic material from 

landfill 

Carry out kerbside chipping services to re-use and divert domestic garden waste from landfill 

Provide educational opportunities for learning about home composting and worm farming to divert home kitchen scraps 

from landfill 

PRIORITY 

High = 1-2 years 

Medium = 2-4 years 


Ongoing 

High 

High 

Medium 

Medium 

Medium 

Medium 

Medium 

Ongoing 

Ongoing 

Ongoing 

Ongoing 

54

APPENDIX 1 – THE ENERGY 

AND WATER MANAGEMENT 

SYSTEM 

Specifically, Blue Mountains City Council Energy and Water Management System model is 

made up of five primary components, supported by 16 sub-components: 

COMMITMENT COMPONENT 

Statement of Energy and Water Efficiency 

The overall document that sets out the organisation’s commitment to energy and water 

performance improvement. 

PLANNING COMPONENT 

Energy and Water Issues Identification 

The process for identifying the key energy and water issues facing the organisation and the 

community. 

Energy and Water Performance Objectives and Targets 

The process for setting of strategic objectives and quantifiable targets to address the 

significant issues and bring about energy and water performance improvement. 

Energy and Water Improvement Actions 

The process for developing the actual actions and strategies to be implemented to improve 

performance. 

IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION COMPONENT 

Structure and Responsibility 

The process for allocating responsibility for energy and water efficiency within the 

organisation, and making staff accountable for energy and water performance improvement. 

Training and Awareness

The process for ensuring staff are appropriately trained to act with regard to energy and water 

efficiency in their day-to-day roles, and raising awareness among staff of the importance of 

energy and water efficiency and their role in the EWMS. 

Internal Communication 

The process for ensuring there is effective communication on energy and water efficiency 

issues between staff, and from management down to staff and visa versa. 

External Communication 

The process for communicating and interacting with external stakeholders and the community 

on energy and water efficiency issues. 

EWMS Documentation 

The process for ensuring all relevant EWMS processes, practices and components are 

documented simply and effectively. 

Document Control 

The process for implementing tools to control the distribution of EWMS-related 

documentation, to ensure relevant copies are maintained and obsolete versions of documents 

are removed from use in a timely fashion. 

Controlling Routine Operations 

The process for adjusting existing procedures and work instructions, and implementing new 

procedures that provide for energy and water efficiency in all routine operations. 

MONITORING AND CHECKING COMPONENT 

Energy and Water Performance Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting 

The process for identifying the indicators that need to be monitored to assess the 

effectiveness of the EWMS and measure the organisation’s and community energy and water 

performance, and the process for reporting of performance both internally and to the public. 

Incident and Suggestion Reporting 

The process for identifying non conformances in the EWMS as well as opportunities for 

improvement, and for addressing these in a timely and effective manner. 

EWMS Audits 

The process for auditing the EWMS to assess its effectiveness in delivering energy and water 

performance improvement. 

EWMS Records

The process for identifying what records need to be maintained to demonstrate that outcomes 

are being achieved through the EWMS. 

REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT COMPONENT 

EWMS Review 

The process for reviewing the overall EWMS on a regular basis and making fundamental 

changes to the system as required ensuring it remains valid and effective. 

EWMS Documentation 

The various processes that make up the EWMS are documented in a strategic set of 

standards, notes, tools and templates. These are shown in Figure 2. 

EWMS STANDARDS 

The approach Blue Mountains City Council has taken to implement the various EWMS 

components and sub components is detailed in a series of Standards. The Standards are 

upper level documents that set out in specific detail how each of the EWMS components has 

been implemented within the organisation. The Standards serve as the primary reference 

point for the EWMS Coordinator and Managers on EWMS issues. 

A Standard has been developed for all EWMS sub components. 

EWMS SUPPORT SHEETS 

Key elements of each Standard will be summarised in EWMS Support Sheets. These Support 

Sheets set out the important EWMS components in a simplified way, and support the EWMS 

Standards. They are designed as a quick source of EWMS information for Managers. 

EWMS Support sheets have been developed for the more complicated EWMS components. 

EWMS TOOLS AND TEMPLATES 

A variety of tools and templates will be developed to aid in the implementation of the 

processes described in the Standards. These include Issues Identification Sheets, and an 

Incident and Suggestion Form.

EWMS MANUALS AND GUIDES 

EWMS Manuals and Guides will be developed for the EWMS Coordinator, Managers and 

Staff. Each document is tailored to that specific audience, and comprises a mix of Standards, 

Support sheets, tools and other information to support staff in discharging their responsibilities 

under the EWMS.

APPENDIX 2 - CITY OF BLUE 

MOUNTAINS GREENHOUSE 

GAS EMISSIONS PROFILE – 

CCP MILESTONE 1 SUMMARY 

REPORT 

See following Report

BLUE MOUNTAINS CITY COUNCIL 

BLUE MOUNTAINS CITY 

COUNCIL 

Cities for Climate Protection Program 

MILESTONE 1 SUMMARY REPORT 

May 2006 

Prepared by Omega Environmental Pty Ltd 

and 


CCP Milestone 1 Report Page 1 

© 2006 Omega Environmental Pty Limited


Contents 

INTRODUCTION 3 

MEASURING EMISSIONS 4 

COMMUNITY SECTOR CATEGORISATIONS 4 

INCLUSION OF ENERGY COSTS 4 

RECOMMENDATIONS 5 

BACKGROUND 7 

METHODOLOGY 9 

DISCUSSION 11 

CORPORATE SECTOR 11 

COMMUNITY (LGA) SECTOR 31 

CORPORATE SECTOR - Forecast to 2010 from 2004 35 

COMMUNITY (LGA) SECTOR - Forecast to 2010 from 2001 38 

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 40 




Introduction 

During the period September 2005 – April 2006, Omega Environmental Pty 

Limited conducted an audit of the Blue Mountains City Council’s greenhouse 

gas emissions for the Council (Corporate Sector) and Community (‘local 

government area’ or ‘LGA’) sectors. The audit was carried out as part of the 

Cities for Climate Protection Program, a government initiative that aims to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions from local government operations and the 

community. 

The process involved gathering and interpreting data relating to the 

consumption and cost of energy for Council, consistent with the requirements 

of Milestone 1 of the Program. This Report presents the results of the audit 

process for the Corporate and Community sectors, and includes a forecast 

inventory for both sectors based on a ‘business as usual’ scenario to the Year 

2010. 

The Report also provides Council with recommendations for management 

related actions to be included in the Milestone 3 Local Action Plan, and for 

improving the management of its energy data. 

Omega Environmental Pty Limited acknowledges the assistance provided by 

Blue Mountains City Council staff in developing the inventory, with particular 

thanks to Vanessa Steele, Rosemary Dillon, Ken Phillips, Alan Cattermole, 

Andrew Pattison, Rebecca Tempest, Gerry Hayes, Graham Smede, David 

Thruchly, Steven Keszler, Warwick Purdy and Daniel Long. Omega also 

acknowledges the assistance provided by Marjorie Maydwell at Energy 

Australia, Rosemary Collisson and Kellie Balgowan at Integral Energy, and 

Thereasa Patrick at AGL Gas. 

NOTE: - This Report provides a summary only of the greenhouse gas 

emissions inventory data and other Milestone 1 outcomes, and is 

complemented by the detailed notes provided in the CCP software. 

Readers should refer to the software for comprehensive explanations of 

data collection processes, data sources and associated issues. 




Measuring Emissions 

In this Report, all greenhouse gas emissions are converted to units of carbon 

dioxide equivalent (CO 2-e ) so that gases of different strengths can be 

compared and added together. For example, one unit of methane equals 21 

CO 2-e . 

(Note: ‘-e’ is the notation for ‘equivalent’). 

Community Sector 

Categorisations 

The categorisation of community data into the Residential, Commerial, 

Industrial, Transport and Waste sectors are based on the Australian and New 

Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). ANZSIC provides a 

standard framework for classifying establishments by industry in official 

statistics. 

The differences between the Commerial and Industrial sectors, as they apply 

to the Blue Mountains City Council LGA, are best understood by examining 

the various sub-groups within each sector. This sector break-up and number 

of employees in each sub-sector group can be found in the default data 

spreadsheet provided to Council by ICLEI (International Council for Local 

Environmental Initiatives). 

Inclusions of Energy Costs 

The energy costs to Council outlined in this Report are inclusive of service 

and supply charges. However, the GST (Goods and Services Tax) 

component has been excluded. 




Recommendations 

NOTE: Recommendations presented in this report are based on 

observations made by Omega during the Milestone 1 project. They are 

not mandatory, nor will ICLEI require them to be implemented in order to 

progress through the remaining Milestones of the CCP Program. 

Rather, these recommendations are provided to assist Council to better 

integrate energy management issues into the strategic and operational 

management processes of the organisation. This will allow for more 

efficient delivery of energy programs and better financial and 

environmental outcomes as a result. 

Recommendation 1 

Target the reduction of energy consumption, and therefore greenhouse gas 

emissions from Council buildings, with a focus on the Springwood Pool, 

Katoomba Recreation Centre, Katoomba works Depot, Katoomba Civic 

Centre and Glenbrook Pool. Initially consider undertaking an energy audit of 

these facilities to determine the source of greatest energy use. 


Request energy providers to include more detailed information on all energy 

bills (such as reference to any relevant sub-meters), and essential information 

where it is not already provided (such as actual energy consumed by assets). 

Alternatively, carry out an energy accounts audit for all Council properties to 

determine the facilities and infrastructure serviced by each account. 


Improve the management of energy data through development of a 

management system to store, analyse and manage energy information. 

Responsibility for the energy data management system should be assigned to 

a single employee or authority. Responsibilities would include monitoring 

energy usage and costs, developing summaries on a periodic basis, providing 

advice and direction to the energy team, preparing budgets based on tariff 

rates and past consumption, and taking remedial action for situations of 

exceptionally high or abnormal consumption patterns. The energy data should 

be stored in accordance with appropriate backup and document control 

procedures. 





Consider developing schematic plans of Council property to include details of 

the location and service layout of meters, sub-meters (including a reference to 

meter numbers) and the assets serviced by these meters. Ensure plans 

include this information as new facilities are built and/or existing facilities are 

renovated. 

If necessary, carry out a ‘meter audit’ to determine the facilities serviced by 

each meter and sub-meter. 


Target the reduction of fuel consumption, and therefore greenhouse gas 

emissions from Tippers, Compactors, Utes and Wagons within council’s fleet 

operations. 


Focus on improving the efficiency of street lighting infrastructure as a priority 

when developing the Local Action Plan for Milestone 3. 


Consider implementing a system to record the amount of Corporate waste 

generated on an ongoing basis. 


Focus on reducing electricity use as a priority when developing measures to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Corporate sector. 


Target the Transportation sector as a priority area for reducing future LGA 

greenhouse gas emissions. 


Consider implementing a staff awareness campaign to educate personnel on 

the importance of improved energy management. This campaign can include 

training sessions, newsletters and handouts, and promotional material such 

as posters, stickers and booklets. This campaign can also be extended to 

include the wider LGA. 


Consider implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) or 

Sustainability Management System (SMS) to assist in integrating energy 

management into the core business of Council. Development of an EMS to an 

internationally recognised standard, such as ISO 14001, will greatly assist 

Council to better manage and promote its energy programs and broader 

environmental initiatives. 




Background 

The Cities for Climate Protection Program is a global initiative that assists 

local government to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from 

their own operations and the community. CCP is a program of the 

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) delivered in 

collaboration with the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO), an agency of the 

Australian Government. The CCP Program is based on the achievement of 

five strategic milestones: 

Milestone 1: Conduct an inventory and forecast for Community and Council 

greenhouse gas emissions 

Milestone 2: Establish an emissions reduction goal 

Milestone 3: Develop and adopt a Local Action Plan 

Milestone 4: Implement the Local Action Plan 

Milestone 5: Monitor and report on achievements 

Blue Mountains City Council joined the CCP program in April 2005, at which 

time Council passed a resolution to commit to the strategic Milestone 

framework. Omega Environmental Pty Limited (Omega) was engaged to 

develop the initial inventory of greenhouse gas emissions consistent with 

Milestone 1 of the CCP program. 

The chosen baseline year for the Council sector was 2004 (using data from 

the 2004/2005 financial year) while the Community sector inventory was 

completed for the year 2001 (based on 2001 Census data). It is important to 

note that information for some sectors was not available for the baseline year 

and as a result assumptions were made in preparing totals for the chosen 

base year. Please refer to explanations and details of calculations which are 

summarised in the notes sections of the relevant sections in the software and 

explained in this report. 

The inventory development involved collecting energy data from a variety of 

sources and entering the data into CCP software provided by ICLEI. The 

sources of greenhouse gas emissions from each sector are: 




Corporate Sector 

• Buildings 

• Vehicle Fleet 

• Streetlighting 

• Water 

• Waste 

Community (LGA) Sector 

• Residential 

• Commercial 

• Industrial 

• Transport 

• Waste 

The Milestone 1 inventory provides a ‘snapshot’ of the current energy 

consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for the various sectors within the 

City. Projections to the year 2010 for Community emissions and 2012 for 

Corporate emissions were calculated based on information provided by ICLEI 

and discussions with Council staff in relation to planned developments and 

growth within the City. 




Methodology 

The project was coordinated by Omega, who worked in close consultation 

with Council staff throughout. 

The project involved the completion of ten steps: 

1. All key buildings, fleet, streetlights, water, waste and assets staff were 

briefed by ICLEI and Omega to advise them of the CCP Program, 

Milestone 1, and the potential need for them to source data to enter 

into the inventory. 

2. Data was collected as follows (note all data was collected for the period 

1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005): 

a. BUILDINGS (e.g. Administration Building, amenities buildings) 

AND WATER ASSETS (e.g. pumps for park irrigation) – 12 

months of electricity and gas consumption and cost data for all 

Council buildings and water infrastructure was provided by 

Energy Australia, Integral Energy, AGL Gas and Elgas. The data 

was provided after Council staff provided Omega with account 

numbers for each asset, which was passed on by Omega as a 

request to the providers. 

b. VEHICLES/FLEET – 12 months of consumption and cost data 

was provided by Council’s fleet section, who extracted the data 

from internal computer records. Data was provided for all fleet 

and vehicles. 

c. STREETLIGHTS – 12 months of streetlighting cost and 

consumption data for the City was provided by Integral Energy. 

d. WASTE – annual waste tonnages and details of waste types 

was obtained from Council’s waste team. Waste management 

costs to Council were also collected. 

e. Other data was collected such as indicator information (e.g. 

building floor areas). 

3. All data was reviewed, formatted correctly for entry into the CCP 

software, and outstanding data collected. The CCP software serves to 

both store the raw data, as well as translate the raw data into 


4. All data was entered into ICLEI’s online CCP inventory software. 

5. Further outstanding data was collected from staff after the initial data 

entry was complete and gaps in the inventory identified. 




6. Final data was entered into the software. 

7. The inventory was reviewed by ICLEI, and feedback provided. 

8. The inventory was adjusted based on feedback from ICLEI. 

9. ICLEI conducted a final review of the inventory, and confirmed 

completion of Milestone 1. 

10. Summary data was extracted from the inventory software and entered 

into this Report. 

Some of the tasks outlined above were completed quickly (such as the 

briefing session), although most required substantial work from Omega and 

were often subject to delays. In particular, a large amount of data was difficult 

to obtain due to staff absences or data being simply difficult to source. 

Omega also encountered delays in receiving the bulk of electricity 

consumption and cost data from Integral Energy, who took several months to 

process the data request. When the data did arrive from the various utilities, 

much of it was in a format that required substantial ‘reworking’ for entry into 

the CCP software. 

There was also a large number of gaps in the data received both from 

external utilities and Council staff, which needed to be followed up and 

collected by Omega. 




Discussion 

CORPORATE SECTOR 

SUMMARY 

2004 Baseline Year 

18,367 CO 2-e Greenhouse Emissions (tonnes) 

$2,990,724 Energy cost 

The total greenhouse gas emissions for the Blue Mountains City Council for 

the year 2004 were 18,367 tonnes CO 2-e . 

Figure 1 shows the two highest sources of CO 2-e emissions were Buildings, 

accounting for 60 per cent of emissions, and Streetlights, accounting for 22 

per cent. Emissions from the operation of the vehicle fleet accounted for 18 

per cent of total emissions, while emissions from the Water and Waste 

sectors accounted for less than 1 per cent of total corporate emissions. 

Figure 2 shows the Blue Mountains City Council CO 2-e emissions profile for 

the year 2004 in terms of total CO 2-e tonnes produced in each sector. 

Figure 3 shows the total cost of providing energy to Council. The total cost of 

energy for the Corporate sector was $2,990,724. While the Vehicles sector 

was not the largest source of emissions, it proved to be the most costly. The 

total energy cost from the Vehicles sector was $1,401,649 (47 per cent of total 

corporate energy costs), followed by Buildings at $846,910 (28 per cent) and 

Streetlights at $738,799 (25 per cent). 




Figure 1: Corporate Emissions (CO2 equivalent) for 2004 

Streetlights 

22% 



Figure 3: Cost of providing energy to Corporate Sector in 2004 

$1,500,000 

$1,401,649 

Cost $ 

$1,000,000 

$846,910 

$738,799 

$500,000 

$0 

$817 $4,694 

Buildings Vehicle Fleet Streetlights Water Waste 

Corporate Sectors 




BUILDINGS 



59.9 per cent Proportion of total Corporate Sector emissions 

$297,699 Energy cost 

Energy data was collected for all Council owned buildings where payments of 

accounts were the responsibility of Council. A summary of electricity data was 

provided by Energy Australia and Integral Energy for the period July 2004 to 

June 2005. Gas data was provided by AGL Gas for the same period. 

Council-owned buildings which consumed the most energy (refer Figures 4 

and 5) and are therefore the most costly to Council (refer Figure 6) are: 

1. Springwood Pool (3,798 CO 2 -e tonnes; cost to Council $250,898) 

2. Katoomba Recreation Centre (1,666 CO 2 -e tonnes; cost to Council 

$93,736) 

3. Katoomba Works Depot (897 CO 2 -e tonnes; cost to Council 

$47,741) 

4. Katoomba Civic Centre (591 CO 2 -e tonnes; cost to Council 

$66,118) 

5. Glenbrook Pool (584 CO 2 -e tonnes; cost to Council 

$83,125) 

These five buildings account for 68 per cent of total emissions from the 

Buildings sector, with the Springwood Pool accounting for over 34 per cent of 

total Council building emissions, and over 20 per cent of total Council 

emissions for all sectors. 




Figure 4: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tonnes CO2 equivalent) for Top 10 energy 

consuming Council buildings for 2004 

4,000 

3,798 

Equivalent CO2 tonnes 

3,000 

2,000 

1,000 

1,666 

897 

591 584 

379 304 367 269 211 

0 

Springwood Pool 

Katoomba Recreation Centre 

Katoomba Works Depot 

Katoomba Civic Centre 

Glenbrook Pool 

Springwood Office & Library 

Katoomba Emergency Centre 

Buildings 

Katoomba Aquatic Centre 

Caravan Park Amenities 

Lawsons Pool 

Figure 5: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (% CO2) for top 10 energy consuming 

Council buildings for 2004 


3% 


4% 


6% 


4% 


3% 

Lawsons Pool 

2% 


6% 


10% 


43% 


19% 




Figure 6: Cost to Council for Energy Provision to top 10 Council Buildings in 

2004 

$300,000 

$250,898 

$200,000 

Cost $$ 

$100,000 

$93,736 

$47,741 

$66,118 

$83,125 

$27,247 $23,328 

$49,957 

$18,397 

$25,357 

$0 








Building 



Lawsons Pool 

Issue 

Emissions resulting from energy use at Council buildings account for 60 per 

cent of total Corporate emissions. In particular, the Springwood Pool, 

Katoomba Recreation Centre, Katoomba Works Depot, Katoomba Civic 

Centre and Glenbrook Pool emit the majority of greenhouse gases. 


Target the reduction of energy consumption, and therefore greenhouse gas 

emissions from Council buildings, with a focus on the Springwood Pool, 

Katoomba Recreation Centre, Katoomba works Depot, Katoomba Civic 

Centre and Glenbrook Pool. Initially consider undertaking an energy audit of 

these facilities to determine the source of greatest energy use. 




Issue 

Although electricity data was sourced directly from Energy Australia and 

Integral Energy, the summary provided to Council contained no detail of 

electricity meters where more than one facility was being serviced by the 

same meter. This made it difficult to allocate accounts to the appropriate 

sectors. In general, any allocations between different users of the one meter 

were provided by the accounts department within Council who are responsible 

for billing them for their portion of the account. 


Request energy providers to include more detailed information on all energy 

bills (such as reference to any relevant sub-meters), and essential information 

where it is not already provided (such as actual energy consumed by assets). 

Alternatively, carry out an energy accounts audit for all Council properties to 

determine the facilities and infrastructure serviced by each account. 

Issue 

Council does not record energy consumption and associated costs. Details 

relating to energy consumption were sourced directly from Energy Australia 

and Integral Energy, while gas data was sourced directly from AGL. 


Improve the management of energy data through development of a 

management system to store, analyse and manage energy information. 

Responsibility for the energy data management system should be assigned to 

a single employee or authority. Responsibilities would include monitoring 

energy usage and costs, developing summaries on a periodic basis, providing 

advice and direction to the energy team, preparing budgets based on tariff 

rates and past consumption, and taking remedial action for situations of 

exceptionally high or abnormal consumption patterns. The energy data should 

be stored in accordance with appropriate backup and document control 

procedures. 




Issue 

Schematic plans for buildings identifying the location of meters and meter 

numbers were not available for Council facilities. This information is important 

when identifying what meters are connected to what facility. Sometimes 

buildings/facilities share meters and consumption must be estimated for the 

building/facility, or not taken into account at all. Blue Mountains City Council 

has several accounts that fall into this category. If submeters do exist, 

Council should identify which submeter services which facility and ensure 

submeters are monitored regularly. 

Floor area of Council buildings was calculated from existing building plans 

and was only available for a few buildings. In future, copies of building plans 

should be made available for all new/redeveloped buildings. These plans 

could also be used as a base to include information about meters and 

submeters. 






renovated. 






VEHICLES 




$1,401,649 Energy cost 

Information on fuel consumption was derived from internal Council records 

provided by Council staff. 

The greatest energy consuming and cost groups to Council are the Tippers, 

Compactors, Utes and Wagons groups, accounting for 19 per cent, 18 per 

cent, 17 per cent and 16 per cent respectively of total emissions for the 

vehicle fleet (refer Figure 7, 8 and 9). 

Figure 7: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Equivalent CO2 tonnes) from Corporate 

Vehicles for Top 10 vehicle categories in 2004 

800 

Tonnes CO2 Equivalent 

600 

400 

200 

627 

591 

560 

521 

330 

213 

87 78 60 53 

0 

Tippers 

Compactors 

Utes 

Wagons 

Sedans 

Prime Movers 

Table Top/Traybacks Trucks 

Sweepers 

Backhoes 

Graders 

Vehicles 




Figure 8: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (% CO2 Equivalent) from Corporate 

Vehicles for Top 10 Vehicle categories in 2004 

Table Top/Traybacks 

Trucks 

3% 

Sweepers 

2% 

Graders 

2% 

Sedans 

11% 

Prime Movers 

7% 

Backhoes 

2% 

Tippers 

19% 

Wagons 

17% 

Utes 

18% 

Compactors 

19% 

Figure 9: Cost to Council for Energy (Fuel) Provision to Council Vehicles 

for Top 10 Vehicle categories in 2004 

$300,000 

$261,113 

$225,000 

Cost $$ 

$150,000 

$246,022 $237,382 $237,105 

$36,296 $32,329 

$150,912 

$88,550 

$75,000 

$24,829 $22,069 

$0 

Tippers 

Compactors 

Utes 

Wagons 

Sedans 

Prime Movers 

Table Top/Traybacks Trucks 

Sweepers 

Backhoes 

Graders 

Vehicle 




Issue 

Emissions from fuel consumption associated with the use of Tippers, 

Compactors, Utes and Wagons were a significant contributor to overall 

Corporate emissions. 


Target the reduction of fuel consumption, and therefore greenhouse gas 

emissions from Tippers, Compactors, Utes and Wagons within council’s fleet 

operations. 




STREETLIGHTING 




$738,799 Energy cost 

The street lighting sector includes energy consumption of park lights, carpark 

lights, floodlighting and streetlighting. Details for energy consumption and 

associated costs were obtained from Energy Australia and Integral Energy. 

Emissions generated from general public street lighting for the City accounted 

for 92 per cent of the total street lighting sector emissions (refer Figure 10 and 

11). The total cost for provision of energy to Council for street lighting was 

$712,007 (refer Figure 12). 

Figure 10: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tonnes CO2 equivalent) for Top 10 

Streetlighting accounts for 2004 

4,000 

3,674 


3,000 

2,000 

1,000 

115 77 18 14 14 14 13 12 11 

0 

Public Streetlighting 

Car Park - Jeraeywold Ave 

Visitor Centre External Lighting 

Blackheath Oval 

Glenbrook Oval 


Lookout Floodlights 

Streetlight Type 

Tom Hunter Park 

Hall Park 

Wentworth Falls Lake 




Figure 11: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (% CO2) from Top 10 Streetlighting 

accounts in 2004 


92% 

Other Lighting 

8% 

Figure 12: Cost to Council for Energy Provision of Top 10 Streetlighting 

accounts in 2004 

$900,000 

$712,007 

$600,000 

Cost $$ 

$300,000 

$8,537 $6,051 $1,422 $1,108 $1,065 $1,077 $1,015 $917 $846 

$0 


Car Park - Jeraeywold Ave 

Visitor Centre External Lighting 

Blackheath Oval 

Glenbrook Oval 


Lookout Floodlights 

Streetlight Type 

Tom Hunter Park 

Hall Park 

Wentworth Falls Lake 




Issue 

Emissions associated with street lighting account for 22 per cent of the 

greenhouse gas emissions produced by the Corporate sector. 


Focus on improving the efficiency of street lighting infrastructure as a priority 

when developing the Local Action Plan for Milestone 3. 




WATER 


6 CO 2-e Greenhouse Emissions (tonnes) 

< 1 per cent Proportion of total Corporate Sector emissions 

$817 Energy cost 

The water component of the Council sector includes energy used by 

equipment involved in the pumping of water within Council owned and/or 

operated facilities. 

Emissions data for the Water sector is presented in Figures 13 and 14, with 

associated costs provided in Figure 15. Emissions associated with water 

pumping at Peter Carroll Field contribute 4 CO -e 

2 tonnes to the corporate 

emissions inventory, at a cost of $500 per annum. 

Figure 13: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tonnes CO2 equivalent) from Water 

Facilities for 2004 

5 


4 

3 

2 

1 

4 

1 1 

0 


Figure 14: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (% CO2) from Water Facilities in 2004 

Murray Park 

15% 

St. Johns Rd Oval 

8% 

Lapstone Oval 

15% 

Peter Carroll Field 

62% 

Figure 15: Cost to Council for Energy Provision to Water Facilities during 2004 

$500 

$500 

Cost $$ 

$250 

$107 

$119 

$91 

$0 

Peter Carroll Field Lapstone Oval Murray Park St. Johns Rd Oval 

Water Facilities 




Issue 

Schematic plans for Council parks identifying the location of meters and meter 

numbers were not available. This information is important when identifying 

what meters are connected to what bore. There are many parks that have 

floodlights and car park floodlighting; and buildings connected to the same 

meter. However, accounts were identified into each sector according to the 

account name or if it was a shared account; the service with the highest 

consumption was used to allocate that account into the appropriate sector. 






renovated. 






WASTE 


74 CO 2-e Greenhouse Emissions (tonnes) 

< 1 per cent (Proportion of total Corporate Sector emissions) 

Issue 

Although Corporate Waste data was obtained from waste audit information 

provided by Council’s waste management staff, data regarding the waste 

generated from Council operations is not being recorded on an ongoing basis. 


Consider implementing a system to record the amount of Corporate waste 

generated on an ongoing basis. 




CORPORATE SECTOR SUMMARY 

The main source of greenhouse gas emissions from the Council is electricity, 

accounting for 75 per cent of total Council sector emissions (refer Figure 16), 

with a total cost to Council of $1,336,079 (refer Figure 17). 

Figure 16: Corporate Energy Sources (% CO2 Equivalent) in 2004 

Natural Gas 

6% 

Diesel 

13% 

Other (incl.LPG) 

1% 

Petrol 

5% 

Electricity 

75% 

Figure 17: Cost relating to Corporate Energy Sources in 2004 

$1,500,000 

$1,336,079 

$1,000,000 

$977,873 

Cost $$ 

$500,000 

$423,776 

$233,888 

$0 

$16,559 

Electricity Petrol Natural Gas Diesel LPG 

Energy Source 




Issue 

Electricity consumption is by far the major source of greenhouse gas 

emissions at the Blue Mountains City Council. 


Focus on reducing electricity use as a priority when developing measures to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Corporate sector. 




COMMUNITY SECTOR (LGA) 

SUMMARY 



The total greenhouse gas emission for the Blue Mountains City Council LGA 

for 2001 was 800,374 CO 2 

-e 

tonnes. 

Figures 18 and 19 shows the Blue Mountains City Council Community CO 2 

-e 

emissions profile for 2001. 

Emissions from the Residential sector account for 44 per cent of total 

emissions, followed by the Transportation sector at 22 per cent and 

Commercial sector at 18 per cent (refer Figure 18 and 19). 

Figure 18: Community (LGA) Greenhouse Emissions (% CO2 Equivalent) for 

2001 

Transport 

22% 

Waste 

5% 

Residential 

43% 

Industrial 

12% 

Commercial 

18% 




Figure 19: Community Sector (LGA) Summary (tonnes CO2 Equivalent) for 2001 

400,000 

348,232 

300,000 


200,000 

143,398 

173,182 

100,000 

94,650 

40,912 

0 

Residential Commercial Industrial Transport Waste 

Sector 




RESIDENTIAL 



43.5 per cent Proportion of total Community Sector emissions 

Emissions from the Residential sector were calculated using ABS (Australian 

Bureau of Statistics) data provided by ICLEI in the form of a Community 

Default Data spreadsheet. Emissions sources included electricity, natural gas 

and LPG. 

COMMERCIAL 




Emissions in the Commercial sector were determined using ABS data 

provided by ICLEI in the form of a Community Default Data spreadsheet. 

Calculations were performed using an ABS Business Register listing the 

number of employees in organisations registered in the LGA, complemented 

by ABARE (Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics) data. 

Commercial sector fuel sources included electricity, natural gas & 

LPG/propane. 

INDUSTRIAL 




Emissions in the Industrial sector were determined using ABS data provided 

by ICLEI in the form of a Community Default Data spreadsheet. Calculations 

were performed using the ABS Business Register listing the number of 




employees in organisations registered in the LGA and ABARE data. Industrial 

fuel sources include electricity, natural gas, heavy fuel oil, LPG, diesel, 

kerosene/burning oil, charcoal, anthracite and coke. 

TRANSPORT 




Transport data was calculated from per Capita State based averages for 

Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) multiplied by the population of the City. 

The percentage breakdown by vehicle type considered only passenger 

vehicles, light commercial vehicles, trucks and public transport and was 

calculated using default data provided by ICLEI in the form of a Community 

Default Data spreadsheet. 

WASTE 




Waste data (total tonnes of waste to landfill and percentage breakup) was 

provided by Council staff. 




CORPORATE SECTOR - FORECAST to 2010 

from 2004 

Forecast emissions for the Corporate sector are expected to remain relatively 

stable between the base and forecast years, with an overall reduction of two 

per cent from 18,367 tonnes CO 2 -e in 2004 to 17.995 tonnes CO 2 -e in 2012, 

assuming a ‘business as usual’ scenario (refer Figure 20). 

The cost of providing energy to the Council sector will reduce by four per cent 

from $2,992,869 per annum in 2004 to $2,867,798 per annum in 2012 (refer 

Figure 21). 

Figure 22 shows the Greenhouse Gas emissions profile for the Council sector 

for the baseline year (2004) with projections to the year 2012. All sectors are 

expected to remain relatively stable. 

The small variation between base and forecast year emissions is due to little 

change being anticipated in energy consumption within council properties, 

complemented by the removal of several Council owned properties that 

previously consumed electricity and gas (such as toilet blocks). 

Figure 20: Total Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tonnes CO2 Equivalent) 

for 2004 and 2012 

20000 

18367 

17995 


10000 

0 

2004 2012 Forecast 

Year 




Figure 21: Total Cost of Energy Provision to Corporate Facilities for 2004 and 

Forecast to 2012 

$3,000,000 

$2,992,869 

$2,867,798 

$2,000,000 

Cost $$ 

$1,000,000 

$0 


Year 

Figure 22: Corporate Emissions (tonnes CO2 Equivalent) for 2004 and 


12,000 

11,004 11,143 

9,000 


6,000 

3,000 

3,273 3,128 

4,010 

3,644 

0 

6 6 74 74 


Sector 

2004 2012Forecast 




Figure 23: Cost of Providing Energy to Corporate Sector for 2004 and 


$1,600,000 

$1,401,649 

$1,337,633 

$1,200,000 

Cost $$ 

$800,000 

$846,910 

$856,811 

$738,799 

$667,819 

$400,000 

$0 

$817 $841 $4,694 $4,694 


Sector 





COMMUNITY (LGA) SECTOR - FORECAST TO 

2010 FROM 2001 

The level of greenhouse gas emissions have been projected from the 

baseline year 2001 to the forecast year 2010 adopting a ‘business as usual’ 

scenario. Emissions in the LGA sector are expected to increase by 

approximately eight per cent from 800,374 tonnes CO 2 -e to 868,047 tonnes 

CO 2 -e as shown in Figure 24. 

Figure 25 shows the community emissions profile forecast to the year 2010. 

Emissions in all sectors are projected to remain relatively stable, with only the 

Transportation sector experiencing a significant increase in emissions of over 

40 per cent from the base year, as an increasing number of residents 

commute to work in the City from Blue Mountains locations. 

Figure 24: Total Community Greenhouse Emissions (tonnes CO2 Equivalent) for 

2001 and Forecast to 2010 

1,000,000 

800,374 

868,047 

750,000 


500,000 

250,000 

0 

2001 2010 Forecast 

Year 




Figure 25: Community Greenhouse Emissions (tonnes CO2 Equivalent) in 2001 

and Forecast to 2010 

400,000 

348,232 

333,164 

300,000 


200,000 

100,000 

158,321 

143,398 

94,650 

92,661 

173,182 

242,695 

40,912 

41,206 

0 

Residential Commercial Industrial Transport Waste 

Sector 

Issue 

2001 2010 Forecast 

Transport Sector emissions expected to increase by 40 per cent by 2010. 


Target the Transportation sector as a priority area for reducing future LGA 





GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 


Consider implementing a staff awareness campaign to educate personnel on 

the importance of improved energy management. This campaign can include 

training sessions, newsletters and handouts, and promotional material such 

as posters, stickers and booklets. This campaign can also be extended to 

include the wider LGA. 


Consider implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) or 

Sustainability Management System (SMS) to assist in integrating energy 

management into the core business of Council. Development of an EMS to an 

internationally recognised standard, such as ISO 14001, will greatly assist 

Council to better manage and promote its energy programs and broader 

environmental initiatives

Energy and Water Strategy 2007-2010 - Sustainable Blue Mountains

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