As governments, organisations and individuals around the world grapple with the need to decarbonise, Ipswich City Council is leading the way, meeting ambitious organisational targets.
A key goal – to halve council’s Scope 1 and 2 generated carbon emissions within five years – will be achieved thanks to innovative, collaborative and clever problem-solving, resulting in an 85 per cent renewable energy output and a 14,000-tonne yearly carbon dioxide reduction.
Determined to make a difference when it comes to its carbon footprint, council saw an opportunity to offset the running of more than 29,000 streetlights, plus a huge catalogue of infrastructure including an eight-storey administrative building for more than 800 staff.
In a three-year timeframe, council has reduced its emissions from electricity (Scope 2) by approximately 85 per cent (Scope 1 emissions refer to direct greenhouse gases from sources owned or controlled by council, while Scope 2 emissions refer to indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the organisation).
The South East Queensland council established the 50 per cent emissions reduction by 2026 as part of its Sustainability Strategy 2021-2026. The target includes direct emissions for council-owned sources like transport fleets and, importantly, electricity used by council to run its operations.
Here’s why
Ipswich has a history of natural disasters, particularly the floods of 1974, 2011 and 2022, as well as severe storms and drought.
In the most recent disaster in 2022, almost 600 homes went underwater, leading to nearly 300 being bought back, the houses demolished and the lots to now be rezoned to green space – ensuring hundreds of families will never be flooded again.
Like every other city in Australia, Ipswich needs to be cleaner and greener, and has a clear vision to become a sustainable city – not an easy task as one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities where the population is expected to double to 535,000 residents by 2046.
Council has to lead the way and this is highlighted by its sustainability strategy, with one of its key tenets being for council to lead by example when it comes to sustainability, with the additional goal to inspire and support local businesses and residents to undertake their own sustainability efforts.
“(By) the decisions and the activities we undertake as an organisation every day – the energy and water we use, how we minimise our waste, and the purchasing decisions we make as a council – we can achieve best practice in sustainability,” the strategy reads.
The solution
Years prior to the sustainability strategy coming into effect, as it focused on how to reduce its emissions, council determined that a power purchase agreement (PPA) should feature as part of the mix of actions to reduce emissions. The opportunity to negotiate a PPA came up in 2023.
With the help of a consultant with experience in brokering energy contracts, council went to market to find an energy provider that could meet council’s requirements – powering some 29,400 streetlights, council’s main administrative building, Ipswich Children’s Library, Ipswich Central Library, Ipswich Civic Centre, Ipswich Art Gallery and two council depots.
What followed was a rigorous procurement process involving an initial market offering and shortlisting before establishing the best offer.
Council awarded the 7.25-year contract to CleanCo Queensland – a publicly-listed company based at Swanbank in Ipswich.
CleanCo met the requirements for providing renewable energy, sourced from wind farms at Dulacca in the Western Downs and Kaban in the Tablelands – a truly Queensland initiative. Sourcing from genuine renewable energy projects located within Queensland was a key criterion of the agreement.
Council will consider options for the remaining 15 per cent of non-renewable electricity requirements when the contract comes up for renewal in 2026 as we continue to map the path towards being a low-emission organisation.
How does it work?
The 28 wind turbines at Kaban and 43 at Dulacca produce a combined amount of energy to power around 200,000 homes collectively each year.
Council’s contract with CleanCo enables it to buy clean energy generated at these facilities through large-scale generation certificates. These certificates represent one megawatt-hour (MWh) of wind-powered energy produced and put into the power system.
The result is that approximately 85 per cent of Ipswich City Council’s electricity use is now renewable, or about 20,000 MWh.
While the shortfall is made up by traditional energy forms, it’s a reduction in Ipswich’s carbon footprint by approximately 14,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Council is incredibly happy with its partnership with CleanCo – and not just because it’s an Ipswich company.
A leading light
At the time, only two other councils in Queensland (Brisbane City Council and Cairns Regional Council) had signed PPA contracts.
Through initial assessment, the PPA has been forecast to be cost-neutral or potentially financially beneficial to council when compared to projected electricity price increases over the life of the seven-year contract, reducing costs on electricity.
Since implementation of the PPA, council has shared knowledge via the South East Queensland Climate Resilient Alliance (SEQCRA) and to individual councils who are interested in implementing their own renewable energy contract and reducing their associated emissions from electricity.
Procurement company Local Buy has also stated it is now looking at opportunities relating to PPAs.
Work continues
Ipswich City Council is looking to expand upon its work to make its operations more energy efficient, beyond the goal to cut its carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2026 which does not include emissions from non-council-owned sources, such as those produced by contractors or third-party service providers (Scope 3).
An example of this effort was a recent project to replace more than 600 lights at the Ipswich Art Gallery with energy-efficient LED alternatives, which has already resulted in a fall in energy consumption and energy costs for the heritage-listed building.
Council has also installed several rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on several of its facilities and has a strategic plan to roll out further installations throughout the coming years.
Notably, an installation is scheduled at the Ipswich Central Library this year, which is expected to result in an emissions reduction of more than 200 tonnes of CO2 per year. These types of energy saving projects not only reduce council’s organisational emissions but also provide an attractive return on investment.
Additionally, council has also set up an internal sustainability working group to help deliver and promote environmental awareness and sustainability practices across council’s 1,500-strong total workforce.
Regional leadership
SEQCRA was formed to enhance the capacity of local government teams through collaboration on projects, advocacy and knowledge sharing to achieve regional solutions to climate risks.
Ipswich City Council currently hosts the alliance, providing in-kind support through HR, procurement, legal and financial management.
SEQCRA is a formal partnership agreeing to work together to respond to the demands of climate change, accelerate the region’s transition to net zero and ensure a climate resilient future.
The alliance has been formed to enhance the capacity of local government teams through collaboration on projects, advocacy, knowledge sharing and grant submissions to achieve regional solutions to climate risks.
Cross-council alignment
Ipswich City Council acknowledges that sustainability is not a singular issue, but rather a complex and interconnected challenge across environmental, social and economic factors, recognising several key focus areas around sustainability, transport, climate adaptation, the natural environment and circular economy.
Various projects being undertaken by council to align with the desired outcomes of the sustainability strategy.
For example, we will roll-out our city-wide garden organics program from July 2025 to ensure every household in Ipswich has a garden organics bin, minimising waste to landfill.
We will continue urban greening plantings in priority suburbs to help reduce heat by increasing canopy cover.
Council’s Enviroplan protects about 6,700 hectares of land, most of which was purchased through a ratepayer levy over the past 29 years. It is vital protection in a city with no national parks.
The Voluntary Home Buy Back scheme has led to nearly 300 homes being bought back in the highest flood risk areas and houses removed or demolished with land now to be rezoned as green space for the community.
With council’s 2024-25 budget allocating $13.7 million for environment and sustainability initiatives, it will continue to explore options around what’s next to improve the sustainability of Ipswich City Council’s operations and the community.
