About
Waitakere has evolved from a combination of Auckland boroughs and residential dormitory suburbs to become New Zealand’s fifth largest city, with more than 189,000 of Auckland’s 1.3 million people. Since the early 1990s it has been transformed from an unsustainable urban edge into an economically, socially and administratively strong and sustainable city.
New Zealand’s Auckland region spreads from the east coast to the west coast, on a narrow isthmus in the North Island.
Waitakere represents 13.4% of Auckland’s population and 4.7% of the whole country’s.
It encompasses suburbs, town centres, farmland and the Waitakere Ranges rainforest on Auckland’s wild west coast. It is a centre for movie and television-making and is the location for movies The Piano and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the TV series Xena and Hercules.
Since 1992 Waitakere has been led by Mayor Bob Harvey, to whom in November 2008 UNEP awarded the LivCom Personal Award for environmental work.
Inspired by the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, Waitakere committed in 1993 to Agenda 21, becoming New Zealand’s first eco city. This meant addressing environmental issues and social inequities through partnerships between the council and the community. It established the ‘Greenprint’ as a guiding document for its eco city vision.
Agenda 21 is integrated in Waitakere through established planning procedures and democratic processes. The ‘Quadruple Bottom Line’ is the planning framework for assessing social, environmental, cultural and economic impacts of the council’s decisions, to enable more effective decision-making and ensure a strong sustainability focus.
Outstanding examples include the Project Twin Streams stream restoration, planting and community development project; and the council’s Better Building Code which has seen the construction of 10 libraries, civic buildings, community centres and other facilities according to sustainable design and construction principles. The 2006 civic centre alone has won many national awards, for aspects ranging from urban sustainability to water-conscious landscaping.
In 2008 Waitakere’s long-standing campaign to protect the Waitakere Ranges from excessive development was rewarded by the passing of the government’s Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act. This recognises the national, regional and local significance of the ranges and establishes the 27,000 hectare Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area, which includes the regional park, foothills, coastal villages and existing forested residential areas.
Waitakere has considered greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in its strategies and policies since adopting Agenda 21. This commitment is reaffirmed by the current strategtic direction, with one strategic platform dedicated to Clean Air and Sustainable Energy.
Climate change considerations also weave through most of the council’s other strategic platforms and priorities, with the council aiming to reduce car travel, energy consumption and waste generation, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The council’s ‘community outcomes’, developed as the city’s collective vision under the Local Government Act, also refer specifically to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2004 Waitakere joined the International Communities for Climate Protection (CCP-NZ) campaign. CCP-NZ is delivered by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The programme provides encouragement to councils through a strategic framework and peer support locally and internationally.
Waitakere has achieved four of CCP-NZ’s five milestones: it has conducted an inventory and forecast for community and corporate greenhouse gas emissions; established greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals; developed and adopted a local action plan; implemented the local action plan and quantified the benefits of implementing the actions.
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Strategy
Waitakere’s strategy for climate neutrality involves setting its own goals for community and corporate emissions reductions and an action plan to implement them; and participating in regional climate change initiatives. Waitakere is also considering using its planting activities to offset remaining emissions.
In 2004, the council calculated the emissions from its own operations and from the whole community, for the year 2001.
Energy use in buildings accounts for 50% of the council's own carbon dioxide emissions. Of the rest, 28% is from street lighting and 19% is from the vehicle fleet. In 2002, the council's emissions were equivalent to 6060 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Transport is also the major generator of emissions for the community, contributing 44%. Solid waste accounts for 20%, industrial activities 17%, residential 13% and commercial activities 6%. Total emissions were 900,400 tonnes.
If no action were taken to reduce emissions, they would rise by 25% by 2010.
In September 2006, the council approved the Action Plan on Climate Change and Energy.
The Action Plan's goals are to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 2001 levels:
- by 15% per person by 2010 (this would stabilise the emissions)
- by 40% per person by 2021
- by 80% per person by 2051.
The goals for the council's corporate emissions are:
- stabilise greenhouse gas emissions by 2010
- reduce emissions by 50% by 2021.
These goals, based on figures from the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) mean that even if the population grows, the city's overall gas emissions will not increase. Using a ‘per person’ measure is a way to cater for an as-yet unknown growth in population.
The city's Action Plan on Climate Change and Energy focuses on:
- reducing one-person car trips
- exploring renewable fuels for vehicles and heat and power generation
- reducing the consumption of energy, particularly electricity
- increasing public awareness and debate about climate change
- effective planning for the effects of climate change.
- The council's thinking on climate change runs through the full range of its activities.
- New council buildings are designed and constructed according to the council's Better Building Code, which reduces energy and water consumption and the amount of waste generated, while providing excellent quality.
When the council plans or revamps urban and suburban developments, it aims to make it easier for people to cycle, walk and use public transport.
The council aims to increase employment within the city so more people have a shorter distance to travel to work - not only improving quality of life for the workers and their families but also reducing the overall carbon dioxide emissions from commuting vehicles.
Results - Corporate emissions
The short term goal for corporate emissions is to stabilise them at 6059 tonnes a year by 2010. The long-term goal is to reduce them by 50% by 2021.In 2006/2007 the savings since 2002 were 2986 tonnes a year. Therefore the reduction compared to 2002 was 49%.
The 'confident savings' across 12 measures are 488 tonnes a year. Therefore the confident saving compared to 2002 is 8%.
The savings measures include:
Vehicle fleet:
- Downsizing motors
- Improving fuel efficiency standards
Buildings:
- Solar photovoltaics in the Civil Defence building and Massey Library
- Solar water heating at Waitakere Central Library, Waitakere Central Admin building and West Wave Aquatic Centre
- Energy efficient lighting at Waitakere Civic Centre
- Lighting - motion sensors at Waitakere Civic Centre
- Heat recovery at Waipareira Civic Centre
- Hot water efficiency at West Wave Aquatic Centre
- More energy efficient crematorium equipment at Waikumete Cemetery
Streetlights:
Solar powered lighting in selected parks, walkways and cycleways
LED traffic signals
Climate actions – categories
Actions - transport
Key actions in transport include support for community projects such as school travel plans, walking school buses and workplace travel plans.
Planning is under way for neighbourhoods in Hobsonville and Massey where people can reach services and jobs locally by walking, cycling or public transport. The town centre programme for Henderson, New Lynn and Westgate also places strong emphasis on access by sustainable transport.
The council is working with Auckland Regional Transport Authority on improvements to the railway.
The council's Walking and Cycling Strategy has budgeted $4.5 million over 10 years for improvements to cycleways and footpaths, and $17.5 million has been allocated to the cycleways programme from 2005-2016.
At the council, a workplace travel plan was carried out during the move to the new Waitakere Central civic centre in 2006, with various incentives for staff to take up more sustainable commuting. The council fleet includes several hybrid-fuel vehicles. The fleet management places more emphasis on efficiency of vehicle use.
Actions - buildings
The council supports the EcoMatters Environment Trust's home energy audits and independent advice on energy efficiency. It has supported the appointment of an independent eco design advisor and has published the Sustainable Home Guidelines and Better Building Code.
It is developing a major home sustainability renovation project aiming to upgrade 20,000 households for energy, water and waste efficiency by 2020, using a community development model.
The council has waived the fees for building consents for people installing solar water heating systems and is working with central government on increasing the uptake of solar in the city.
The council's own buildings, such as the Massey Leisure Centre and Library, the New Lynn Community Centre, the Glen Eden Library and Waitakere Central, use the sustainability standards outlined in the Better Building Code.
The council's Cleaner Production programme works with local businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. This programme also takes care of the council's own energy management for street lighting, buildings and other infrastructure such as the West Wave Aquatic Centre.
Actions - renewable energy
The council would like to encourage the development of renewable energy generation. It carried out an assessment of renewable resources and found little opportunity for commercially-viable large-scale generation apart from wind, wave and tidal energy in the Manukau Harbour.
However, opportunities for small-scale distributed generation are more promising. As well as solar water heating and greater use of clean wood burners for home heating, possibilities include household-scale wind turbines and solar street lighting.
The council is adjusting the District Plan to make it more favourable to the development of renewable energy.
Actions – waste reduction
Reducing waste reduces methane emissions. The city's waste is disposed of outside the city at the Redvale landfill, which generates heat and electricity in gas engines fuelled by methane.
Reducing the organic component in the waste stream is part of the council's Zero Waste vision.
The council encourages recycling with kerbside collection of plastics, cans, glass bottles and paper. Its Cleaner Production programme supports waste minimisation and management plans for local businesses and organisations, and works with local residential building companies on waste minimisation.
Actions - education and awareness
The council supports the Sustainable Living Centre run by the EcoMatters Trust, runs courses on sustainable living and supports Waitakere City's annual eco festival, Eco Day. It works with EnviroSchools and is hosting climate change events.
Actions - adaptation
To prepare for climate change, the council is working with central government and Civil Defence, and carrying out research into the likely effects and their impact on council infrastructure.
Relationships
The council is a member of Communities for Climate Protection, a programme of the international local government organisation ICLEI.
This involves pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and developing an action plan, then implementing the policies and measures, and monitoring and verifying the results.
The council also makes submissions on national policies that affect climate change, such as the National Energy Strategy, the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, and proposals on vehicle fuel efficiency labels and solar water heating.
The Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act (2008) was passed by Parliament this year, the milestone legislation ensuring the character and heritage of the area is kept intact well into the future.
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