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The Sydney Opera House has today become carbon neutral five years ahead of schedule, joining EnergyAustralia’s fast-growing carbon neutral movement.
The Opera House successfully reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by creating efficiencies in how it manages energy and waste, streamlining day-to-day business and building operations, and offsetting remaining emissions for the year 2017-2018 with help from Major Partner EnergyAustralia.
EnergyAustralia supported the Opera House’s pathway to carbon neutrality and provided funding to offset remaining emissions with native reforestation and renewable energy projects.
EnergyAustralia Managing Director Catherine Tanna says: “No country on earth can give us a blueprint for the transformation to an energy system reliant on renewables, with low or zero emissions. Our challenge – and our job – is making sure families have access to cleaner, affordable and reliable power no matter where they live or what they earn.
“We’ve shown it’s possible for Australia’s most famous house to offset its carbon emissions, and we’re making it simple for millions of households around the country to do the same.”
Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM says: "Sustainability is in the Opera House's DNA. Architect Jørn Utzon incorporated sustainable design into the fabric of the building in the 1960s. We aim to honour and enhance this legacy by embedding sustainable thinking into everything we do. I'm proud to announce that thanks to long-term focus, creativity and the support of our partner EnergyAustralia we've become carbon neutral five years ahead of target.
"Each year the Opera House hosts thousands of events and serves millions of meals - producing 5000 cubic metres of waste and using electricity equivalent to 2500 households (16 gigawatts). It's our responsibility to find innovative solutions to reduce our carbon footprint and inspire our community to do the same."
NSW Minister for Energy and Utilities & Minister for the Arts Don Harwin says: “The Sydney Opera House is our nation's symbol to the world and I'm doubly proud as both Minister for the Arts and Energy to celebrate this remarkable building's carbon neutral status.
"By slashing energy use and ramping up recycling the Opera House has truly set the stage for others to follow and I congratulate the Opera House team on their transformational work."