In partnership with Rob Law Consulting, we led the development of the first Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for the Shire.

It was important to hear from staff across Council, the community and other stakeholders to develop a locally relevant Strategy. As such, we delivered a range of internal and external workshops, along with a community survey.

While setting up the Centre for Excellence in Sustainability and Innovation at VECCI, Kate worked with Sustainability Victoria to lead the design and development of the CarbonDown program and the business case through the Victorian Government’s processes.

Carbon Down partnered with like-minded companies and organisations, offering knowledge, funding and support to help small and medium-sized businesses find new ways of thinking and operating in the carbon economy, and make it easier for them to take action on climate change.

The Cool-ER Changes project will result in a Council’s inaugural shire-wide Climate Emergency Response Plan.

In partnership with Once Upon Tomorrow, we are delivering a series of 6 community and stakeholder workshops to ensure everyone in the Shire has the opportunity to influence the Plan.

Let Me Be Frank was engaged by the Australia New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP) to develop a sustainable business model for their Game On Recycling pilot program. Game On Recycling collects and recycles sporting equipment across Australia in partnership with retailers like Rebel Sport and manufacturers like Wilson. The business model was approved by the Board and is currently being rolled out.

Kate worked on Lifescripts with health industry thought leaders like Maree Davidson at Davidson Consulting and Nancy Huang at Vicfit. Life Scripts helped GPs talk to their patients about healthier lifestyle choices and to “prescribe” activities to help people get more active, quit smoking, improve nutrition, reduce their drinking and lose weight.

Kate coordinated with seven universities to ensure that the program design and materials were based on best practice evidence. Intensive market research was used to test messages with diverse audiences, including community members, GPs, and practice managers.

We presented this interactive event in partnership with Green Planet Sport, and with support from Game on Recycling and Sustainability Victoria.

Our sporting future (at all levels of play) is facing significant risk. Our favourite venues, fields, courts, ovals are experiencing climate stress. Our love of sport drives overconsumption through vast amounts of equipment, merchandise and uniforms. The Circularity of Sport brought together a cross-section of the Australian sporting industry to explore the intersection of climate and sport, understand opportunities, and brainstorm innovations so sport can become part of the climate solution.

Working in partnership with Tandem Energy, we supported The Barossa Council to consider how to best deliver on climate and sustainability commitments with limited resources.

Following research into the local context and a series of client workshops, it was recommended that Council move beyond the traditional model of developing a stand alone climate change or sustainability strategy, and instead move straight into embedding climate into all of Council’s plans, roles, decisions, and actions. This culture change approach puts the onus for action onto all departments and recognises that climate change intersects with every facet of Council's business.

Already feeling the dire impacts of climate change, Belligen Shire received federal and state funding to drive community led resilience.

In collaboration with Once Upon Tomorrow and Ludowyk Evaluation, we evaluated the impact and effectiveness of the funded initiatives and identifed future opportunities to continue to strengthen Bellingen’s resilience. We are using the research and findings from this project to develop a resilience framework that can guide local governments and communities wishing to increase their capacity to respond to and bounce back from shocks and stressors.

Working in partnership with Urban Forest Consulting, we designed and co-delivered consultations with the client. Engagement activities included community workshops, pop-up events with a comment-tree, and online surveys.

For each project, detailed engagement reports were produced to ensure line of sight between what was heard and the final Strategy.

The City of Darebin broke new ground when it declared a climate emergency and developed its Climate Emergency Plan 2017—2022. Council is now looking to refresh its climate emergency response.

We were invited to develop recommendations for Darebin’s updated climate emergency response based on the team’s experience developing Strategies for other Councils and the Darebin context.

Let Me Be Frank partnered with the home renovation platform Evitat to deliver a pilot program to help homeowners assess, quantify and prioritise sustainable choices in their home improvements.

We coordinated the design and delivery of the Casey Eco Renovators Expo in Cranbourne. Evitat, along with 13 other service providers and suppliers, helped renovators select the best products through a series of panel talks, consultations, and product exhibitions.

We’re now working with Evitat on how to activate more communities to renovate clever.

We provided advice on how Council could center First Nations voices, knowledge and experience in their updated Climate Emergency Strategy, and its implementation. The approach recommended builds on existing relationships, considers how First Nations knowledge and time can be truly valued, and recognises that the door should be open to Traditional Owners and Custodians along with other local First Nations people.