Example: City of Melbourne’s business partnership
| City role | The City of Melbourne supports business climate action through specific programs, including CitySwitch and SDG Align (the SDG Align Toolkit), using its convening role, business-support channels, and grants processes to help organisations understand, plan, and act on sustainability priorities. |
| Funding and revenue | CitySwitch is a free program for participating businesses, supported through council collaboration and shared program resources. SDG Align is provided free to businesses in the municipality through a City of Melbourne agreement with the platform provider. |
| Operating model | CitySwitch is a government-backed, relationship-based support program for office-based businesses that encourages members to commit to net-zero action and participate in annual emissions reporting. SDG Align is an open digital platform for small and medium-sized businesses to assess sustainability maturity and identify practical actions. |
| Scale and governance | CitySwitch has operated for around 20 years and is currently co-convened by the City of Melbourne and City of Sydney, with NABERS as a key partner. Around 2.5million square metres of office space participate nationally. SDG Align has attracted over 300 users and recorded 62 action plans, while the City continues to refine how the platform supports sustained action. |
| Key partners | City of Melbourne, City of Sydney, NABERS, office-based businesses, SMEs, precinct associations, business grants and concierge teams, local business champions, and platform partners supporting SDG Align. |
Introduction and context
Melbourne’s city-business climate approach brings together practical support for organisations operating across the municipality in pursuit of net zero, sustainability and resilience outcomes. Through programs such as CitySwitch and the SDG Align Toolkit, the City of Melbourne helps businesses understand their impacts, navigate emerging sustainability expectations and translate climate ambitions into practical action. The programs are designed to reduce barriers to engagement by providing trusted advice, accessible tools, and opportunities for collaboration.
CitySwitch is Australia’s flagship sustainability program for office-based businesses, helping organisations reduce emissions, improve operational efficiency, and prepare for climate reporting, while SDG Align responds to the need for simple, accessible support for businesses at different stages of maturity. Both programs are designed to reduce barriers to engagement: through government-backed and relationship-based support, as well as via a free self-assessment and action-planning platform linked to wider city services.
How the partnership works
CitySwitch is governed through a collaborative council partnership model. The program demonstrates how local governments can support the implementation of climate policy through partnership rather than regulation alone. Through direct engagement with businesses, it helps organisations understand emerging sustainability requirements, identify decarbonisation opportunities and build capability before regulatory expectations take effect.
Insights gained through program delivery also help governments better understand business barriers and opportunities, creating a two-way feedback loop between policy objectives and market implementation. The program is currently delivered by the City of Melbourne and City of Sydney as co-conveners, partnering with the National Australian Built Environment Rating Systems
SDG Align is led by the City of Melbourne as a locally embedded business-support initiative, delivered in partnership with the platform provider and supported by collaboration across multiple City teams. Its governance model leverages existing Council programs and business-facing services, including business grants, business concierge support, precinct engagement initiatives, communications channels and local business networks, enabling coordinated and efficient engagement with the business community.
A free, relationship-based offer for office-based businesses and tenants
Local government acts as a trusted intermediary between business and higher levels of government, translating complex policy settings into practical actions while helping identify implementation challenges. Through CitySwitch, businesses can access practical support to improve energy efficiency, understand emissions reporting and develop net-zero roadmaps. The program’s peer-learning model enables businesses to learn from organisations facing similar operational challenges while accelerating the uptake of proven solutions.
Businesses join CitySwitch by committing to net zero and reporting annually on electricity, gas, liquid fuels, and waste, with increasing support for Scope 3 emissions measurement and reporting. In return, members receive access to events, networking, open-source resources, and a program contact who can help them understand where to begin, find relevant tools, and connect with appropriate expertise.
Using SDG Align to broaden SME engagement
SDG Align complements CitySwitch by offering small and medium-sized businesses a free way to assess sustainability maturity, identify strengths and gaps, and access practical guidance. The platform focuses on the wider Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which allows businesses to enter through issues that feel relevant to them, such as circular economy, social impact, or climate action, rather than starting from emissions alone.
Embedding sustainability into business support
The City of Melbourne has linked SDG Align to existing business-support processes, including business grants, communications channels, precinct associations, webinars, and local business showcases. This has helped increase registrations while the City continues to refine the model so that businesses use the platform to plan, implement, and track actions rather than completing the assessment as a one-off requirement.