Local councils around Australia have an important role to play in decarbonising the construction supply chain. Local councils have multiple levers of change in their arsenal. First, councils can drive forward decarbonisation by promoting sustainable outcomes in their own operations and capital works. Second, local governments can achieve carbon reductions in construction in their role as a regulator, through planning systems, education and advocacy.

Around Australia pockets of excellence have started to emerge at a local government level. However, there are still many challenges that councils face when it comes to lower carbon outcomes.

The MECLA Spotlight on Decarbonisation for Local Councils features local government professionals from a range of councils across Australia. The discussion includes a focus on what embodied carbon is, the different levers for change local governments have to impact it, and what resources exist for procurement teams and local government officials to progress work in their respective jurisdictions.

Speakers:

• Hudson Worsley – MECLA Chair
• Dylan Viviers – National Specification Manager at Holcim
• Paul Whelan – Zero Carbon Operations Lead at City of Melbourne
• Alberto Jimenez – Senior Policy Office at NSW Government
• David MacLennan – CEO at City of Vincent

 Key Takeaways:

• There are particular challenges faced by local councils in their embodied carbon journey due to location, their ties to state government policy and funding, and the general embodied carbon literacy among organisations.
• City of Vincent has begun to demonstrate major successes in embodied carbon reduction through changes to their planning approval processes
• Early engagement amongst stakeholders is crucial to contract success in low embodied carbon products
• Measuring embodied carbon is the first step in mapping your emissions reduction pathways for capital works projects
• NSW Government have developed specifications for low embodied carbon concrete that can be adopted for local councils