Helping MBRC scope its upcoming development of an environment and sustainability strategy.

As one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, Moreton Bay Regional Council sought to refresh the region’s approach to environmental protection and sustainability and develop a new Environment and Sustainability Strategy (ESS).

Working from August to December 2020, Losee Consulting’s assignment was to help Council set the direction for this strategy—refining its rationale, potential payback, how to nest the ESS among Council’s suite of policies, and how to bring the community along.

We benchmarked Council against eight comparator Councils, researched best practice and analysed Council’s current policy position. We then convened two large workshops with Council leaders and staff (managing split in-room and online engagement following Covid-safe rules).

We developed a spectrum of options for positioning the ESS and used this as a platform to glean the perspectives of those we consulted. Based on the research and consultation, we formulated a way forward for Council and a schematic of the ESS, which showed how immediately pressing policy matters could be integrated with longer-term, strategic priorities.

The mayor, councillors, the CEO and executives received the approach well and they are preparing the next steps for ESS development.