We are committed to reducing our emissions each year and are currently implementing our five-year Emissions Reduction Plan. As part of this plan, 1 January 2020 marked the commencement of the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project, where all our operations became powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
All remaining emissions were offset to ensure our operations remain carbon neutral. To do this, we invested in projects that reduced or absorbed greenhouse gas emissions equal to what we produced, through the carbon offset market.
Read more about the carbon offset projects we have invested in, and for more details on how we achieve carbon neutral certification, see the public disclosure summary below.
Visit our Sustainable Business Guide to find out what your organisation can do to reduce its emissions.
Carbon offset purchases
In 2023, City of Melbourne invested in grouped hydropower, renewable wind energy and biodiversity protection.
We chose these projects to maximise a range of social, economic and environmental outcomes aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development GoalsOpens in new tab.
Additional benefits include access to employment opportunities and alternative income streams, improved health conditions, education opportunities, biodiversity retention and reinvigorated Indigenous cultural traditions.
Read more about the projects we are supporting.
Offsets retired in 2022-23: 7,251
This project consists of multiple small-scale hydropower plants that generate renewable energy for rural Southwest and South Central China. By supplying clean hydroelectric power to the local grid, the project displaces greenhouse gas emissions, helping mitigate climate change. The project helps to improve the livelihoods of people living in remote and sometimes isolated communities through funding a number of initiatives, including a social fund and sustainable agricultural workshops.
The project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainability Goals:
- 4: Quality education
- 5: Gender equality
- 7: Affordable and clean energy
- 8: Decent work and economic growth
- 13: Climate action
Offsets retired in 2022-23: 4,924
Over 80% of China’s electricity supply comes from coal-based power plants. China’s growing cities and economies make the supply of energy and goods a logistical challenge – along with its disposal and the implications of growing waste streams. This project captures methane emissions from a landfill site and uses them to generate power, contributing to sustainable development in China.
The project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainability Goals:
- 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- 13: Climate Action
Offsets retired in 2022–23: 4,924
The Mount Sandy project ensures permanent protection for a regionally and culturally important pocket of biodiversity-rich land in partnership with its Traditional Owners. Local birds, animals and plants flourish undisturbed, while native plants for revegetation will be supplied by the local nursery at Raukkan Aboriginal Community, a self-governed Indigenous community 50 kilometres northwest of the project site.
The project contributes to the following United Nations sustainability goals:
- 8: Decent work and economic growth
- 13: Climate action
- 15: Life on land
- 17: Partnership for the goals
Voluntarily offset council services
We’d like to congratulate the achievements of YMCA VicOpens in new tab, Nationwide GroupOpens in new tab and GJK Facility ServicesOpens in new tab in offsetting the emissions associated with their contract or services to City of Melbourne in 2021-22.
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Emissions over time
| Emissions source | Base year (2011-12) | 2021-2022 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas and fuel | 1,449 | 1,391 | 4% |
| City of Melbourne electricity | 16,964 | 318 | 98% |
| City of Melbourne | 5,001 | 5,222 | -4% |
| Supply chain - incl. street lights | 21,404 | 2,746 | 87% |
| Queen Victoria Markets | 2,143 | 2,037 | 5% |
| Citywide | 5,098 | 448 | 91% |
| Total net emissions | 52,059 | 12,162 | 77% |
City of Melbourne first achieved carbon neutral certification under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard (formally the National Carbon Offset Standard) in 2011-12 and this year is used as the ‘base year’ for tracking our emission reduction performance over time. Figures are in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Public disclosure summaries
To view all previous City of Melbourne public disclosure summaries, visit Climate Active.Opens in new tab
City of Melbourne strategies and projects
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