Council.
Information Australia. 2000. Australian Guide
to Local Government. 28th Edition, July-
November 2000. Melbourne: Information
Australia.
Wild River, S. with Jennings R. and Hill, M. V1: Showcasing urban environmental management 3
V1: Showcasing Urban
Environmental Management
in Moreland City
Perspective: LG/Mixed Role: Officer/Councillor LG type: Capital city (rich, compact, populous). Focus: ManagementContext Issues Moreland was
recently amalgamated under the Kennett Government reforms. It is an inner -city LG with a history of outspoken Councillors. Context continuums Scale
<local local regional state national international
Flexibility of Process
Full mostly equal partial none
Origins of initiative
<local local regional state national international
Goals
• House twice as many people, while reducing energy costs,
• Design and build within a conventional building budget, but reuse and recycle materials, • Consolidate several work areas into one building following the amalgamations, • Achieve goals for energy efficiency and air quality management from Local Agenda 21, • Avoid negative off-site impacts of construction and operation of building (dust, stormwater), • Address structural and behavioural environmental issues (eg encourage cycling to work), • Use native plant species (also aiming to minimise water needs).
Drivers
• Councillors and ex- councillors with a keen interest in the project, • Local Agenda 21 (LA21)
ideas, • Principles of
Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD), and their articulation as key principles through the whole process,
• Continuity of Australian Labor Party affiliations of most of Council, with environmental
commitment,
• Cultural commitment to environmental objectives among many Managers and Officers.
Constraints
• Little information around on product/building materials and life-cycles, • Time pressure to
construct the new building,
• Identifying ESD- consistent materials in a timely manner,
• Expense of labour for recycling activities, • Demolition systems hard
to establish for extracting reusables,
• Difficult to specify ESD products for small lots of materials,
• High prices charged for ‘boutique’ items, • Supply of specified
materials constrained. Processes
• Dismantled old building and re-used the materials in the new building,
• ESD principles incorporated as primary success criteria for building (included in defining and assessing briefs, detail of contracts, reviews), • Provided internal bicycle
parking room,
• Reinforce LA 21 principles in structures (eg cycling, recycling),
• Provided interest-free loans to officials to buy bicycles, and for public transport, • Transport impacts
considered with access to bike paths.
Outcomes
• 35% reduction in energy use per person achieved, and savings used to purchase green power, • Bicycle parking rooms and showers available, with 10% more workers riding than before, • New Council Civic Centre completed, operational,
• High level of recycled materials in new building (saved on resources, but not money),
• Energy efficient appliances, and waste avoidance (eg movement sensors in meeting rooms etc), • Use of green power for remaining energy use,
• Water conservation through stormwater collection and reuse,
• Public displays of environmental messages (environmental watch-ducks, solar pergola). About the Models
The Comparative Case Study Model records an attempt to deliver environmental outcomes in a simple, general format enabling comparative analysis of issues. Key elements of attempts, and their contexts are recorded. The graphs across the page show the environmental, economic and social values before, during and after the attempt, and how these changed as a result of initiatives. The graphs are often ‘split’, indicating different outcomes for different sectors simultaneously, or different possible outcomes.
Other Notes Moreland recognises that it has built for top environmental potential, but performance will remain dependent on how it is used.
4 Wild River, S. with Jennings R. and Hill, M. V1: Showcasing urban environmental management The economic impacts of the Moreland Civic Centre redevelopment were essentially equivalent to those of conventional building options. Both approaches are costly during the building design and construction stage, and both building types have some associated running costs. The money that was saved through the reuse of building materials was off-set by the added expense of many of the environmentally sustainable materials that were also used. In the operational phase of the building, cost savings result from lower per capita energy use, but the savings are redirected into more expensive green energy. Many of the intended building materials and design features were compromised so as to meet the equivalent budget of a conventional building. Additional cost for green energy actually increases the savings arising from energy conservation. The savings reinvested into green power are a council commitment for all its contestable power, not just the Coburg offices
Profitable Cost-Recovery Loss
Economic Outcomes
1995
1999
The period leading up to the Civic Centre redevelopment was a disempowering one for the Moreland community. Local residents strongly resented the abolition of local democracy in favour of appointed administrators. Empowerment has gradually been restored through the reintroduction of local elections, and in many of the design aspects of the new Civic Centre. For council workers, the integration of public transport, cycling, and other accessible transport options has assisted. For the general population, features such as the glass-walled council chambers, and the solar pergola are physical demonstrations both of the transparency of the new local government, and of its environmental commitments in action (a). Without these concerted efforts, simple resilience may have prevailed (b).