Shellharbour City Council has accelerated its transition to net zero operational emissions through the adoption of an internal Sustainability Revolving Fund.
The Sustainability Revolving Fund, adopted by Council at last week's meeting, is a forward funding financial reserve comprising cost savings and revenue from Council's sustainability and energy-efficiency projects.
The fund will allow reinvestment into the delivery of new projects that foster sustainability, trial innovative new sustainable technologies, and contribute to the achievement of the organisation's climate and sustainability objectives.
Council has implemented several sustainability projects to reach its target of net zero operational emissions by 2035 including installing 380kW of solar across key Council sites, upgrading street lighting to energy efficient LEDs, and entering into a Renewable Power Purchase Agreement for large Council sites
The proceeds from the sale of energy savings certificates for the citywide LED Lighting Upgrade Project will be used to seed fund the Revolving Sustainability Fund.
The LED lighting upgrade is replacing 5776 streetlights and is expected to reduce Council's emissions by 1752 tonnes per year.
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said the Sustainability Revolving Fund was another huge step towards reaching our net zero targets.
"The Sustainability Revolving Fund is a key action in Council's Zero Emissions Shellharbour Program," Mayor Homer said.
"It will provide opportunities to deliver further sustainability actions that reduce Council's operating costs and achieve a more sustainable operating model for servicing our community needs," he said.
