FOCUS on Facilities Management
This project seeks to assist HCCREMS member councils to "walk the sustainability talk" and save energy and water in their own facilities and operations. It is a regional capacity building effort that aims to:
Value-add to each council’s own energy and water saving efforts by providing targeted and strategic support- Avoid duplicating services and programs available elsewhere
- Build council's commitment to take advantage of the increasingly positive business case for energy efficient practice
- Help council staff share ‘real world’ knowledge and seek 'no strings attached' advice by creating peer to peer networking opportunities.
- Help councils demonstrate sustainability leadership and promote their 'good news' stories to their communities.
Priority council facilities for this project, which runs until October 2011, include:
- Public aquatic centres
- Sporting facilities and open space
- Administration buildings
- Council depots
- Caravan parks.
FOCUS on Facilities does not currently cover water or waste water infrastructure or streetlighting.
Why Save Energy and Water in Council Facilities?
Communities typically expect their local council to demonstrate environmental leadership, whilst providing a range of quality public facilities and services and keeping costs down.
Current and future energy price hikes are a key factor that is strengthening the business case for investing in reducing energy consumption. Given that councils build, own and often operate a range of public facilities, they are in a position to secure the long term benefits from investing in energy efficiency at strategic points in the lifespan of their assets.
Federal Government requirements for organisations to track and report their greenhouse emissions are likely to become more stringent, which is likely to see councils investing in systems to monitor, analyse and report energy use. This information will help councils prepare proposals for investing in efficiency measures.
The NSW Government’s “Waste and Sustainability Improvement Payment” Program (or WaSIP) offers payments to eligible councils who commit to meet minimum performance standards – including standards for energy and water auditing and savings planning.
It pays to keep abreast of the broader sustainability context - subscribe to our regional e-news to be informed of upcoming grant and funding opportunities for councils to invest in saving energy and water.
This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trust.
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