Past achievements
Over the history of MEFL we have worked extensively on a wide range of innovative projects, providing free advice to our local community. We have worked across a variety of businesses and homes to identify and reduce energy consumption.
MEFL employ a number of technical experts and environmentally savvy staff; who over the years have asissted in the community from everything from renovating, to gardening, to insulating and beyond!
In late 2008, the Moreland Energy Foundation hosted a workshop to discuss the critical developments in greenhouse policy at the state and federal levels.
Presentations were held by MEFL experts as well as academics. Topics included the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme, government incentive progams and national policy schemes. Considering Australia's ongoing debate on climate change and the cost of an ETS, these presentations are just as crucial to review now.
Download the presentations below for more information about these topics as well as carbon trading, green papers and the emerging cost of carbon.
Downloads
1. Presentation from RMIT - Professor Alan Pears
The case for zero emissions homes and neighbourhoods
In late 2009 MEFL partnered with Environment Victoria, the Alternative Technology Association, Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of the Earth. Together, we created a report on the impacts of climate change on the housing sector.
The majority of homes being built today will still be in place by 2050. Continuing to build homes to yesterday's water and energy standards will lock us into a future of high emissions and unsustainable water use. This report recommends that Australian governments adopt a shared goal of 'climate safe' homes and neighbourhoods by 2020.
The report suggests for Australia to follow the example led by the UK Government, who have committed to building all new homes to zero emissions standards from 2016 onwards. In addition to changing the building of new homes, the report offers strategies on how to 'green' our existing homes through retrofitting with basic energy and water saving measures.
The 'Take Action on Electric Hot Water and Air-Conditioning' (Take Action) project was undertaken by Moreland Energy Foundation over two years, from 2007 to 2009. The project was commissioned by Sustainability Victoria, and undertaken as part of the Victorian Government's efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions from households.
MEFL's Business Program has worked extensively across a range of commercial and industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to identify and reduce energy consumption, achieving effective energy and cost savings. MEFL can provide information, project management, training and detailed technical advice to retail businesses, traders associations and industry bodies.
Business Energy Action Project
In this pioneering project, which ran from 2003 to 2004, MEFL worked with small and medium sized enterprises (SME) across Melbourne's northern metropolitan region. Through education and assistance the project helped these businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and put recommended changes into practice. A series of training programs were run for business and local government representatives, at least 35 business energy audits were conducted and more than 15 businesses made changes that improved their energy efficiency.
The project identified an average 15% savings potential which had a payback period of less than 3 years.
Across the 15 businesses, 10% savings resulted in a yearly C02 reduction of around 80 tonnes. Business participation was encouraged with offers of 'dollar-for-dollar' funding, technical and project-management assistance. The program has now developed a series of training modules and common energy-saving recommendations with the view to expanding into other municipalities.
The Business Energy Actions were coordinated by the Moreland Energy Foundation working with the municipalities of Darebin, Whittlesea, Moreland, Hume, Banyule and the shire of Nillumbik, who together form the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA).
The Community Power program, which ran from 2002 to 2010, assisted local households and businesses to take action on climate change by switching to GreenPower products.
Community Power was a partnership program of Darebin, Whitehorse and Moreland City Councils and the Moreland Energy Foundation. The program increased the uptake of GreenPower in the community and promoted energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The program had a number of successes, but proved to be too resource intensive to establish the best GreenPower offers and maintain ongoing support services for our community. Timelines, details of the product offers and accessibility proved to be beyond our control in the current market.
The GreenPower market has matured and grown since the inception of Community Power and there are now a large number of different offers available to the community. As a result, recently we have found the low number of new households signing up to Community Power offers has not warranted the resources invested by the partner organisations.
For this reason, in March 2010, Moreland Energy Foundation and partners resolved to discontinue the Community Power program.
Residents who have signed up with a Community Power Energy Plan will not be affected by the finalisation of the program; their Energy Plan will remain valid.
Purchasing GreenPower remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and MEFL will continue to promote the uptake of GreenPower and deliver energy efficiency seminars and education through our other programs, particularly the Zero Carbon Moreland campaign.
If you would like to find out about some of the best GreenPower offers available to you, we encourage you to take a look at the Green Electricity Watch website, which rates accredited GreenPower products to help you make an informed choice.
Please note that we cannot guarantee for the accuracy of information on external sites.
Stage 1 - Home Audits
MEFL has delivered the Home Energy Star project across Moreland since 2002. The project began by offering a home energy audit, follow up report and bills analysis for each participant. More than 120 Moreland households participated in this phase of the project, not only learning how to reduce their own energy use and greenhouse emissions but also helping MEFL to build a detailed understanding of Moreland's housing stock, demographics and energy use needs and behaviours.
Stage 2 - Community Workshops
In 2007 MEFL launched the second phase of the Home Energy Stars project, which saw us deliver a series of workshops across the municipality on saving energy at home. Drawing on the knowledge gathered from the home audit phase, the workshops were able to reach a broader audience and proved to be a very popular method of community outreach. Hundreds of participants have so far attended workshops, taking away a store of information on how to improve the efficiency of their homes. Each participant received a free Energy Starter retrofit kit to help them on the path to reducing their emissions.
Stage 3 - Zero Carbon Moreland
The next phase of delivery ties in with MEFLs exciting new project - Zero Carbon Moreland. This community campaign is part of the new Moreland Solar City and will work with households, businesses and community groups to help Moreland achieve its goal of becoming a zero emissions community by 2030.
The Phoenix Fridge Project aims to increase the energy efficiency of second-hand fridges.This project was originally supported by Moreland Energy foundation but is now run solely by the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence.
Phoenix Fridges recycles, repairs and retrofits donated fridges to make them more energy and cost efficient, and decommissions fridges that are no longer useful.
Overall this project:
- Helps reduce greenhouse gases
- Enables low-income earners to make their homes more energy efficient
- Reduces electricity bills, and
- Offers training to job-seekers in an expanding green industry.
Saving $$$ speaks all languages!
MEFL, in partnership with Hume City Council, received a generous grant from the Victorian Government's Community Action Fund. The grant was used to run succesful energy-saving workshops for Arabic and Turkish-speaking women's groups, local businesses and school kids in 2002 - 2004.
For women whose role is still firmly in the home, juggling the family finances is often a matter of great pride. Taking this under consideration MFEL set out to deliver thrifty advice to women about how cutting down energy could save both money and electricity for their families.
Armed with a selection of the easiest and cheapest energy-saving tips, MFEL's Khadiga Hamed and Kerry Wise accompanied Hume's environment officer Bec Brown out to speak about household energy use. Throughout the duration of the project they visited a number of Arabic and Turkish-speaking women's groups in both Moreland and Hume municipalities, translating their shared knowledge into the women's language.
Some women used the information gathered at these talks to make energy-saving changes to their homes, replacing light globes with compact fluros, recycling water from their washing machines and in one case installing 'double-glazing' film on windows to slow down heat loss and gain.
The educational talks were followed with a site visit to either the Origin Energy EcoHouse at CERES or St Kilda's Eco Center in the Blessington Gardens - where energy-saving ideas can be seen first-hand. The women enjoyed comparing notes on herbs in the veggie gardens, and learning about water conservation. All up, an important project for MEFL, and one which we remember fondly.
The Kinda Cooling project was an initiative from the Moreland Energy Foundation to make kindergarten buildings more comfortable, particularly in summer.
MEFL worked with kindergarten staff and committees to identify actions they could take to reduce their energy bills, cut greenhouse emissions, and keep children and staff cool and comfortable during the warmer months.
Throughout the project we worked with Fawkner, Glenroy North, Oak Park, Glen Oak, Brunswick North-West and Brunswick kindergartens.
The Kinda Cooling project received funding from Sustainability Victoria and Moreland City Council to implement a number of recommendations.
Some of the actions taken included:
- Installation of retrofit double glazed windows
- Draught proofing windows and doors
- Freeing up stuck windows to allow for natural ventilation
- Installation of reflective blinds and awnings to keep heat out and
- Installation of ceiling fans and compact fluorescent light globes
MEFL now takes on the role of assisting centres to track their energy bills to assess the savings in both dollars and greenhouse emissions.
The Community EmPOWERment research project investigated household thinking on how they might best reduce their electricity consumption. The Institute for Sustainable Futures undertook the research on MEFL's behalf, using an innovative action-research approach.
MEFL has been advocacating on the results of this 2004 project, with the aim of influencing decision-makers and processes to achieve better incentives for household energy-demand management. There have been two briefings organised for the electricity industry, government and non government organisations, one in Sydney (hosted by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre) and the other in Melbourne (hosted by the Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria). The project was funded by the National Consumers Electricity Advocacy Panel and the Customers Utility Advocacy Centre.
A successful project for Arabic, Assyrian and Chaldean communities 2008 - 2010
Moreland Energy Foundation believes working within our diverse cultures is vital for promoting sustainability.
The GreenTown project was run in partnership with Arabic Welfare, Environment Victoria and funded by the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund. It trained local members of culturally diverse communities to conduct, in a culturally relevant and sensitive manner, assessments and workshops focusing on saving energy and water.
The project has developed skills and expertise around environmental issues in the Arabic, Assyrian and Chaldean communities. Close to one hundred homes received assessments and retrofit kits to assist households to reduce their environmental impact. Fifteen businesses in the City of Moreland will also receive assessments.
As part of the project, Glenroy Neighbourhood Learning Centre has developed curriculum materials for English as a Second Language classes so that environmental issues are integrated into teaching in neighbourhood houses and community learning centres throughout Moreland.
Further projects will work with leaders from the Turkish and Kurdish community in Hume, the Horn of Africa community in Melbourne and the Indigenous Australian community in Darebin. MEFL, in partnership with Yarra Valley Water, will deliver the ongoing technical training for this program.
For more information or to be involved contact Environment Victoria.
