Brimbank

Climate Emergency

Plan 2020-2025

Annual Report Card 2

1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022

What evidence is there that the Brimbank community is more active in organising to respond

to the climate emergency locally and more broadly, and that people are able to access quality

education and other means to overcome barriers to sustainable living?

The Climate Action Online School Summit saw participation from 10 primary schools and a total of 189

students in Brimbank. Students gained knowledge and built resilience to the impacts of climate change and

had an opportunity to share their vision for 2040 with the Mayor of Brimbank.

Council hosted 12 programs and events about

decarbonisation and climate adaptation in 2021/2022,

with over 300 community members attending and

getting involved!

Council launched our 100% Renewable Brimbank

program. The program website connects Brimbank

residents and businesses to resources, one-on-one

support, and financial incentives to help make the

switch to be all-electric and renewable energy.

Brimbank youth collaboratively developed public

messaging as part of the Youth Heatwave Awareness

Program. Their work will become part of the

messaging used in heat wave events and is set to be

formalised in Council’s Municipal Heatwave Plan.

An updated Traditional Owner statement

acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and

Bunurong People as the Traditional Owners of the

land occupied by the City of Brimbank.

The World Food Garden project connected generations

and cultures to sharing memories, traditions and

authentic recipes from Somalia, Myanmar, Vietnam

and Samoa, while promoting locally grown food with a

reduced carbon footprint.

The Seedlings in Schools Program distributed

vegetable and native plant seedlings to over 30

schools and four Neighbourhood House gardens

across the municipality.

The 2021 Brimbank Youth Environmental Leadership

program engaged senior primary and secondary

students from three schools in Brimbank. Students

built leadership skills through participating in local

environmental projects.

Council submitted a motion calling on the Federal

Government to declare a climate emergency and to

invest in renewable energy, the circular economy and

conservation initiatives. The motion, presented at the

2021 National General Assembly of the Australian

Local Government Association held in Canberra, was

endorsed unanimously.

2021/2022 was year two of the implementation of the

Brimbank Climate Emergency Plan 2020-2025 - Let’s

Co- Create Our Future (the Plan). Year two of the Plan

saw some exciting milestones achieved and these are

summarised in this report.

Council’s declaration of a climate emergency in 2019

recognised the immediate, all- encompassing threat

of climate change. The Plan recognised Council’s

responsibility to lead a socially just, science-based,

coordinated public policy response to the crisis. The Plan

set a target of zero-net emissions for Council operations

by 2030, and by 2040 for the municipality.

The five themes for action under the Climate

Emergency Plan are: People Power, 100% Renewable,

Resilient Rebuild, Green and Cool and Circular Economy.

Success for each theme is evaluated by the response to

a ‘key evaluation question’.

‘Electrify everything’ is the cheapest, fastest route

to emissions cuts. Households and businesses must

replace petrol and diesel vehicles, gas heaters and

hot water systems, and other items with electric

alternatives. These changes would be minimally

disruptive, but provide large emission reductions,

provided that they are powered with 100% renewable

electricity from wind, solar, and water.

The good news is, we’re making progress:

Council has reduced its own

carbon emissions by 70%

below our baseline emissions

from 2010/2011, meaning

we’re on track to meet our

emissions reduction target of

net zero Council operational

emissions by 2030!

Construction is now well underway for the world leading Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre.

The centre is an Australian first all-electric facility, 100% renewable energy powered facility utilising

heat pump technology and 1100 solar panels. The facility has achieved a coveted 6 Star Green Star

rating which identifies it as ‘world leading’ for sustainability.

Artists impression of the new Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre

Word Cloud generated as part of The Climate Action Online School Summit

What evidence is there that the resilient rebuild is occurring in Brimbank via sustainability

improvements to the built environment, and that people are getting around more easily and

often on foot, by bike, or by public transport?

Brimbank advocated to the Victorian Government for

ongoing ambitious improvements to Environmentally

Sustainable Design (ESD) standards in new buildings

through the planning scheme through our partnership

with the Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built

Environment (CASBE).

Water reduction savings built into new residential

developments in Brimbank have been improving year

on year, with new projects reducing their potable

water use by an average of 35% in 2021.

Average NatHERS star ratings for new residential

project developments in Brimbank have been steadily

increasing from the 6 star minimum required under

building regulation to an average rating of 6.43 for

new projects in 2021.

Active transport in the municipality of Brimbank got a

boost with over five kilometres of shared user paths

installed during the 2021/2022 financial year!

Brimbank established its Water Sensitive Urban

Design 10-Year Asset Management Plan. This

includes an ongoing maintenance and repair budget

allocation each year to help keep Brimbank’s streets

green and cool and protect creeks and rivers from

stormwater pollution.

Brimbank’s Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-

2025 included ‘Collaboration with community in

addressing climate change and its impacts on health’

as one of its five key priorities.

Brimbank is partnering in the Jesuit Social Services’

Mobilising Climate Just and Resilient Communities

in Melbourne’s West project. The project is aimed at

organisations who support community health and

wellbeing to gain an understanding of community

climate risks, vulnerabilities, strengths, and needs

for the future, enabling them to take collective

climate action.

Council adopted a refreshed Transport Priorities Paper,

which includes our vision for supporting a sustainable,

active transport network that supports the transition

to electric vehicles. The Paper also renewed calls for

a Victorian Transport Plan and advocated to relevant

ministers and local MP’s.

Council provided a submission to Major Road Projects

Victoria regarding their investigatory work on the

future Calder Freeway Calder Park Drive interchange.

The submission included calls to ensure the project

protects biodiversity and supports development of

Brimbank’s urban forest.

What evidence is there that Brimbank is moving towards 100% renewable energy by

2030 and is decarbonising to zero net emissions by 2040?

1 Cook, H, ‘Petrol price surge drives Victoria’s electric vehicle boom’,

The Age, 19 March 2022, www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/

petrol-price-surge-drives-victoria-s-electric-vehicle-boom-

20220318-p5a5rm.html

Council joined the Victorian Energy

Collaboration (VECO), Australia’s largest local

government sector emissions reduction

project. All Brimbank Council buildings, sports

grounds, community venues, leisure centres

and street lights are now powered by 100%

renewable electricity!

The Dundonnell Wind Farm will be one of

the two major renewable energy facilities

providing energy to councils through the

VECO contract.

Our $3.4 million street lighting upgrade project is now

complete. Four thousand street lights were upgraded

to energy efficient LED lighting. The project is set to

save Council $6 million net over 20 years through

reduced energy bills and maintenance charges.

In June 2021, the postcode 3020 covering Sunshine,

Albion, Sunshine North and Sunshine West boasted

the highest number of electric, hydrogen and plug-in

hybrid vehicles in the state with 549 registrations

1

.

Well done 3020!

Council received the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria

Industry Award for sustainability for the Sunshine

Aquatic Centre, recognising active involvement in

reducing carbon emissions and water usage. Upgrades

include LED lighting and solar panels.

Work has continued to electrify Council’s fleet by 2030

with the completion of a Fleet Transition Plan and new

project focused on implementation.

Kororoit Creek Neighborhood House is on it’s way

to being a model electric facility powered by 100%

renewable energy, with installation of an electric hot

water system and induction cooking.

Council installed over 50 kilowatts of solar PV on

community sports pavilions across Brimbank.

Council launched the Brimbank Community Solar

Program as a council supported supplier for solar

panels and renewable energy upgrades for residents

and businesses in Brimbank.

The new Federal Labor government promised a large

community battery for Brimbank that will provide

enough storage to support up to 250 local households.

Dundonnell Wind Farm image courtesy of

Tilt Renewables Australia Pty Ltd

New shared user path at Green Gully Reserve

Mayor Jasmine Nguyen, West Welcome Wagon chair

Chris Scerri and Australian Red Cross merchandise

team member Bimo Soeharto at the reusable goods

drop off day.

What evidence is there the municipality is getting greener and cooler, that habitat for

threatened flora and fauna is protected and connected, and that people are adopting a climate

and health friendly relationship with food?

What evidence is there that the Brimbank economy is reducing the amount of waste to landfill,

and maximising the reuse and recycling of other products?

Council received funding from Recycling Victoria to

conduct a feasibility study as a first step towards

developing a new sustainable resource and recovery

centre at the proposed Sunshine Energy Park.

Over 160 compost bins and worm farms were

purchased via Council’s Compost Revolution portal in

the 2021/2022 financial year.

Road projects in Brimbank used 100% recycled

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) yarns produced from

disposed plastic bottles as a pavement reinforcement

material this year. Every 1kg of recycled PET yarn saves

around 4.3kg of CO2 emissions by avoiding use of

conventional reinforcement.

We’re getting Brimbank ready for a new four-bin model

that separates waste, recycling, food and garden

organics, and glass. We heard your feedback about

the new system and received a total of 823 survey

responses and had 165 conversations at our shopping

centre pop-ups!

Over 200 Brimbank households attended Council’s

Reusable Goods Drop-Off Day, held at Victoria

University in Sunshine. West Welcome Wagon

collected 5 tonnes of household furniture and

appliances to donate to vulnerable families and The

Red Cross accepted 701kgs of clothing, bags and

books to sell in their opportunity shops.

A sustainable asphalt mix made up of recycled crushed glass and recycled asphalt is being used to construct

roads throughout Brimbank as part of a trial in partnership with the Australian Road Research Board,

Sustainability Victoria and the Victorian Department of Transport. The mix is made using 34 tonnes of

recycled asphalt and 17 tonnes of recycled crushed glass – equivalent to 34,000 glass bottles collected from

Brimbank recycling bins. If successful, these materials could pave the way for using recycled glass in road

materials and greatly reduce demand for mining new materials for use in road construction. A total of 470

tonnes of asphalt used in road projects this year contained sustainable crushed glass material!

The new stormwater harvesting system at

Dempster Park in Sunshine North is now

operational. This system forms the core of the

Dempster Park Oasis project which uses water

and plants to create a cool and green oasis that

can counteract the hotter and drier conditions

caused by climate change. By cleaning nearby

stormwater and using it to irrigate the park,

the system is able to save up to 11 million litres

of water each year- the same as over four

Olympic sized swimming pools! The system’s

native plant raingarden also provides a valuable

semi-aquatic habitat for native wildlife.

44,750 seedlings were planted for native revegetation

and habitat restoration purposes over the 2021

planting season.

Stage 1 of the More Trees for a Cooler Greener West

saw over 832 trees planted in local streets in 2021.

Council spent $1.96M on seedlings and semi mature

trees for local streets and parks in the financial year

2021/2022. The annual contribution is part of our

ongoing commitment to increase tree canopy cover

under our Urban Forest Strategy.

A total of 12% of Council’s water use was met through

alternative stormwater harvesting for irrigation.

The Brimbank Tree Policy was adopted and included

provisions for valuing and managing trees on public

and private land, best practice maintenance, and

community engagement to support our aim for 30%

tree canopy cover in Brimbank by 2046.

Brimbank’s School Pollinator Gardens program is now

in its third year. This year we engaged the Dame Phyllis

Frost Centre to grow local native wildflower seedlings

for local schools to help provide habitat for pollinators.

The Saving Seeds, Growing Communities program

involved education around indigenous plants and

native plant giveaways to the local community.

Community engagement commenced for the Creating

Streets for People Draft Policy, which is a long term

vision to guide how Brimbank’s streets should look,

function, and support the community in the future.

Brimbank supported the development of an

interactive online map of local ‘Cool Places’ and water

refilling stations.

Brimbank developed three videos about keeping

cool during hot weather and heat events, including

information on how to stay cool, how to support

others and the links between climate change and

heatwaves in Brimbank.

The Mayor wrote to the Minister for Energy,

Environment and Climate Change to request an

immediate end to logging in our forested drinking

water catchments east of Melbourne. Logging has

been shown to be reducing the water available

equivalent to the needs of 250,000 Melbournians

New native plant raingarden at Dempster Park

Urban design, parks,

integrated water

management, landfill

rehabilitation,

nature

$10.2M

Green electricity,

lighting and

appliance upgrades,

solar PV

$2.2M

Walking and cycling infrastructure, pedestrian

facilities, city planning

$3.2M

Waste management

$8.8M

Environment Stewardship

and Community

Empowerment

$4.1M

Draft Annual Budget

2022/2023

28.5M

Building a sustainable

Brimbank

9249 4000

info@brimbank.vic.gov.au

PO Box 70, Sunshine, VIC 3020

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