City of Onkaparinga and Alexandrina Councils were finalist in the Cities Power Partnership’s fifth annual national Climate Awards, held in Melbourne on 7 September.

The awards recognise the work of councils around Australia that are paving the way to a zero-carbon future.

Onkaparinga council’s Green Buildings Initiative (GBI), which delivers energy efficiency improvements to the organisation’s highest energy emitting buildings, was one of three finalists for the Energy Efficiency Achievement Award.

Alexandrina Council was in the running for the Climate Champions award, which recognises council staff who lead climate initiatives.

The Onkaparinga GBI program is funded through a revolving resources fund, where savings from completed projects are reinvested into future ones.

Since 2020, the GBI has implemented 11 solar installations totalling 468kW on council buildings, five LED lighting upgrades and eight EV charging stations to support council’s electric vehicles.

It primarily targets facilities where the council is responsible for paying the bills, focusing on larger sites to maximise impact and returns, which can be put back into future projects.

Support is also extended to lessees such as sporting clubs and community groups, helping them to reduce their energy bills.

One of the GBI’s next big targets is looking at a major electrification and solar project at the Noarlunga Aquatic Centre, which is expected in the next few years.

City of Onkaparinga Mayor Moira Were says she is delighted to see the council’s national leadership being recognised as a finalist in this year’s Cities Power Partnership Climate Awards.

“Our Green Buildings Initiative is a major success story for the council, helping us to reduce our corporate carbon emissions by 450 tonnes across 17 capital projects since 2020,” she says.

“It also plays a big role in our goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040, following our recent declaration of a climate emergency.

“It’s pleasing to be recognised for our hard work by being named as a Climate Awards finalist, but the work doesn’t stop here—we’ll continue playing our key role on the frontline of responding to climate change and helping our communities to mitigate and respond.”

Finalists were selected from entries submitted by diverse communities from rural townships through to capital cities across seven award categories including renewable energy, energy efficiency, collaboration and innovation.

The Climate Summit is the premier climate and energy event for local government leaders in Australia. It will explore opportunities in clean transport, clean energy transformation, climate risk, building resilience and adapting to climate change, and working together for greater impact. 

The City of Mitcham took out two awards for its Community Renewables Program; the Renewable Energy Achievement award and Community Choice award.

Full details of climates awards finalists and winners can be found on the website.