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Policies and initiatives > Direction 7. A greener city > Policy 7.8

Policy 7.8 – Promote the concept of sustainability and develop benchmarks to measure progress

Governments around the world emphasise the importance of sustainable development. While sustainability is an important principle of Melbourne 2030, generally our capacity to measure progress towards it in Victoria is limited by a lack of quantifiable data and internationally accepted benchmarks.

Relevant to Melbourne 2030 are three important concepts that relate to sustainability. The first has been used in developing the Strategy, and all three will play an important part in its implementation. The others hold promise but need to be tested and developed for metropolitan Melbourne.

The concepts are:

  • triple-bottom-line reporting, which emphasises integrated assessments according to social, environmental and economic criteria
  • the ecological footprint approach, which measures a city’s resource utilisation and environmental impact (see ‘Sustainability models’)
  • the urban metabolism method, which assesses the efficiency with which a city uses resources and achieves results (see ‘Sustainability models’).

Other relevant work includes the Government’s proposed establishment of a Commissioner whose roles will include ‘state of environment’ reporting, strategic auditing of the way environmental management systems are applied across government agencies, and education and promotion of ecologically sustainable development across the public and private sectors. The Commissioner’s work will be important in putting Melbourne 2030 into practice. It will be complemented, rather than duplicated, by the Strategy’s benchmarking and monitoring processes.

At municipal level, many local governments in Victoria are initiating new sustainability strategies and encouraging innovative, environmentally friendly projects and community involvement (see ‘Local sustainability initiatives in Victoria’). Networks such as the Metropolitan Environment Forum and the Local Sustainability Partnership (set up by the Municipal Association of Victoria) help councils share information and experiences.

Initiatives

7.8.1

Establish a dedicated multidisciplinary team with the necessary expertise within the Department of Infrastructure to:

  • promote the use of sustainability tools to guide planning decisions and project development by State and local government and the private sector
  • work with other government agencies and the new Commissioner to establish transparent, consistent decision-making processes based on these sustainability tools
  • develop benchmarks for Melbourne’s performance and monitor and report on progress towards sustainability – this work should include the development of an urban metabolism model
  • develop criteria for social impact assessment, for decision-making on planning issues
  • promote greater understanding of the relationship between statutory policies (such as the Victoria Planning Provisions and SEPPs) and non-statutory plans and programs (such as catchment management plans)
  • work with local government in implementing local sustainability and community building programs
7.8.2 Develop ecological footprint methodology as an awareness-raising and educational tool, and test it through pilot studies with a range of organisations, businesses, schools and communities


Sustainability models

Ecological footprint
This concept is a way of measuring human impact on natural systems. Footprint analysis works by calculating the area of productive land and water required to sustain the resource consumption and waste discharge of any given population. By estimating the land required to support an individual’s consumption of energy, food, water and built infrastructure, and the waste produced, our dependence on nature can be shown. This is a valuable communications tool to encourage sectors of the community to look at their environmental impact and promote innovation as a way of reducing it.

Urban metabolism
This model assesses sustainability, but rather than calculating the amount of land required to support a defined population, it measures the flow of resources into and waste outputs from settlements. Trends can then be better monitored against desired outcomes.

How can these models help achieve a more sustainable city?
Sustainability requires an understanding that the impacts of resources consumed and waste produced by cities must be managed to reduce the impact on natural capital. One way of limiting the impact is to reduce the material flows into cities (such as water, gravel, wood, metals) and to minimise waste outputs (such as discharges to air and water).

Various ways are being used to measure the sustainability of cities, but all require adaptation before they can be applied to Melbourne and other cities in its surrounding region. An extended metabolism model offers the opportunity of assessing the impact of urban inputs and outputs on the ecological health of the catchments and bays as well as the implications for human wellbeing.


Local sustainability initiatives in Victoria

Local Agenda 21
This is based on the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, which aimed to establish a global agenda for social, economic and environmental sustainability. Australia joined with 177 other member nations to adopt Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and subsequently local authorities were encouraged to prepare a ‘Local Agenda 21’ with their communities. Since then, some 100 local governments throughout Australia have made a commitment to Local Agenda 21 or ecologically sustainable development through municipal plans and strategies. By 2001, at least 20 local councils in Victoria were working towards implementing Local Agenda 21 action plans to help their communities become involved in sustainable development.

Cities for climate protection
This is a joint initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives and the Australian Greenhouse Office. By 2002, 34 local councils in Victoria had joined the program, which involves councils in preparing inventories of greenhouse gas emissions for their corporate areas and for their broader communities, and in preparing integrated plans to reduce emissions. The plans cover areas such as transport management, building requirements, subdivision planning, community education and urban design.

Environmental indicators for metropolitan Melbourne
This project involves the Australian Institute of Urban Studies, the City of Melbourne, 13 other metropolitan councils, the Departments of Infrastructure and Natural Resources and Environment, the EPA, the Transport Research Centre (RMIT University) and the Municipal Association of Victoria. It provides practical indicators to help councils measure their progress towards sustainability outcomes.

Since 1998, annual bulletins have been produced that set down environmental indicators and assess progress against each one. The indicators, with case studies as appropriate, cover areas such as air quality, transport, litter, biodiversity, and council priorities and concerns.

Community sustainability indicators
Several Victorian councils are exploring community sustainability indicators and investigating processes for their develop-ment. Much of the work is modelled on the world-renowned ‘Sustainable Seattle’ program developed in the 1990s in the USA, but Victorian councils are also drawing on more recent work done in New South Wales.

The City of Port Phillip is working with its community to develop indicators that will help it more accurately determine its progress towards cultural, ecological, economic and social goals. Measurement will be undertaken by the council, the community and government authorities.

Triple-bottom-line initiatives
The Shire of Yarra Ranges has established a sustainability group within council to integrate environmental management, strategic planning and economic development. The group is developing innovative approaches to sustaining the local viticulture and tourism industries.

The City of Melbourne is developing a new contract management system that includes economic, social and environmental considerations at all stages of a project. The City is also developing triple-bottom-line reporting for council reports and budgets.

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