Community Emissions Profile

Achieving Net Zero Emissions

Hawkesbury Community Emissions Profile and Water Usage

The information below outlines the Hawkesbury community emissions and water usage profile for 2016/17. This information has been provided to all councils within the Greater Sydney Area through the Resilient Sydney- A Strategy for City Resilience 2018, community emissions data platform.

Hawkesbury City Council is using 2016/17 as a baseline year in which to compare the community’s progress towards our Net Zero Emissions by 2050, or sooner target and track our water usage.  Data will be provided shortly on the data platform for the years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.

There are two important items to highlight:

• The residential sector is the largest contributor to both water use (62%) and emissions (55%). This means the community has a huge part to play in reducing water use and emissions.
• Electricity and Transport are our community’s largest sources of emissions, changes in these areas will result in the greatest emissions reductions.

Council is committed to becoming a net zero emissions organisation by 2050, if not sooner.

The information below outlines the Hawkesbury Community emissions profile and water usage in 2016/17.

There are two important items to highlight:

• Residential sector is the largest contributor to both water use (62%) and emissions (55%). This means the community can have the biggest impact to reduce water use and emissions.
• Electricity and Transport are the largest section of Hawkesbury’s emissions. Therefore, addressing building efficiency, renewable energy and transport including electric vehicles will be key to reducing emissions in the Hawkesbury.

Hawkesbury’s Overall Emissions

Hawkesbury residents have the 2^nd highest emissions per dwelling in Greater Sydney, producing on average 19 tonnes CO2e per dwelling per year.

Table 1: Hawkesbury’s emissions in total tonnes CO2 equivalent:

Hawkesbury Energy Use and Emissions

Hawkesbury residents have the highest electricity use in Greater Sydney consuming 9,400 kilowatt-hour (kWh) per dwelling per year on average, compared to the Greater Sydney average electricity use of 6,500 kWh per dwelling per year.

Figure 3: Hawkesbury Local Government Area Energy Use by Sector for 2016-17

Table 2: Hawkesbury Local Government Area: Energy Use by Sector for 2016-17 (MegaJoule)

Hawkesbury’s Water Use

Hawkesbury residents have the 4^th lowest water usage in Greater Sydney consuming on average 166kL per dwelling per year, compared to the Greater Sydney average of 210kL per dwelling per year.

Figure 4: Hawkesbury Local Government Area Water Use by Sector 2016-17.

Table 3: - Hawkesbury Local Government Area Water Use by Sector 2016-17 (Kilolitre)

Transport Emissions

Hawkesbury residents have the 2^nd highest car use in Greater Sydney in terms of kilometres driven, averaging 32,785 km per dwelling per year compared to the Greater Sydney average of 15,783 km per dwelling per year.

Analysis of car ownership in 2016 indicated 64% of households in the Hawkesbury LGA had access to two or more motor vehicles, compared to 46% in Greater Sydney

The chart below highlights residents in the Hawkesbury have a high dependence on cars for their transport needs and as a result, transport is our second highest source of community emissions.

Figure 2: Hawkesbury Local Government Area Resident Transport Use by Mode for 2016-17

Hawkesbury’s Waste Generation

Hawkesbury residents continue to reduce their waste and increase recycling rates.

Contamination Rates:

Contamination relates to placing the wrong items in the wrong bin. Hawkesbury residents have among the lowest Recycling Bin and Garden Organics Bin contamination rates in Greater Sydney which means their efforts are producing high quality recycling material and high-quality compost.

However, Hawkesbury Residents have the 2^nd highest level of residential waste generation in Greater Sydney. The average Hawkesbury resident generates 559 kg of waste per year, compared to the Greater Sydney average residential waste generation rate of 432 kg of waste per year.

Figure 5: Hawkesbury Local Government Area Waste Output

Data sources:

This data was sourced through the Resilient Sydney Platform, under the Resilient Sydney Program.