Newcastle City Council has won many awards in recognition of its innovative thinking and leadership in the management and conservation of our environment
Council has won awards for keeping our beaches clean, and for getting the community on board to prevent stormwater pollution.
We’ve been acclaimed for our work in saving energy and reducing greenhouse.
Counci’s environmental education activities inspire and involve thousands of people every year. From learning about recycling to identifying water bugs in your local creek, you can learn heaps of ways to care for your environment.
Whether at Blackbutt Reserve or the Community Greening Centre you can join up, take in and enjoy the beautiful Newcastle surrounds
What is Newcastle City Council doing to help the environment?
Measurement is the key to energy and water savings
ClimateCam is the world’s first greenhouse gas speedometer designed and developed right here in the Hunter by Newcastle City Council. ClimateCam is a web based measurement tool that follows the philosophy ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’.
ClimateCam has been around since 2001 and now forms a key part of the TogetherTODAY initiative because it allows us to measure the collective impact of our individual actions to help the environment.
The ClimateCam website was launched in 2001 following requests at Council’s first Energy Town Meeting to set a 2008 greenhouse gas reduction target and track the benefits of our energy-smart, water-wise actions.
Six years on, ClimateCam has successfully reported monthly greenhouse gas emissions for the City of Newcastle and has recently been revamped to include hourly updates for electricity use. The brand new ClimateCam Billboard, located in Wheeler Place Newcastle, has been created as a city-wide power meter to show the hourly updates.
The revamp involved dividing the City up into 15 zones based on the boundaries of the electrical substations. The ClimateCam zones have established the City of Newcastle into a research zone for the Hunter-wide Together Today initiative and will also help us reset the reduction targets for the next 10years.
This research zone means we can test and measure impacts of different Together Today supported projects. For example, installations of water smart showerheads and efficient light globes, available through the Enviro Saver Program, will soon be tracked and reported for each ClimateCam zone and across the Hunter region. This means you can see what your suburb is doing to help the environment.
Council’s electricity consumption is now 40% lower than it was in 1995 and we have saved 25% on our water bills. After cleaning up Councils own backyard and achieving a cumulative savings of approximately $4million through a $2million investment, its now time to share the practical know-how throughout the Hunter. Council delivers a wide range of projects to help improve energy and water efficiency in homes, businesses and schools.
ClimateCam for Schools. Link to further information on the Earth Hour feature at “ClimateCam for Schools – join the race to save the world” ClimateCam for Schools is a new and highly beneficial program, a world first, that Newcastle City Council has developed to foster energy and resource efficiency and environmental education. Register your interest as a participant school at www.climatecam.com
ClimateCam for Business
Local businesses are invited to become part of the ClimateCam for Business – Leaders Pack to showcase a proven strategic approach to energy and resource management. Register your interest to join ClimateCam for Business here
Enviro Saver Program
The Enviro Saver Program helps you save money and the environment by making it easy to change the things you do every day. And it’s free! Call 1800 368 476 or book an assessment at www.envirosaver.com.au
