Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) Inc.

The Productivity Commission recently launched an inquiry into opportunities in the circular economy.   These are Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) Inc.’s top priorities:   - Tougher regulation on products imported into Australia that are made from materials that cannot be easily repaired or recycled - Implementing a whole of government approach to enable the economic transformation to a circular economy (we need all government departments especially Treasury to be collaborating on this substantial change to the Australian economy).  - Developing national policy to support circular economy activities, supported by a funding package and teams of staff.  - Creating a Repair Star Rating for products.  - Introducing income tax deductions for the repair of major appliances and furniture.  - Acting on the Productivity Commission’s previous recommendations on the Right to Repair to ensure that consumers can legally repair goods at a competitive price at a repairer of their choice.  - Transitioning to regulatory or co-regulatory product stewardship (PS) schemes rather than voluntary. - Investment and planning for designated infrastructure for reuse, repair and the remanufacturing of materials, as well as ensuring adequate waste and recycling infrastructure. - A national behaviour change program focused on key consumer behaviours needed to support a circular economy (e.g. make do with less, borrow/rent, source second hand, prioritise durability, repair, reuse and pass on).    What are yours?    Read our full submission here: https://lnkd.in/g-H_UYiS

Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) Inc. is looking for a full-time Strategic Procurement Specialist to provide expertise in project-based sustainable procurement. Is this you? Check out the full job description here: https://lnkd.in/gyEbyJjz

SSROC’s Procurement Managers Planning Day   The Procurement Managers from SSROC’s member councils came together to plan the next phase of SSROC’s joint procurement. Working collectively will not only increase our buying power but also ensures the best results for our member's communities.   Everyone wore the colour orange to show support for #WOW day (Wear Orange Wednesday), a national day of thanks to the thousands of SES volunteers who serve their communities 24 hours a day, seven days a week through storms, floods, road crash rescues, and so much more. Big mention to Michael from Georges River Council for wearing the wig!

SSROC lights up the 2024 IPWEA Engineering Excellence Awards    The Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) are proud to announce that we have won the IPWEA NSW & ACT 2024 Engineering Excellence Award for our Street Lighting Improvement Program in the Environmental Enhancement Project category. SSROC and 29 local councils are currently working with Ausgrid to deliver Australia’s largest and most advanced smart street lighting upgrade.  Over the next three years, more than 62,000 street lights on main roads across the region will be upgraded with energy efficient LEDs and smart controls. The smart controls are being added to the street lights on main roads to help detect faults, optimise maintenance, measure energy use and facilitate off-peak dimming in the future. The lights will also be able to accommodate future smart city sensors.  Ausgrid, in conjunction with SSROC and councils, has already upgraded some 205,000 street lights across metro Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter areas with LEDs. This is the largest LED deployment in Australia. When the latest phase is complete in 2026, the rollout will to exceed 240,000 lights.   As a result of the upgrades, the total energy consumption of Ausgrid-managed street lights will be cut by 62% to about 48,000 MWhr/yr in 2026. Councils may be able to go even further in cutting energy consumption if they can implement off-peak dimming over the coming years. We congratulate all of our 29 participating councils (Bayside Council, Burwood Council, Canada Bay Council, Canterbury Bankstown Council, Central Coast Council, Cessnock City Council, City of Parramatta Council, City of Ryde Council, City of Sydney, Cumberland City Council, Georges River Council, Hornsby Shire Council, Inner West Council, Ku-Ring-Gai Council, Lake Macquarie City Council, Lane Cove Municipal Council, Mosman Municipal Council, Municipality of Hunters Hill, North Sydney Council, Northern Beaches Council, Port Stephens Council, Randwick Council, Singleton Shire Council, Strathfield Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Upper Hunter Shire Council, Waverley Council, Willoughby City Council, Woollahra Municipal Council) for their hard work and support throughout the program. The judges specifically cited the extraordinary level of collaboration in this project. We also wish to thank street lighting consultants, Next Energy Lighting and their Program Managers, Graham Mawer and Paul Gowans. And Ausgrid, especially Council Manager - Lighting & Smart Solutions, Jiri Heider. 

The Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) in collaboration with Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) and Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA) is pleased to invite you to The Lifecycle Assessment of Using Rubber in Roads webinar. The webinar seeks to showcase the long-term sustainability and decarbonisation benefits of rubber-modified asphalt, the cost benefits compared to standard asphalt and the benefits of our collaborative, cross-sector partnership between Local and State Government, engineers and civil works professionals, and peak industry bodies. Register now: https://lnkd.in/g9xZ7Hd8

SSROC Procurement Network Group's last meeting for the year was held on 14 December 2023. Woollahra Council General Manager Mr Craig Swift-NcNair, the Group's Chair, provided an update on our major projects, and our Procurement and Contracts team gave a presentation on the year’s achievements and our 2024 plans.  So watch this space!