Our commitment to a healthy, sustainable and liveable future

As an essential service provider, we understand what we do has an impact on our people and our planet. That’s why we’ve been working to reduce our carbon footprint and why we’ve committed to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2032.

It means by the time Brisbane hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games, every flush will generate Net Zero carbon emissions – something we can all feel good about.

Some people mightn’t realise the essential process of taking away and treating wastewater (the water that goes down the drain when we flush the loo, do the dishes, take a shower or wash our clothes) takes a lot of electricity.

What we're doing right now

Taking the waste out of wastewater

We’re already embracing innovative, cost-effective ways to increase our energy efficiency through projects like our Australian-first Annamox superbugs, which we’re using at Brisbane’s largest wastewater treatment plant to treat waste naturally in a cleaner, greener way.

As a utility we’re in a unique position in that we can produce our own renewable power through wastewater treatment to reduce carbon emissions.

We’ve doubled the amount of clean, renewable energy we’re generating from wastewater in the past decade as part of our commitment to reaching Net Zero.

Since we were formed in 2010, Urban Utilities has generated more than 125,000 MWh from cogeneration (the process that turns wastewater into electricity) - that’s enough energy to power more than 27,000 homes for a year.

This renewable energy helps run Brisbane’s largest wastewater treatment plants, which are now better known as resource recovery centres, and to help charge our electric poo-powered cars, called 'Number 2', reducing our reliance on the electricity grid. 

As part of our Net Zero commitment, we’ll increase our use of renewable energy to 100 per cent.

To greener pastures!

Investing in local offset projects like reforestation and habitat rehabilitation are also part of our roadmap to Net Zero.

We’ve already seen how beneficial reforestation can be, through our koala habitat project Helidon in the Lockyer Valley.
We planted 1600 native blue gum trees which are sustainably irrigated with recycled water from the nearby wastewater treatment plant to support local wildlife in the area.

 Reforestation projects like this restore natural habitats and wildlife corridors, improving biodiversity and protecting land in our catchments against erosion.

We’re planning to rehabilitate up to 5000 hectares of land through beneficial local offset projects as part of our pledge to reach Net Zero by 2032.

Continuing our commitment to enrich quality of life 

Our Net Zero commitment aligns with our Environmental Leadership approach, which focuses on understanding the most effective ways that we can make the most difference and generate multiple benefits for our customers, environment and community.

As Queensland’s largest water services provider, we have a direct impact on important issues like water security, liveability, circular economy, biodiversity, water cycle changes, and other key community challenges.