Brisbane's Council released a report titled 'Brisbane. Clean, Green, Sustainable 2017-2031' this week. Apparently an amalgam of 10 existing documents, it provides a list of targets and indicators showing council's goals on air and water quality, household carbon emissions, waste disposal, parks and biodiversity. However, having had a look through the document, I think the criticisms by opposition member Cr Peter Cummings are on point, and that it lacks specifics around what actions will be taken by when and how Brisbane's targets sit comparable on a scale of sustainable cities.

It would be fantastic to see this report backed up by a concrete plan of action.

Criticisms aside - and the document does seem to be one that makes a lot of facts more digestible for Brisbane dwellers rather than a policy document - there are some points in the document about environmental initiatives that I've not heard of in Brisvegas before. Here they are in dot pointy form:

- Plans to implement a CBD-wide initiative whereby one plant room provides cold water to air conditioners in towers around the city. Sadly, the water is chilled in 'off peak' times, which presumably means it's chilled using electricity. Still, 10-30% energy savings per building is not to be sneezed at.

- Continue the capture of gas at city landfills for combustion via flaring or electricity generation. Wow! How did I not know this was happening? This is so cool! School children know more about this than I do it seems, with a Council leaflet on school recycling containing this fun fact: "Over 32,500 megawatt hours (MWh) of green energy is generated annually from landfill gas at Rochedale Landfill, which is enough to power about 6500 homes every year."
From 2016 School Recycling Factsheet: Landfill published by Brisbane City Council

- Continue to explore opportunities for policy and legislative changes to support the adoption of alternative, low carbon waste treatment methods, including the production of energy from waste. Awesome! Be great to see existing initiatives like Substation 33, a social enterprise run by YFS that recycles e-waste, supported and assisted to grow too.

-  The busway network carries more passengers annually than all of the city’s motorways combined. What? Seriously? I'm surprised. I really am.

-  Council is ...taking a whole-of-catchment approach to waterway management that transcends local government boundaries, through the Resilient Rivers program. This cross-government program is addressing water quality in the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay through initiatives in other local government areas. The program was initiated after upstream sediment threatened Brisbane’s water supply during the 2011 flood and following continued erosion of crucial farming land in the Lockyer Valley.


You can find the full report at: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/20170523_-_brisbane_clean_green_sustainable_2017_2031.pdf