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Environment Strategy

The Yarra Environment Strategy (YES) is the key strategic document Council uses to set the direction for environmental initiatives in Yarra.

The third and most recent YES expired in June 2012 and Council is now working on the next environment strategy.

As part of that work, Council sought ideas and suggestions from the community in February and March 2013 on what should be included in the new four year strategy.

A series of community workshops and information sessions were held to gather ideas and suggestions for inclusion in the draft strategy.

Please note, the closing date for submissions was Friday 22 March 2013.

The draft YES is expected to be taken to Council in June 2013. If the draft strategy is endorsed at that time, further consultation will occur in July and August. 

How can we be better?

The Yarra community has a proud history of environmental pragmatism and has demonstrated it is ready to meet the challenges of creating a more sustainable place to live, reaching impressive milestones along the way. 

However, the complexity and challenges of climate change, protecting open space, dealing with waste and other environmental issues is growing. We need to find ways to share knowledge more widely and effectively, and to refine and expand efforts to make changes now and for the future. 

Highlights of the 2008-2012 Yarra Environment Strategy

The previous YES set the following targets for Council and the community to achieve by 2012:

Council targets

• A carbon neutral status (zero net emissions) for council operations
• 30% reduction in Council’s energy consumption
• 50% reduction in water consumption in Council operations
• 10% of Council's energy needs generated from renewable (and low carbon) local energy sources.

Community targets

• 25% reduction in greenhouse emissions across the community (carbon neutral by 2020)
• 25% reduction in water consumption across the community below 2000-01 baseline year
• 65% recovery rate (by weight) of municipal solid waste for re-use, recycling or energy generation from 2005-06 levels
• An increase in the percentage of Yarra residents using sustainable forms of transport (2011 census from 2001 census)
• Five community gardens established across Yarra.

You can download a copy of the 2008-12 YES and the Revised Action Plan 2010-2012 here.

Some of the milestones reached from programs and initiatives set out in the 2008-12 YES include: 

• Council was certified as a carbon neutral organisation, the first council in Victoria
• The Yarra Energy Foundation was established
• A Yarra Water Sensitive Urban Design policy was developed
• Most of Yarra's streetlights switched to energy-efficient globes 
• Community Gardening Guidelines were developed and a Community Gardens Facilitator employed
• Yarra’s Sustainable Design Assessment in the Planning Process (SDAPP) program was launched, factsheets were developed to support the community respond to each of the 10 key sustainable building categories
• A Yarra ESD Buildings policy was developed and a local ESD policy has been developed and authorised by the Minister for Planning
• Three Yarra Sustainability Awards have been successfully held, and two Staff Sustainability Awards

 Download Previous Documents

  Yarra Environment Strategy - Towards Local Sustainability (611.24kB)
  Yarra Environment Strategy Revised Action Plan 2010 (290.49kB)

YES - background

Community consultations held during preparations for the previous YES paved the way for Council becoming carbon neutral and the establishment of the Yarra Energy Foundation.

Thanks to the varied program of environmentally-focused initiatives pursued by Council and the wider community, Yarra was also named Victorian Sustainable City of the Year in Keep Australia Beautiful's annual awards in July 2011. 

To learn more the achievements recognised from that strategy, click here.

Yarra Environment Advisory Committee

Council’s Environment Advisory Committee was established to provide feedback to Council to help guide Yarra’s environmental programs and policies.

You can find out more about the Committee here.

Sustainable Design Guidelines

Council also provides guidelines that can be applied to new building and planning applications in Yarra.

More on Sustainable Design Guidelines

Further information
Michael Oke
Coordinator - Environmental Managemenr
9205 5723
Michael.Oke@yarracity.vic.gov.au