5. Capacity Building
5.1 Partnership Agreement with Sustainable Living Tasmania
The State Government has a partnership agreement with Sustainable Living Tasmania. In 2009-10, the Tasmanian Government provided $50 000 to help Sustainable Living Tasmania deliver projects aligned with community resilience and engagement.
In 2010 progress was made in the following projects:
- establishment of a website and network for transition towns initiatives in Tasmania (Transition Tasmania);
- provision of free, locally-relevant advice to the public and small business on practical actions that they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption;
- promotion of the free Australian Government Green Loans Scheme in Tasmania; and
- provision of specialised support for identified disadvantaged groups, including Neighbourhood House catchments and clients of disability services.
Sustainable Living Tasmania has operated in Tasmania for over 30 years, providing free advice and services to Tasmanians to help empower them to improve the sustainability of their homes and businesses.
In addition, Sustainable Living Tasmania organises workshops and seminars for people in the community about sustainable living, energy efficiency and water conservation, and organises the annual Sustainable Living Expo. The 2010 Sustainable Living Expo attracted over 10,000 Tasmanians. The popularity of the event continues to grow.
5.2 Helping businesses adjust to a low carbon economy
The TCCO has been working with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts to develop information and resources to assist Tasmanian businesses to reduce their emissions.
A series of fact sheets and useful tips and tools have been developed and are now available. Workshops were held statewide for Tasmanian Government client and project managers who work with businesses.
5.3 Supporting sustainability in schools and green skills development
As a member of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative - Tasmania (AuSSI-Tas) Steering Committee, the TCCO has continued to work with AuSSI to support schools and their communities to become sustainable and to consider climate change in their day to day activities.
The TCCO provided input into the development of the Skills Tasmania Sustainability Skills Strategy and will continue to work with the Tasmanian Polytechnic, Tasmanian Academy and the Tasmanian Skills Institute to incorporate climate change and sustainability into its curriculum.
