Break-out 
Session 2 Details

1:30PM

Please choose one
of the four options

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[Rooms 101 & 102]
​Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning - mastering this essential and helpful component of projects

This panel explores practical approaches to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in local government climate initiatives, sharing real-world examples from mitigation and adaptation programs. Panelists will discuss the differences between evaluating these approaches. Designed for local government practitioners, consultants, and researchers seeking to strengthen their climate action evaluation approaches. 

Facilitator: Sai Rupa Devarapu, Project Officer, Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action  (slides)

Lucy Brown, Principle Sustainability Officer, Moonee Valley City Council
Susie Moloney, Associate Professor in Sustainability & Urban Planning, RMIT
Helen F Scott, Team Leader, Environmental Planning, Kingston City Council

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[Room 103]
Decarbonising at Scale - new business models and partnerships to amplify community programs

Funding is increasingly constrained and councils will need to find new innovative ways to leverage resources to support their ambitions for cutting community emissions. Tapping into the emerging opportunities of the energy transition will require new partnerships and new business models that could generate new income to support council-led initiatives. This session will explore some of these opportunities and examine how existing council programs could evolve and benefit from emerging technology and the changing energy landscape.     

Facilitator: Scott McKenry, Executive Officer, Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action  (slides)

Katy Daily, Energy Innovation Lead, City of Yarra
Jess Christiansen, Partnerships Manager, Consumer Energy Solutions, SEC
Scott Bocskay, Managing Director, Property Linked Finance Accelerator
Sally Moxham, Manager Low Emission Buildings, DEECA

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[Room 104]
A Just Transition - examples of equity within the defining crisis of our time

Councils often play a vital role in identifying and responding to communities unequally affected by climate change. In the transition to a low carbon world, efforts to ensure communities (human and non)  are heard as  the policies, net zero economies, work opportunities, and ongoing changes, are formed and enacted.  Many organisations and councils have been innovative in addressing the gaps and smoothing the wrinkles (or chasms) that have inevitably appeared, in an effort to ensure no one, and no thing, is left behind.

Facilitator: Carole Hammond, Executive Officer, Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance  (slides)

​Sabiene Heindle, CEO, The Energy Charter
Sarah Hussein, Community Outreach Officer, Sustainable Communities, Merri-bek City Council
Joshua Chikuse, Strategy & Engagement, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority

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[Rooms 105 & 106]
​From Waste to Net Zero - how councils are powering climate action through the circular economy

Reaching net zero by 2045 in Victoria will require more than just a rapid shift to renewables and energy efficiency—it’s about rethinking our relationship with materials. With 36% of Victoria’s emissions tied to the way we make, use, and dispose of materials, the circular economy is a vital lever for climate action and community resilience. In this session, hear how councils are putting circular economy principles into practice to tackle emissions and design stronger, more sustainable and resilient communities. 

Facilitators: Annika Kearton, Chief Executive Officer, Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance  (slides)
Sue Phillips, Executive Officer, Barwon South West Climate Alliance 

Matt Genever, CEO, Sustainability Victoria​
Jodi Newcombe, Circular Economy Officer, Hepburn Shire Council
Timothy Sinnappu, Principal Development Engineer, Growth & Investment, City of Casey


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