Shoalhaven Council took out the top Local Sustainability Award at the Excellence in the Environment Awards hosted by Local Government NSW.
Recognised for local environmental initiatives, promotion of sustainability, and progress towards a net zero emissions target, Council’s credentials proved hard to beat.
Mayor Amanda Findley said she was proud of the work being done by Council through resilience and climate-readiness programs.
“These awards recognise outstanding achievements by NSW local government in managing and protecting the environment,” Cr Findley said.
“The team has worked incredibly hard to be sustainability champions and put in place measures to protect the environment for the community and future generations,” she said.
“In the face of an uncertain climate-future, winning this award invigorates us to continue our sustainability journey and strive towards our net zero target.”
With this win under Council’s belt, plans are in place to further improve sustainability across the Shoalhaven and work toward Council’s net zero ambitions.
These include increasing the purchase of renewables; ‘getting off gas’ for pools and administration centres; investigating local carbon offset opportunities; transitioning Council’s fleet to more electric and low emissions vehicles; and supporting more EV charging across the region.
More information on Council’s sustainability and actions can be found on Council’s website.
Pictured above: Michael Paine, Manager - Community Connections, Darren O'Connell, Shoalhaven Water, Pip Hildebrand, Lead - Sustainability, Vince Di Pietro, Recovery into Resilience Project Coordinator