Carbon neutral for energy and electricity use by 2020

This means that by 2020 we will eliminate or offset over 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year - that's equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road.

We were one of the first utilities to commit to becoming carbon neutral for energy and electricity use by 2020. In 2008 we won the Green Globe Award for our renewable energy projects that will reduce our energy use by 20%.

What does becoming carbon neutral for energy and electricity use mean?

When carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, they contribute to climate change. Becoming carbon neutral is about balancing the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere so that our net greenhouse gas emissions from energy and electricity use are zero.

Sydney Water will achieve this by:

• reducing our electricity use
• being energy efficient in our day to day operations
• investing in renewable energy
• generating carbon offsets.

The first milestone on this journey is to reduce emissions by 60% by 2012.

Sydney Water has a set of carbon management principles that form the basis of our commitment. Priority is given to reducing emissions by avoiding energy use and using energy more efficiently. This includes using more energy efficient processes to pump and treat water and sewage. We also produce our own green power and use carbon credits to offset emissions.

How are we offsetting?

The bulk of carbon offsets (or carbon 'credits') used to reduce emissions are created through water efficient programs such as WaterFix. A large number of government-accredited carbon credits are also generated through our water efficient programs and renewable energy projects.

Every water efficient showerhead we install in customers' homes significantly reduces hot water use - saving 4 tonnes of greenhouse emissions over the life of the showerhead. That's the same as taking a car off the road for a year.

We also generate carbon offsets by turning waste methane gas into electricity to help power sewage treatment plants. Find out more