Krista Milne

Power Melbourne will transform our fragmented energy infrastructure into a network of coordinated mid-scale batteries across the city. A battery network will allow people to make better choices when sourcing their energy. Creating a simple renewable electricity offering will provide residents with a new choice and support a move towards sustainable energy-generating technology.

This flagship project enables Melbourne to realise its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 for… Show more

Power Melbourne will transform our fragmented energy infrastructure into a network of coordinated mid-scale batteries across the city. A battery network will allow people to make better choices when sourcing their energy. Creating a simple renewable electricity offering will provide residents with a new choice and support a move towards sustainable energy-generating technology.

This flagship project enables Melbourne to realise its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 for the entire municipality. Accelerating the deployment of state-of-the-art technology at scale it is a crucial step to unlock climate capital, and will cement Melbourne’s reputation as a global centre for clean energy innovation. Show less

We are proud to be the first city in Australia to make a Voluntary Local Review Declaration and report our progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It’s time for Melbourne to thrive and rather than just repairing our city, our vision is to rebuild to be even more resilient and sustainable, creating a brighter future for Melbourne. Our overarching vision for Melbourne is to be a City of Possibility, where the world meets and the extraordinary… Show more

We are proud to be the first city in Australia to make a Voluntary Local Review Declaration and report our progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It’s time for Melbourne to thrive and rather than just repairing our city, our vision is to rebuild to be even more resilient and sustainable, creating a brighter future for Melbourne. Our overarching vision for Melbourne is to be a City of Possibility, where the world meets and the extraordinary happens.

City of Melbourne’s first Voluntary Local Review of progress against the Goals enables all Melburnians to take stock of what is happening in our municipality, assess what we are doing, how well and ask the question: “Are we pursuing a better future for all Melburnians?”

The overarching framework for global sustainable development Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (PDF 369 KB) sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals for all countries to achieve by the year 2030. The goals are a call to action for all countries to promote prosperity while protecting our planet, now and into the future – with a central promise to leave no one behind.

While designed with national governments in mind, we recognise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires action from a broad range of stakeholders and partnerships. As a major capital city, we have a key role to play in localising and addressing the issues articulated in the goals.

The Goals are a guiding framework to ensure our initiatives achieve holistic sustainable development. We must play a role, and partner with others to address the challenges we all face, to ensure no one is left behind.
We will use the data and insights in this Review to inform where Council will prioritise our efforts through our annual planning and budgeting process. We will monitor progress annually through an annual performance scorecard and adjust our annual work program where necessary to improve performance over time. Show less

Achieving zero carbon buildings is crucial to our municipal goal of zero net emissions, or zero carbon, by 2040. Buildings make up 66 per cent of the city’s emissions, so everyone who is part of our city’s buildings needs to collaborate to get to zero carbon buildings. Decarbonising the grid, with 100 per cent renewables by 2030 will contribute significantly to reducing emissions from buildings, but will not get us all the way to zero. The initiatives proposed in this paper work in conjunction… Show more

Achieving zero carbon buildings is crucial to our municipal goal of zero net emissions, or zero carbon, by 2040. Buildings make up 66 per cent of the city’s emissions, so everyone who is part of our city’s buildings needs to collaborate to get to zero carbon buildings. Decarbonising the grid, with 100 per cent renewables by 2030 will contribute significantly to reducing emissions from buildings, but will not get us all the way to zero. The initiatives proposed in this paper work in conjunction with other policies and projects aimed squarely at grid decarbonisation.
In the early 2000s, we undertook strategic work to improve energy efficiency and support green buildings. This work resulted in developing Green Star, the construction of Council House 2 (CH2), and initiatives such as the Melbourne Forum and the 1200 Buildings Program. There was also a process of developing funding mechanisms to support building retrofit costs, with the development of Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUAs) and Energy Performance Contracting (EPCs).

In the 1200 Buildings Program, commercial office building owners in Melbourne CBD retrofitted 541 buildings, enabling building owners reduce their energy use and save money. The program started in 2010 when the market for energy efficiency was immature, and the industry needed more direct support and information. By the time of the review in 2019, the market had matured significantly, increasing its capacity to provide low-hanging fruit retrofit advice and finance without the need for this program.

Demonstration projects outcomes:
Buildings such as CH2 and Library at the Dock and tools such as EPCs demonstrated what was possible. The ability to test an idea and enable others to learn from it is a powerful tool that supports the market's capacity to take up new ways of working. For example, CH2 played a significant role in enabling comfort in the market to achieve/aspire to six-star Green Star. Show less