Sustainable business

Inner West Council supports local businesses to improve their environmental performance through:

• Solar and energy advice and quotes through the Australian Energy Foundation
• Rainwater tank incentive scheme and rebate
• Awards and recognition - if your business makes changes, keep track of them for the next Inner West Business Environment Award. The awards recognise many actions businesses take - to reduce energy, waste or water impacts, make supply chains more sustainable,  work in partnership with the community, innovate and provide community leadership.
• Green Caffeen swap and go takeaway coffee cups - free to local coffee retailers
• Native plant and habitat advice and native plant sales at Community Native Nurseries

Inner West Council has set ambitious targets to reduce our own impact. Our goal is to be carbon neutral and 100% renewable by 2025. We actively promote and support the role of local businesses and organisations in creating a sustainable Inner West. The Council’s Green Living Centre partners with local businesses and organisations to deliver workshops and special events.

Learn more about sustainability at Council

On-on-one business energy coaching

The NSW Government is funding energy coaches to support businesses to reduce their energy consumption. The energy coaches will help you to: work out ways to save energy; build a business case to do an energy-savings project; and apply for more funding to upgrade/replace equipment, improve your processes and much more! Find out more about the business energy coaching program here.

Free business energy advice

The Australian Government has funded the delivery of two business energy services through the Business Energy Advice Program.  One part of the program is and energy advisory service which delivers face-to-face, phone and digital advice to help small business identify their energy savings opportunities and more effectively select their energy plans and retailers. The other part of the program is a tool that enables businesses to compare their energy spend to that of similar businesses in their industry or region.  Find out more about the Business Energy Advice Program here.

Federal Government Energy Efficient Communities Grants 

The Australian Government’s Energy Efficient Communities Program will deliver grants to help community groups and businesses lower their energy bills and reduce emissions. Inner West small businesses turning over less than $10 million per year are eligible to apply for up to $20,000 with no co-contribution required.  High energy-using businesses consuming over 0.05 petajoules each year are eligible to apply for up to $25,000 with a matching contribution required. Grant guidelines will be published HERE and applications are expected to open in mid-2020.

GreenPower for Business

Join the more than 25,000 Australian businesses who have chosen GreenPower, an Australian Government scheme, as an effective way to invest in renewable energy and contribute to achieving their sustainability goals. Businesses can make the switch to GreenPower through their energy retailer or through a decoupled contract with an accredited GreenPower provider.