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Green Sydney government initiatives

Sydney is fast becoming one of the world’s leading ‘green cities’. The City of Sydney Council is the first in the nation to become carbon neutral, while Tourism Australia (TA) maintains a ‘green checklist’ for planning events, and Business Events Australia (BEA) promotes the value of sustainable tourism.

Sustainable Sydney - green city living

The City of Sydney Council has created an ambitious blueprint to deliver low-impact energy and water for the city - while connecting it via green networks and infrastructure hubs. Called ‘Sustainable Sydney 2030’, the plan responds to the challenges of global warming, rising oil prices, declining housing affordability and growth.

It incorporates five big moves, 10 strategic directions and hundreds of small steps that it hopes will transform Sydney into a 'green, global and connected' city by 2030.

But the Council is not wasting time or waiting for 2030 to arrive, and the numbers are stacking up. Council’s recent initiatives include:

 

• 1,000 trees planted in the inner city during 2008
• 30 rainwater tanks installed to provide water for the city’s green spaces
• 1,200 solar parking meters to save 1.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year
• 49 water harvesting and recycling systems being built at key sites

Sydney's conference and business events green checklist

Australia has an "unequivocal commitment" to delivering sustainable business events. Business events operators holding meetings, conferences or conventions in Sydney now have access to BEA's green checklist (pdf) to help them plan and deliver cleaner, greener business events.

The Business Events Australia green checklist is based on the following core principles: 

 

1. Reduce waste
2. Reuse
3. Recycle; then
4. Offset carbon emissions

Other environmentally friendly Sydney innovative programs include:

 

• CitySwitch green office: helps commercial office tenants improve their energy efficiency
• Earth Hour: Sydney helped facilitate the inaugural Earth Hour in 2007 and continues to participate
• Clean Harbour Partners Program: more than 90 businesses help reduce rubbish and chemical pollution entering Sydney Harbour

Green Sydney events resources

 

• Learn more about the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 blueprint
• Download the Business Events Australia Sustainability Fact Sheet to learn more about Australia’s commitment to sustainability in the events industry