Towards Zero Emissions Strategy

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Image: All-electric Red Cliffs Early Years Hub which includes 180kW solar PV and 212kWh battery storage.

Climate Emergency Declaration

At its Ordinary Meeting of Council on 26 February 2020, Mildura Rural City Council became the 30th local government in Australia and the 94th in Australia to declare a climate emergency.

Part (ii) of the Council motion included an action to ‘Obtain current base line greenhouse gas emissions levels on municipal services, operations and infrastructure, and implement and report on a strategy to reduce these emissions including an analysis of our capacity to reach a target of zero-net emissions by 2050’.

Towards Zero Emissions Strategy

The Towards Zero Emissions Strategy 2021-2050 addresses part (ii) of the motion and was adopted by Council in June 2021. The Strategy commits Council to achieving zero-net emissions by 2040 (excluding landfill) and 2050 (including landfill), and outlines priority areas to achieve this target by reducing carbon emissions associated with Council’s services, operations and infrastructure. The Strategy includes the initial four-year action plan which expired on 30 June 2025.

While the long-term strategy will be reviewed and remain in place until 2050, a detailed action plan will be developed every four years. This will ensure advances in new technology and best practices for reducing carbon emissions are being implemented. We’ll report on our progress annually through the Environmental Sustainability Report.

Phase 1 – Action Plan 2021-2025

The Action Plan 2021-2025 included actions across key priority areas of Fleet, Landfill, Buildings and Facilities, Street and Public Lighting and Scope 3 emissions.. Some significant achievements include:

  • Purchasing 100 per cent renewable electricity through the Victorian Energy Collaboration (Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement);
  • Reaching over 1 megawatt of rooftop solar PV installed across Council buildings and facilities;
  • Replacing over 1,700 inefficient major and minor road streetlights to energy efficient LEDs as part of the Lighting the Regions Stage 2 project;
  • Completing feasibility studies for electrifying council buildings and facilities, solar carports and neighbourhood batteries;
  • Begun transitioning our light fleet to electric vehicles and installing charging infrastructure;
  • Developing a Heavy Fleet Transition Plan which includes a roadmap for the transition of Council’s heavy fleet to zero emissions technology and installation of charging infrastructure; and
  • Implementing a Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) kerbside collection service.

Phase 2 – Action Plan 2025-2029

The Action Plan 2025-2029(PDF, 1MB) will guide Council’s emission reduction efforts across key priority areas of Fleet, Landfill, Buildings and Facilities, Street and Public Lighting and Scope 3 emissions from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2029. Some key initiatives in Phase 2 include:

  • Electrifying council owned buildings and facilities (by 2030);
  • Electrifying our light fleet (by 2030) and heavy fleet (by 2040);
  • Undertaking energy efficiency audits, energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy and battery storage installations;
  • Including active gas capture in the Mildura Landfill cap design; and
  • Upgrading inefficient active and passive recreation lighting to energy efficient LEDs.
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