Along with Cr. Jo-anne Taylor and members of Maroondah’s Sustainability Department, I attended a forum hosted by the MAV on energy efficiency to learn about initiatives being undertaken by other councils around Victoria.

The forum explored projects being undertaken by councils and the community to improve the sustainability and efficiency of energy production and usage. A number of councils are now looking at an energy sustainability fund, a concept similar to Maroondah’s water sustainability fund, and I will be advocating for an energy fund within Maroondah’s budget next year.

Energy saving initiatives often provide quick economic benefits since the focus is on improving the efficiency of energy usage and lowering overall requirements. While some projects such as energy efficient public lighting requires the cooperation of energy distributors, other concepts can be initiated solely through councils such as improving the efficiency of council buildings and vehicle fleets.

The forum provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge and provided valuable information on the initiatives being undertaken by councils. It is clear that Maroondah must focus on issues surrounding energy usage in the same way we have to begun to tackle water sustainability.