Council marks year of successes in sustainability

Published on 20 August 2024

Rockhampton Regional Council has marked a year of major progress in environmental sustainability, highlighted by increased green canopy, reduced reliance on grid electricity, and thousands of hours dedicated to community initiatives.  

The achievements have been highlighted in Council’s annual Year in Review Report, which was endorsed at the last Council meeting.

Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor Tony Williams said he was incredibly proud of the way Council is teaming up with the community and other levels of government to create a more sustainable future for the Region.

“It’s exciting to see the progress being made in our sustainability goals toward 2030, both in the last 12 months and since we first established our Sustainability Strategy in 2018,” Mayor Williams said.

“Thanks to support and involvement from our community, our region is getting greener.

“500 new trees have been planted in our streets and parks, with 165 of those planted as part of the Street Tree Pilot Program launched with local residents this year.

“3,500 native plants were given away through our Native Plant Program this year, which brings the total to well over 21,000 since it first began in 2018.

“Community restoration works have also continued at sites such as Yeppen Lagoon and Fraser Park at Mount Archer. These works are carried out by trainees from a variety of organisations who together have volunteered over 30,000 hours this year alone.

“This year's review shows that there have certainly been a number of successes over the last 12 months, and that’s something we can all be really proud of."

Environmental Sustainability Councillor Elliot Hilse said as well as increasing urban greening, Council has also made strides in reducing operational emissions.

“One of the standout achievements this year and something Council has been working toward for some time is reducing the reliance on grid energy at Council’s largest energy consuming sites,” Cr Hilse said.

“This year we ticked off a major goal by establishing a solar system at the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant which will help reduce grid electricity usage by a massive 2,500 megawatts per year.

“We also secured $920,000 through the Reef Guardian Council Program which will go toward installing solar at the Rockhampton Airport – our second largest energy consuming site.

“Working together with the Australian and Queensland Governments, we’ve also been able to achieve long-term water security and climate resilience by commencing the construction of the 28km potable water pipeline for the Mount Morgan community.

"There are a number of other results for the 2023-24 year, and I encourage everyone to take a look at the report and what we have collectively been able to achieve."

The Year in Review is available here. 

The Sustainability Strategy (Towards 2030) is available here.