Your Landfill Levy at WorkThe Victorian GovernmentSustainability Fund Activities Report 2012 to 13
The report is a public document and is available online www.sustainability.vic.gov.au. Hard copies are also available by contacting the Sustainability Fund on 1300 36 37 44 or
Contents
Minister's Foreword
1. Purpose
2. Introduction
3. About the Sustainability Fund
4. Victoria's landfill levy at work
5. Case studies
Appendix
Sustainability Fund allocations 2012 to 13
Minister's Foreword
It's a pleasure to present the 2012 to 13 Activities Report for the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund: Your landfill levy at work.
Unique to Victoria, the Fund plays a vital role in driving our sustainability agenda and has evolved into a major catalyst for change. Its legacy is evident in hundreds of projects statewide that have emerged as a result of funding towards building a strong and thriving economy and improving liveability for all Victorians.
One of our key initiatives through the Fund is the Conserve, Invest and Save strategy - a $38 million package to support programs that maximise the value of our resources and help to create new and sustainable employment across Victoria.
A number of our leading programs are already scoring runs on the board.
The Driving Investment for New Recycling program has leveraged more than $11 million in co-investment from private industry. In addition, it will create up to 70 new jobs and recover almost 2 million tonnes of valuable resources in the next 10 years. This is a well-designed, highly targeted initiative that will see Victorians reaping the benefits of our investment for years to come.
Seventeen small to medium-sized businesses are expected to save a combined $390,000 a year in materials and energy use through the first round of the Smarter Resources, Smarter Business - Energy and Materials program (SRSB). In 2012 to 13 six materials and energy assessments were also undertaken across the state. These are the first step in helping these businesses to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and boost productivity. The program continues to grow, with 61 round two grantees announced in January 2014 expected to save a combined $2.1 million a year in materials and energy use. Round three of the program opened at the same time.
Building Victoria's Organic Recovery has resulted in 160 tonnes of household food waste in Mildura being diverted from landfill during a trial supported by the Victorian Government. Mildura Rural City Council is now investigating the provision of a regular organics collection service which has the potential for significant environmental, financial and social benefits for that region.
At a grassroots level, Victorian children are learning the value of our resources through ResourceSmart Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative Victoria (AuSSI Vic). Almost half of all Victorian primary and secondary school students are now involved in this program. More than 1000 schools have now saved over $5.2 million in energy costs in the past six years (2008 to 2013) - averaging $1.3 million in savings every year.
Victoria's waste and resource recovery industry is worth $2.2 billion annually to our economy and employs more than 8,000 people. These projects and others highlighted inside this report demonstrate how we are translating words and policies into practical action and partnering with industry, community and local government to deliver real outcomes for Victoria.
The release of Getting full value: the Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy in April 2013 will complement and help to guide investments from the Fund in future years.
The Honourable Ryan Smith MP
Minister for the Environment and Climate Change
1. Purpose
This Activities Report provides an overview of the support provided from the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund (the Fund), outlining the major allocations and distributions from the Fund in 2012 to 13.
The report is published annually and is part of Sustainability Victoria's commitment to operating transparently and demonstrating how the Victorian Landfill Levy is being invested in projects statewide.
2. Introduction
Since its establishment in 2005, the Fund has reinvested the landfill levy into hundreds of projects supporting business, local government and community, to support sustainable living.
Funds have been used to support projects that enhance Victoria's liveability and prosperity. The legacy of this investment is evident across the state, with numerous funding recipients able to leverage the outcomes of programs to build further success by reducing their costs, improving the environment and creating job opportunities. They have done so by engaging more people through better planning, new infrastructure, increased employment, education, and business innovation.
In 2012 to 13 the Fund continued to play a key role in supporting innovation, practical action and positive outcomes in Victoria's sustainability landscape - with particular focus on strategic waste management and resource efficiency. The continued rollout of programs in the $38 million Conserve, Invest and Save strategy is just one example of this.
The release of Getting full value: the Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy in April 2013 will complement and help to guide investments from the Sustainability Fund in future years.
The development of the draft Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP) provides the background and evidence to support planning - at a statewide level - to create the environment in which industry can invest with certainty. It will also help to inform Sustainability Fund investments.
When finalised, the SWRRIP will provide a 30-year horizon of opportunities for government investment in waste management and resource recovery infrastructure to effectively manage the expected mix and increase in waste generated by Victorian households, businesses and industry. This will provide a pipeline of strategic investment opportunities for the Fund, allowing the government to partner with industry and community to nurture the health of the environment while securing a competitive and flourishing economy.
3. About the Sustainability Fund
Overview
The Victorian Government Sustainability Fund is a perpetual fund sourced from the Victorian landfill levy that is applied on a per tonne basis to municipal and industrial solid waste deposited in landfills.
The Fund receives a portion of the levy (after distributions to agencies responsible for Victoria's waste management system) to support programs and initiatives that facilitate resource efficiency and waste reduction, as well as assisting communities to improve the environment and respond to climate change. These purposes are further refined in the Fund's Priority Statement.
Governance
The Victorian Premier and the Minister for Environment and Climate Change are joint administrators of the Fund and approve all allocations.
The governance arrangements for the Sustainability Fund are guided by three key elements:
• The Sustainability Fund Priority Statement
• The Sustainability Fund Guidelines, and
• The Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel.
The requirement for these is prescribed in the Environment Protection Act 1970, which sets the framework for operation of the Sustainability Fund.
Sustainability Victoria is the responsible authority for the Sustainability Fund and maintains the Sustainability Fund Secretariat to manage the distribution of funds in accordance with the allocations approved by the Premier and Minister.
Sustainability Victoria is supported in this role by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (D E P I).
The Sustainability Fund Priority Statement and Guidelines
The Priority Statement and Guidelines for the Sustainability Fund are critical to the management of the Fund.
The Priority Statement details how allocations from the Fund will be prioritised, and the Guidelines provide guidance to the Premier and Minister for Environment and Climate Change regarding how funding will be applied.
The Priority Statement of the Victorian Government Sustainability FundFebruary 2012
Objectives
The Victorian Government recognises the importance of partnering with business, local government and the broader Victorian community to improve our environment and use our resources efficiently.
The Sustainability Fund is a perpetual fund that receives money collected from Victorian landfill levies. The purpose of the Sustainability Fund is to support programs and initiatives that facilitate resource efficiency and waste reduction, as well as assisting communities to improve the environment and respond to climate change.
For the period of this Priority Statement, the Sustainability Fund will prioritise initiatives that address the following:
1. As a first priority, the Sustainability Fund will provide funding to:
a) support Victorians to reduce waste and dispose less waste to landfill;
b) support innovators in the waste management and recycling industry and local government who are willing to invest early in better technologies, facilities and services; and/or
c) remove logistical and systemic obstacles to recovering commercial value from otherwise abandoned material.
2. As a second priority, funding will be provided for initiatives to assist all sectors of the community to improve our environment, respond to climate change, use our resources efficiently and to support sustainability to advance the social and economic development of Victoria.
The Honourable Ted Baillieu MP
Premier
The Honourable Ryan Smith MP
Minister for Environment and Climate Change
Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel
The Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel (SFAP) is appointed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change. Its role is prescribed by the Environment Protection Act 1970 and includes:
• Providing recommendations for funding to the Premier and Minister,
• Monitoring the progress of projects supported by the Fund, and
• Providing general advice on the operation of the Fund and other matters.
Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel membershipExpiry of current term
Mick Murphy O A M (Chair) / 11 February 2015
Doctor Sarah Ewing / 11 February 2015
Jan Boynton / 11 February 2015
Anne Dalton / 8 July 2015
Joanne Anderson / 8 July 2015
How funds are allocated
The Victorian Premier and Minister for Environment and Climate Change approve allocations in accordance with the purposes of the Fund as prescribed by the Environment Protection Act 1970. In addition, the Premier and Minister for Environment and Climate Change may seek advice on programs from the Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel.
Managing the Fund's investment for a prosperous resource efficient future
The Sustainability Fund Secretariat assists the SFAP by monitoring and reporting on the performance of programs supported by the Fund. Grantees and Victorian Government departments and agencies regularly report on the progress of programs. The Secretariat also manages the distribution of funds and payments based on performance milestones.
In 2012 to 13, a number of projects to which funding was allocated in previous years were completed. The Sustainability Fund Secretariat has continued to work with grantees supported in previous years to ensure that lessons learnt and outcomes are shared, and to better understand the long term impacts of projects.
In 2012 to 13, an evaluation of 23 funded projects demonstrated that Fund investments have resulted in discernible long term outcomes, including:
• continued waste, water, energy and C O2 emissions savings,
• ongoing viability of the projects beyond the life of the Sustainability Fund grant, and
• the projects' influence on policy and program development at state and federal government level.
In many cases, projects attributed their success to the Fund's support (financial and in-kind), which allowed them to continue to operate, or to develop spin off projects and programs.
A new vision for waste and resource recovery
The recovery of valuable resources from waste for environmental, economic and social benefits is the key objective of the Victorian Government's new 30-year waste and resource recovery policy, Getting full value: the Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy (Getting full value).
Released in April 2013, Getting full value sets the government's vision for waste management in Victoria. It states that:
• Victoria has an integrated, statewide waste management and resource recovery system that provides an essential community service by protecting the environment
and public health, maximising the productive value of resources, and minimising long term costs to households, industry and government.
• The growing volume and changing mix of different waste materials in Victoria means that managing environmental and public health risks is even more important. But, if managed effectively, also provides significant opportunities across all sectors.
Getting full value sets a vision for building on past successes and moving waste management in Victoria to an advanced system focused on resource recovery that protects the environment and public health, while getting the most out of materials. For Victorians, this will also translate to cost saving at home, work, and in their communities.
It's these opportunities that the Fund will be in a position to support. This strategic reinvestment of the landfill levy in activities to enhance the state's liveability and prosperity is also in keeping with the Fund's current Priority Statement.
Proposed changes to Sustainability Fund administration
In April 2013, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change appointed a Ministerial Advisory Committee to provide advice on the best institutional and governance arrangements to deliver on the objectives of Getting full value: the Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Policy. The Victorian Government has accepted the majority of recommendations made by the Committee, including:
• appointing D E P I to undertake the lead role of advising the Minister for Environment and Climate Change on expenditure from the Fund
• transferring the financial management of the Fund to D E P I, and
• repealing the current provisions in the Environment Protection Act 1970 relating to the Sustainability Fund Advisory Panel.
The committee also made recommendations relating to the distribution of the landfill levy.
In April 2014, the Environment Protection and Sustainability Victoria Amendment Act 2014 was passed. This will transfer Sustainability Victoria's responsibility to manage the Fund to the D E P I on 1 July 2015.
For further details on these recommendations, including the committee's full report and the Victorian Government's response visit www.depi.vic.gov.au/waste
4. Victoria's landfill levy at work
Conserve, Invest and Save
Conserve, Invest and Save is a major Victorian Government investment to deliver better environmental outcomes by helping business and households to manage waste and resources more efficiently.
The Victorian Government announced more than $38 million funding for this package, most of which is provided through the Sustainability Fund.
In 2012 to 13 $6.9 million was distributed to support programs that maximise the value of our resources and help to create new and sustainable employment across Victoria.