Our carbon footprint
We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and since 1998 we have been measuring our emissions each year to track our progress.
Council generates greenhouse gas emissions from using energy in the buildings that we own such as libraries, community centres, recreation facilities and council offices. The two main other sources of emissions are street lighting and fuel to run our kerbside waste services and fleet. Smaller areas of emissions include the waste from our offices and construction and maintenance activities, and refrigerant gases from air conditioning units.
Our corporate emissions in 2021-22 were 6915 tonnes C02e.
80% reduction target by 2030 - aim to be net zero by 2040
The City of Onkaparinga is building on our strong track record in emissions reduction and has set a target to reduce our corporate emissions by 80 per cent by 2030, with an aim to be net zero by 2040. The good news is that we are already over halfway there. Since our baseline year of 2010-11, we have reduced our corporate emissions by 54 per cent.
We have achieved this by changing 12,000 street lights to LED, installing over 550kW of solar at council facilities, and upgrading 35 council buildings.
Our Towards Zero Corporate Emissions Roadmap(PDF, 9MB) sets out how we will reduce our emissions by 80 per cent and this infographic(PDF, 173KB) shows how we plan to reach net zero. By working towards an ambitious target we continue to reduce our operating budget by lowering the ongoing costs of fuel and electricity while increasing the resilience of the organisation as we transition to a low carbon economy.
You can also see an overview of the work that Council has taken so far by reading our Climate Change Snapshot.(PDF, 4MB)
To find out more about Onkaparinga's corporate emissions view our 2021-22 inventory year accounting summary(PDF, 649KB)
Related news