Our clean, green and sustainable city

In 2031, our healthy rivers, waterways, natural areas, parklands and biodiversity will attract businesses to establish here, and residents, students and employees to live, study and work in Brisbane.

Brisbane will have a range of healthy native plants and wildlife and well protected and connected habitat areas free of invasive species.

Residents and business will value water and its quality and demonstrate water smart behaviours in daily life, including conserving our water supply and protecting our waterways by ensuring only rain goes down the stormwater drain.

All residents and visitors will work with us to keep Brisbane clean, and reduce and recycle our waste.

Targets

By 2031:

  • 40% of mainland Brisbane will be natural habitat
  • Brisbane City Council will have reduced its operational carbon emissions by at least 30% on 2016-17 levels
  • the average household's carbon emissions from energy, waste and transport will be six tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year
  • in partnership with our neighbours and the Queensland Government, waterway health will improve for the Lower Brisbane River Catchment, Bramble Bay, Waterloo Bay and East Moreton Bay
  • the use and visitation by our communities of our waterways and bay will increase compared to 2013
  • total domestic waste generated per annum going to landfill will be reduced compared to 2013
  • domestic waste recycled/recovered will be increased compared to 2013.

What you can do

You can:

What Council is doing

Council has released Brisbane, Clean, Green Sustainable which highlights our city's key sustainability achievements and outlines future targets and commitments to drive us towards a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city.

Other key projects, programs and initiatives include:

City's progress

Council's current achievements:

  • achieved carbon neutral status for Council operations from 2016-17 to 2023-24, negating more than 4,200,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
  • planted two million trees in the Brisbane local government area within four years - the largest project of its type worldwide, solely delivered by a local government in a defined local government area
  • protected more than 15,000 hectares of bushland and parks
  • more than 2000 parks across the city
  • 38.9% natural habitat cover. Council is on-track for more than 40% natural habitat cover by 2031
  • achieved the 500-hectare bushland acquisition target in 2011. Since 1990, 3000 hectares of significant bushland has been purchased through Council's Bushland Acquisition program
  • purchased more than five million tonnes of accredited carbon offsets since 2007 to neutralise the carbon emissions from Council's bus, ferry, fleet vehicles and stationary gas use. Continued procurement of new buses has meant that over half the fleet is now the highest environmentally-friendly standard commercially available in Australia
  • supported the renewable energy industry and reduced greenhouse gas emissions associated with Council’s electricity use by purchasing renewable energy and installing rooftop solar systems
  • rehabilitated 58 local waterway sites to enhance waterway health. Sixty kilometres of waterway corridors were rehabilitated and maintained by catchment groups in association with Council.
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Brisbane City Council acknowledges this Country and its Traditional Custodians. We pay our respects to the Elders, those who have passed into the Dreaming; those here today; those of tomorrow.