Inner West Council set to be greenest in NSW
Thursday 01 June
Inner West Council is set to become the greenest Council in New South Wales with the endorsement of a new Investment Policy.
The Policy, adopted at last week’s Council meeting, will achieve a 70 per cent non-fossil fuel investment portfolio by 30 June 2018.
Administrator of Inner West Council Richard Pearson said that Council would be prioritising institutions that do not fund fossil fuel projects for several reasons.
“There is no doubt that the environment is a real concern to our residents, and that they want their local Council to do what it can to mitigate the effects of climate change,” he said.
“It is important that we demonstrate leadership through our investment decisions.
“As well, we believe this position best reflects not only the wishes of inner west residents, but also the intentions of the three previous Councils, which all had strong non fossil-fuel credentials,” he said.
Taking into account the investment policies of our constituent Councils, Inner West Council is already the third ‘greenest’ Council in the state.
Inner West Council currently holds approximately $200 million in its investments portfolio, which it uses to fund operational and capital programs.
“So you can see this is a real and significant commitment by Inner West Council,” Mr Pearson said.
While the policy will prioritise non-fossil fuel investment, it is also based on security and minimising financial risk and will rely on expert advice from Council’s financial adviser to ensure risk is appropriately managed.
At least 30 cities around the world have committed to move investments away from fossil fuels including Seattle, Dunedin and Oxford. Other organisations shifting away from fossil fuel investments include the University of Sydney, the Australian National University, Local Government Super and superannuation fund HESTA.
The policy will be monitored, reported, and made public as part of the monthly Council Meeting investment business paper and will be reviewed in 12 months’ time.