1. Policy framework
1.1 Living in Brisbane 2026
In late 2005, Brisbane City Council released Our shared vision - Living in Brisbane 2026, which defines the Council's vision for the future of Brisbane, and provides the policy framework to realise the vision.
One of the visions is for Brisbane as a clean, green city. To realise this vision, the Council has set targets in different aspects of the environment, including water, energy and waste. The following are some of the key targets for 2026:
- restore 40% of mainland Brisbane to natural habitat
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50%
- reuse 100% of wastewater
1.2 Sustainable Built Environment Policy
The City of Brisbane's Sustainable Built Environment Policy is a structured approach to driving sustainable development. There are four implementation tools to achieve sustainable development objectives: the Council's own activities, regulation, incentives and advocacy.
Brisbane City Council undertakes appropriate actions to implement this policy, including:
- Demonstrate leadership in its own decisions, practices, policies and behaviours relating to the built environment.
- Achieve recognised best practice sustainability ratings for all new large (greater than 5,000m2) buildings, facilities and public places.
- Site, design and construct new smaller buildings, facilities and public places (less than 5,000m2) in accordance with sustainable development principles.
- Continually improve the sustainability performance of existing buildings, workshops and infrastructure.
- Include sustainability provisions in agreements relating to the disposal of Council property to facilitate the beneficial use and reuse of resources.
- Evaluate the sustainability performance of any buildings and facilities before Council purchases or leases.
- Encourage owners/managers to upgrade the sustainability performance of any buildings Council leases.
- Review Council's future community leases and affordable housing programs in the context of sustainable development.
1.3 Plan for Action on Climate Change and Energy
In 2007, the Council released Brisbane's Plan for Action on Climate Change and Energy 2007, which contains a comprehensive list of actions to achieve the targets set in Living in Brisbane 2026.
The council believes that Brisbane's successful adaptation to climate change depends heavily on its ability to manage water and energy resources better than it ever has in the past. In terms of energy,
Council will apply the following order of priority, when reviewing options for energy supply and greenhouse reduction as follows:
- enhance local energy security, reliability and self-sufficiency
- rapidly reduce the carbon-intensity of energy sources
- use carbon trading to offset residual fossil-fuel sourced energy
