Sustained focus: City seeks feedback on Sustainability Framework

THE City of Greater Geelong council is encouraging the community to think beyond the coronavirus and put in their thoughts about the city’s Sustainability Framework and Action Plan.

The council resolved in February to adopt the framework, which the city says will integrate sustainability principles across all council operations, leading to a potential reduction in carbon emissions and an increase in community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The action plan to implement the framework sets out several priority and other actions, including:

• Recognising climate change as a global emergency
• Developing and endorsing a Sustainability Policy
• Adopting a globally recognised reporting framework and
• Accelerating several of its strategies, such as a Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.

Submissions were originally set to close this Saturday, April 11, but this has been extended to April 30.

“We are really looking for a lot of community input into this,” Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said.

She said while the “immediacy” of the coronavirus might have everyone’s attention now, it was important to keep long-term issues such as sustainability in mind as the response would directly affect many of the city’s most-used functions and services, such as how its footpaths and playgrounds were created.

The framework defines sustainability as “working together so our environment, community and economy are resourced for the challenges now and into the future”.

Ms Asher said she preferred a slightly different definition.

“I like ‘corporate endurance’ instead; we’re actually talking about survival.

“The companies and organisations with the best corporate endurance are the ones that will do the best financially in what’s to come.”

City of Greater Geelong chief executive officer Martin Cutter said sustainability was a “mindset” the council would have to adopt.

“As a council, sustainability is something we all should be working towards.”

To read the Sustainability Framework and Action Plan and complete a survey, head to geelongaustralia.com.au/yoursay.