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Local Councils

City of Gosnells

Home page: http://www.gosnells.wa.gov.au/default-gosnells.asp
Population: 110,000
Annual Revenue: $94,981,867
No of households: 38,637

Corporate questionnaire


Access to Information

How easily council displays information about what it is doing for environmental sustainability.

Q1.   Does this Council train reception staff to deal with sustainability FAQ's from residents? Provide details on method of training and on the issues covered.
A.  No

Q2.   Do Council sustainability staff have input into the Council website layout to ensure that residents can easily locate info on environmental sustainability?
A.  

Q3.   Do Council sustainability staff ensure that eco-sustainability brochures are prominently displayed in civic centre foyers and ‘satellite’ offices?
A.  

Q4.   Does this Council have other policies/practices in this category? Tell us any of your own initiatives.
A.  No

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General Support for Environmental Sustainability

General ways that this council promotes environmental sustainability.

Q1.   Does this Council employ 2+ f/t or equiv. p/t environmental / sustainability officers (or similar roles by different names?) Please provide details of position, department and areas of responsibility.
A.   Six environmental staff are located in the Planning & Sustainability directorate: • Environmental Coordinator – coordinates strategic environmental planning and initiatives, supervises environmental unit • Environmental Officer – looks after mostly operational environmental planning and projects • Switch your thinking! Program Coordinator (shared with City of Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale Shire) – coordinates and plans climate protection and sustainability projects initiatives, business planning, corporate sponsorship • Switch your thinking! Project Officer (shared with City of Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale Shire) – climate protection project implementation and management • Community Landcare Coordinator (shared with City of Armadale) - coordinates and plans landcare strategy and projects, community liaison, business planning, funding Community River Restoration Officer (shared with City of Armadale) – landcare project implementation and management, community liaison.

Q2.   Does this Council have a Green or Ethical Purchasing Policy in place?
A.  No

Q3.   Does this Council use a sustainability framework (economic, social, environment, governance) in all its planning, reporting and decision-making processes? Details?
A.  No

Q4.   Does this Council’s annual report (or similar) explicitly support sustainability using such guidelines as the Global Reporting Initiative?
A.  No

Q5.   Does this Council provide an annual report to the community on the state of the environment and encourage feedback?
A.  No

Q6.   Does this Council provide sustainability staff the opportunity to liaise with Councillors re sustainability information?
A.  

Q7.   Does this Council provide staff education on sustainability issues?
A.  No

Q8.   Does this Council have a ‘green team’ or Sustainability/Environmental advisory group?
A.   The Green Team was established as part of the "Switched On Staff" initiative.

Q9.   Does this Council have other policies/practices in this category?
A.  No

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Natural Resource Management

How this council manages the air, water, land, plants, animals and micro-organisms - and their ecosystems - in its care.

Q1.   Does this Council have an Integrated Water Management/ Catchment Management/ Stormwater Management Plan/ Food and Agriculture Localisation Plan in action? If so, which of the above?
A.  No

Q2.   Does this Council have Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan Guidelines?
A.  No

Q3.   Does this Council have a Green Plan in action?
A.  No

Q4.   Does this Council have a Natural Areas/ Bushland Management Plan?
A.   The City's Biodiversity Conservation Management Plan 2010 provides management guidance for 38 natural areas managed by the City.

Q5.   Does this Council have any policies /strategies for retention of mature trees?
A.  No

Q6.   Does this Council have a strategy in place for the control of phytophora dieback?
A.   But only for specific high-priority natural areas under its control.

Q7.   Does this Council have a strategy in place for the control of environmental weeds?
A.   But only for specific high-priority natural areas under its control.

Q8.   Does this Council have a strategy to protect and enhance biodiversity in the local area?
A.   The City's Biodiversity Conservation Management Plan 2010 provides management guidance for 38 natural areas managed by the City.

Q9.   Does this Council have any strategies for the development of wildlife corridors?
A.   Strategic land use planning has identified a number of sites in Southern River where wildlife corridors are incorporated in strategic plans for those areas.

Q10.   Does this Council have a Nutrient/ Irrigation Management Plan?
A.  No The City has guidelines.

Q11.   Does this Council have a Sustainable Landscaping Strategy/Plan/Policy
A.  No The City has guidelines.

Q12.   Does this Council have a Landowner Biodiversity Incentive Scheme?
A.  No

Q13.   Does this Council have a Marine/Coastal Management plan, where applicable?
A.  No N/A

Q14.   Does this Council manage a substantial area of bushland? How much?
A.  No

Q15.   Does this Council exert pressure to protect remnant bushland in the face of urban expansion plans?
A.   450 hectares

Q16.   Does this Council encourage and support other land management agencies to protect/manage bushland with the LGA (e.g. DEC, FESA, Perth Regional NRM)? What is the area managed by these agencies?
A.  Unknown

Q17.   Does this Council have other policies/practices in this category?
A.   The total areas managed by various agencies is not known.

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Sustainable Building and Design

How this council promotes and exhibits sustainable building practices

Q1.   Does this Council have a membership with the Green Building Council of Australia?
A.  No

Q2.   Does this Council own buildings demonstrating outstanding Sustainable Design features, eg earning a Green Star Rating? Details?
A.   The Agonis building on Albany Highway, Gosnells, completed in 2004, has been confirmed as performing to its designed 4.5 star NABERS rating; The City of Gosnells Civic Centre has achieved a 5-star Green Star rating.

Q3.   Does this Council actively promote Sustainable Building Design above minimum legal BCA standards?
A.  No

Q4.   Does this Council have a Sustainable Design Policy?
A.  No

Q5.   Does this Council reject development applications from individuals or commercial developers that deny solar access (eg solar hot water, PV, sunlight for garden) for the specific property and its neighbours?
A.  No

Q6.   Does this Council allow shading devices in front yards? (eg Shade sails, roller shutters etc)?
A.  

Q7.   Does this Council allow the installation of solar hot water systems and PV cells on north roofs that face onto the street?
A.   Although the developers of some residential developments place memorials (restrictions) on titles that prevent such installations.

Q8.   Does this Council avoid using rainforest or old growth timbers in Council buildings and constructions?
A.  

Q9.   Does thisi Council use recycled/biodegradable materials in its infrastructure/ construction items?
A.   Where possible and appropriate.

Q10.   Does this Council have policies and incentives for recycling of construction waste?
A.  No

Q11.   Does this Council reward sustainable design practices, ideas and construction? What kinds of incentives, bonuses and relaxations in policy are offered to those who undertake such design, construction etc?
A.  

Q12.   Does this Council have a mechanism to promote and support the application of Water Sensitive Urban Design principles on Council property as well as in the wider community?
A.   The City uses and applies Liveable Neighbourhoods and Better Urban Water Management as part of proposed Outline Development Plans. The City has a Local Planning Policy in relation to the development of some 4,000 split-density coded properties (recently recoded as part of the City's Local Housing Strategy) which encourages on-site water stormwater management.

Q13.   Does this Council have a Renewable Energy Systems Policy?
A.  No

Q14.   Does this Council use Renewable Energy sources in any of its buildings? Details?
A.  No

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Sustainable Transport / Climate Change

Action being taken by this council to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Q1.   Does this Council employ a TravelSmart Officer or similar? If so, for what fraction of time?
A.  No

Q2.   Does this Council purchase government accredited Green Power? If so, what %?
A.  No The City purchases greenhouse credits to offset 2,500tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equating to approximately 20% of its electrical energy consumption.

Q3.   Does this Council offset all or some of its vehicle fleet's carbon emissions? What % of vehicle fleet emissions are offset? By what agency are these offsets accredited?
A.  No

Q4.   Does this Council publish its annual energy consumption and the GHG emissions of its operations (units of electricity, gas, transport fuel)? Details?
A.  No

Q5.   Does this Council attempt to reduce employees' solo car travel to the workplace? Details of incentives/support for walking, cycling, public transport, car pooling?
A.  No

Q6.   Does this Council regularly tally and graph its employees' commuting carbon emissions to motivate efforts to reduce?
A.  No

Q7.   Does this Council’s fleet include a majority of fuel-efficient vehicles (<7L/100km) for urban use? No. of vehicles in total fleet? No. of vehicles using <7L/100km?
A.  No Of 52 passenger vehicles, only 12 use <8L/100km

Q8.   Has this Council begun to factor in impacts of climate change across all departments and all areas of governance, especially planning?
A.  No

Q9.   Is this Council addressing peak oil risks and vulnerabilities? How?
A.  No

Q10.   Does this Council continue to monitor its corporate greenhouse gas emissions/ manage climate change following the end of CCP funding? (eg. using WALGA reporting platform, Planet Footprint or other frameworks)
A.   Planet Footprint provides quarterly reporting.

Q11.   Does this Council have other policies/practices in this category?
A.   Corporate Greenhouse Action Plan, Regional Community Greenhouse Action Plan.

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Waste Management

How this council works towards the goal of zero corporate waste.

Q1.   Does this Council recycle any of its municipal solid waste?
A.  No

Q2.   Does this Council have a zero waste to landfill strategy?
A.   The Waste Management Board (WMB) of Western Australia, in their efforts to support local governments to align their activities with the State’s vision of ‘Towards Zero Waste’, developed the Zero Waste Management Plan Development Scheme (ZWPDS) in 2006. The ZWPDS consists of two Phases, Phase I was an on-line survey to gather data to formulate baseline characteristics for the local governments across Western Australia (WA). Phase I was completed in September 2007. The Rivers Regional Council (RRC), of which the City is a member, developed a Strategic Waste Management Plan (SWMP) to satisfy the Phase II requirements of the ZWPDS. The SWMP will guide waste management policies and practices for the City and the Region over the next 5 years and potentially beyond.

Q3.   Does this Council have a methane reduction plan?
A.  Unknown

Q4.   Does this Council have waste treated by an industrial biological composting system?
A.  No

Q5.   Does this Council have an internal program that aims to reduce the amount of waste generated by Council staff?
A.  No

Q6.   Does this Council process its own kitchen/lunchroom waste in composting/wormfarming/bokashi system/s?
A.  No

Q7.   Does this Council recycle all of its paper wastes?
A.   A large proportion of paper waste is recycled.

Q8.   Does this Council recycle all possible plastic, aluminium and glass waste?
A.  No

Q9.   Does this Council recycle all its ink and toner cartridges?
A.  

Q10.   Does this Council predominantly use high % recycled paper? Details?
A.  No

Q11.   Does this Council have other policies/practices in this category?
A.  No

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Water Management

How this council manages its corporate water usage

Q1.   Does this Council plant waterwise vegetation within Council properties, verges, public open space?
A.   The City promotes this through policy and landscape guidelines.

Q2.   Does this Council use Best Practice waterwise irrigation within Council properties, verges, public open space? (eg sub-surface irrigation)
A.   Best practice waterwise principles are investigated and utilised where appropriate.

Q3.   Is this Council a participant in ICLEI’s (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) Water Campaign? Provide details of milestone and achievements.
A.  No

Q4.   Has this Council been endorsed as a Waterwise Council or progressing towards endorsement?
A.  No

Q5.   Does this Council water its own green spaces between 6pm - 9am as per Water Corporation regulation?
A.  

Q6.   Does this Council have its own Water Conservation Plan to target groundwater consumption?
A.   As required by the Department of Water.

Q7.   Does this Council have measures in place to ensure that its total bore water use remains within its annual entitlement? What % of bores are metered, and how often are meters read? If not, is such monitoring being planned?
A.   30% of bores are metered with more being added every year. Meters are read annually.

Q8.   Does this Council keep a schedule of the amount of water applied and when it is applied in its public open spaces?
A.  No

Q9.   Does this Council turn off its irrigation systems in winter for Council properties using scheme water, as per Water Corporation regulation?
A.  

Q10.   Has this Council conducted a water audit of any of its large water consuming facilities to identify where water savings can be achieved?
A.  No

Q11.   Does this Council have any water conservation or efficiency measures in place at large water consuming facilities such as Aquatic Centres?
A.   The City's new Civic Centre has rainwater tanks that provide water for toilet flushing. In 2005, the City converted the main Leisure World swimming pool to ultrafine Diatomaceous Earth filtration and ultraviolet radiation treatment which has significantly reduced the amount of water usage through the reduction of backwashing and 'bleeding' of water to lower Total Dissolved Solids. The initiative has achieved average efficiencies of more than 14 kilolitres per day.

Q12.   Does this Council have a Waterwise Purchasing Policy that mandates Council purchase water efficient appliances and fittings above minimum standard? (eg showerheads, flow restrictors and urinals)
A.  No

Q13.   Does this Council have measures in place to ensure that all Council owned facilities are retrofitted with water efficient appliances and fittings?
A.   The City funds identified initiatives from its Revolving Energy Fund.

Q14.   Does this Council reuse any of its own grey water? If so, what % /how much?
A.  No

Q15.   Does this Council undertake staff education campaigns with a focus on water conservation and efficiency (indoor and outdoor)?
A.  No

Q16.   Does this Council monitor its ‘Works Depot’ to ensure hazardous materials are managed properly and contaminants do not enter stormwater drains?
A.   Pesticides are store in a bunded area. The wash-down bay is connected to a "trapped" system where solids, grease etc are trapped and periodically removed by an accredited organisation (Cleanaway).

Q17.   Does this Council take any other action for water conservation? Details?
A.  No

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