A SUSTAINABLE CITY

There are many innovative programs underway, focusing on improving the sustainability of the city and enhancing the delegate experience. Our city’s sustainable practices include transport services, infrastructure, green-city programs and environmental initiatives.

GETTING AROUND THE CITY

Melbourne is a highly connected compact city that offers a range of sustainable transport options for delegates. 

• Walking city: Melbourne is set in a compact grid layout, making it very easy to navigate by foot. The City of Melbourne has developed a series of self-guided walks to help delegates explore the city by foot. 

• Melbourne Bike Share: visitors have access to hire one of 600 bikes at 50 docking stations around the city centre. 

• Free tram zone: Melbourne provides a free tram zone within the city centre making it easy for delegates to move around the city and to and from the Convention Centre. The free City Circle Tram travels the perimeter of the CBD, taking in many of Melbourne's landmarks 

• Car sharing: provide cars on demand, for rent either by the hour or by the day. There are over 350 car share vehicles located in the City of Melbourne with a commitment to 2,000 car share spaces being by 2021. More details, click here.
   

A GREEN CITY

Melbourne is committed to becoming a carbon neutral city and creating a bold and sustainable future. Such an ambitious goal can only be achieved through collaboration with key stakeholders across Melbourne, including major event and conference organisers to deliver best practice sustainable events in Melbourne.  Some initiatives being implemented by the City of Melbourne include:

• An Eco-City: examining many innovative ways to improve the sustainability of the city's stock, reducing carbon emissions, protecting our world-renowned parks and gardens and developing ways to capture, store and reuse stormwater within the city.

• Zero Net Emissions by 2020: Melbourne has one of the most ambitious carbon emission reduction targets of any city in the world, with the goal of zero net emissions by 2020. This target is for both the local government operations and the entire municipality.

• 1200 Buildings: encouraging building owners, managers and facility managers to improve their efficiency and reduce waste. The goal is to retrofit two-thirds of the city's 1,800 office buildings with state-of-the-art energy and water technology by 2020.

• Green roofs, walls and facades: adapting our city to climate change and enhancing urban landscapes by integrating soil and vegetation on roofs, walls and facades. This helps cool hot cities, reduce storm water drainage, provide a layer of soil-like material and plants, help insulate buildings whilst creating social and leisure environments.

• Urban Forest strategy: with over 77,000 trees in Melbourne’s parks and gardens, this strategy outlines the city’s approach to managing threats such as drought, climate change, urban growth, with the aim to increase canopy cover from 22% to 40% by 2040.

• Stormwater harvesting: Melbourne’s stormwater harvesting project allows up to 21 million litres of stormwater to be captured annually. This provides the dual benefits of restricting demand on the city's drinking water supplies and reducing pollution into local waterways. 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Sustainable practices in construction, design and urban planning are at the forefront of development and infrastructure within the city, with many new developments employing increased sustainable practices and materials.

• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC): an EarthCheck Gold Certification venue, is one of Victoria's most sustainable meetings venues. MCEC works with organisers to achieve maximum sustainable, recycling and localised sourcing for large-scale business events.

• AccorHotels - Banksia Sustainability Award winner: The Banksia Awards are the most prestigious and longest running sustainability awards in Australia rewarding businesses for innovation, achievement and commitment to sustainability.