The ISJO has been successful in accessing a grant of $253,200 (plus GST) to deliver a third stage of its successful Net Zero program.

Funded by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and administered by the DCCEEW Sustainable Councils Program our grant is for an eighteen month program beginning 1 July 2025 and closing 31 December 2026.

Draft priority areas of focus proposed for “JONZA 3.0” include:

• Delivery of a Regional Energy Forum with Council and Industry stakeholders
• Development of a regional solar servicing and maintenance contract template
• Development of a regional fleet transition plan
• Develop opportunities to embed sustainability measures into the contract renewal process
• Develop opportunities to procure low carbon alternatives to high emission materials
• Collaborate to deliver landfill emissions modelling project for strategic waste planning
• Facilitate the delivery of the Community Renewables Program
• Develop of an opportunities assessment for carbon offsetting potential
• Implement an emissions reporting workshop for member councils
• Embed emissions reporting tools and structures into Council operations
• Deliver regional resilience projects including a regional energy vulnerability assessment
• Develop regional grant applications that align with strategic net zero initiatives
• Facilitate net zero PCG network across ISJO Member Councils and key stakeholders
• Collaborate on net zero initiatives identified through the JO network

A first step is to validate these priority projects with the Council officers on our Net Zero Project Control Group.  Once this is completed the final list will be included in a Project Management Plan submission for review by the Sustainable Councils Team.

Following approval the Project Plan, and any further project opportunities that arise in the net zero space, will be delivered over the term of JONZA 3.0.