LGNSW Planning Awards for Cool Suburbs NSW

Cool Suburbs NSW is a unique tool to support local authorities to understand and apply urban planning and design responses to mitigate urban heat and associated risks. It provides an evidence-based, practical solution to guide better development outcomes. Several councils have used the tool to inform planning controls including LSPS, LEP and DCPs. It is integrated into Green Star Communities v2 and the NSW Government’s Cooler Places Hub. The project increased capacity to address heat risk through digestible information, scientific baseline, better informed designs, tangible solutions, and known resilience initiatives.

Check out the LGNSW 2025 winners

 Western Sydney Community Forum's, ANNUAL ZEST AWARDS

The Annual ZEST Awards recognise exceptional community projects, including those that respond to the impacts of climate change on vulnerable people across greater Western Sydney. Examples may include projects which seek to amplify community voices or build community resilience to climate change

In June 2025, the Outstanding Project - Climate & Environmental Resilience was awarded to Good360 Australia.

Good360 Australia connect charities, schools and society’s most vulnerable, with businesses willing to donate unsold or surplus goods, services and disaster recovery essentials. The result is a Circle of Good that reduces need and waste in our communities at the same time so everyone benefits – from people to the planet. Headquartered at Smithfield, Good360 supports 4700+ charities/disadvantaged schools nationally, and approximately 12%, almost 600, in the 13 LGA’s across Western Sydney. Since launching in 2015, over $170 million worth of material aid, around 30% of their total impact, has been distributed in Western Sydney.

Check out the other nominees' information in the ZEST booklet here