Strategies and Plans

Hawkesbury Net Zero Emissions and Water Efficiency Strategy

Council adopted the Hawkesbury City Council Net Zero Emissions and Water Efficiency Strategy on 30 March 2021. The Strategy outlines a plan to guide Council, and the community to achieve emission and water reduction across Council’s operations and the broader local government area.

The Strategy will assist to deliver a climate resilient community with economic benefits for Council and the community through decreased operational costs and environmental benefits. The implementation of the strategy requires collaboration and coordination across Council, and stakeholders, including residents, businesses, and state government agencies.

Subsequently, through a Councillor Notice of Motion, a new community emissions target was adopted by Council on 28 September 2021. Council’s newly adopted community emissions target is Net Zero Emissions by 2030, which aligns with Council’s previously adopted corporate target.

Hawkesbury Environmental Sustainability Strategy

Council adopted the Hawkesbury Environmental Sustainability Strategy on 11 July 2023. The Strategy outlines a plan to guide Council and the Hawkesbury community's capacity for living more sustainably and protecting the natural and built environments of the region.

The Strategy consolidates existing knowledge, actions, and directions, providing a long-term foundation for progressing the sustainability of the Local Government Area whilst aligning with relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The implementation of this Strategy will be guided by the principles of Caring for Country, the Statement from the Next Generation, and the Hawkesbury community's desire to see a sustainable Hawkesbury Local Government Area.

The Strategy will assist to deliver a more sustainable Hawkesbury where:

• programs, projects, and works will not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs, and
• the environmental, economic, and social implications of Council’s work will be considered with everything it does.

This will be achieved through collaboration and coordination across Council and its stakeholders, including residents, businesses, government agencies and other organisations.

Hawkesbury Urban Greening Strategy

Council adopted the Hawkesbury Urban Greening Strategy on 8 August 2023. The Strategy will provide strategic alignment to State Government and internal policies, and will assist to coordinate Council’s current cross-organisational projects that contribute to increasing canopy cover and greening.

The Strategy identifies three key goals with objectives and actions under each of these:

• Existing areas of urban green are protected and enhanced
• Green links are created where they are most needed
• Our community stewards our urban greening.

The Strategy actions have been developed with the following key principles in mind:

• Use best practice approaches to become a leader in Urban Greening
• Adapt to Climate Change and Mitigate Biodiversity Loss
• Urban Greening for health and wellbeing.

The Strategy has a minimum ten (10) year timeframe and will be reviewed periodically to ensure outcomes and actions are being progressed.

Hawkesbury Climate Change Risk Assessment and Adaptation Action Plan

Council adopted the Hawkesbury Climate Change Risk Assessment and Adaptation Action Plan on 25 October 2023. The Plan provides a foundation and reference point for Council to discuss, negotiate and continuously review our response to climate risks. The Plan considers the high-level potential consequences of climate hazards for Council services and identifies the main categories of potential consequences that are most likely to impact Council’s ability as an organisation to deliver these services to the community.

The Plan focuses on adaptation measures and provides Council with a list of short, medium and long-term measures to address the risks and impacts of climate change within the Hawkesbury Local Government Area. The scope for this Plan is limited to Council’s service delivery only and does not address community adaptation measures or environmental conservation.

The Plan identifies four climate risks including:

• RISK 1: Disruption to Council Services
• RISK 2: Impacts to workforce wellbeing and productivity
• RISK 3:  Increased cost of service provision
• RISK 4: Extra demand per capita for Council Services

The Plan identifies six adaptation measures to mitigate Councils identified climate risks:

• M1 Relocate critical Council services
• M2 Improve organisational governance, planning and processes for climate risk management
• M3 Assess and accelerate progress on implementation of selected adaptation measures identified in Hawkesbury City Council’s prior plan (Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan – Planning for Climate and Natural Hazards, 2016)
• M4 Build partnerships and advocacy capacity
• M5 Strengthen ‘supporter’ and ‘facilitator’ activities
• M6 Improve green and blue infrastructure across the region.

The Plan will be implemented alongside other key Council Strategies and Plans, including but not limited to, the Hawkesbury Environmental Sustainability Strategy, the Hawkesbury Net Zero Emissions and Water Efficiency Strategy, and the Resilient Hawkesbury Plan (in drafting). This connection ensures that the environmental, economic, and social implications of Council’s work will be considered in everything Council does.