HomeMy WebLinkAboutOS 01-11
City Report To
Executive Committee
PICKERING Report Number: OS 01-11
Date: March 7, 2011
103
From: Thomas Melymuk
Director, Office of Sustainability
Subject: Sustainable Pickering
- 2010 Update and 2011 Work Program
- File: D-1000-003
Recommendation:
1. That Report OS 01-11 providing an update on the 2010 Sustainable Pickering
accomplishments and proposed 2011 work plan be received for information.
Executive Summary: This Report provides an. update on the work undertaken in 2010
on the City's Sustainable Pickering program and outlines the 2011 work plan for this
initiative. An important step in the Sustainable Pickering journey was taken in 2010 with
the release of the City's first Measuring Sustainability Report and the completion of a
number of other projects and events.
The 2011 work plan was developed in discussion with the Sustainable Pickering
Advisory Committee. An immediate priority is the completion of the Seaton
Development Design and Sustainability Guidelines. Also included in the work plan is
the production of the second version of the Measuring Sustainability Report, the release
and roll-out of the City's Sustainable Placemaking program and a continued expansion
of our Sustainable Pickering community engagement program. As in previous years,
the City will once again be holding a Sustainable Pickering Day in association with the
Pickering Town Centre, and participating in a number of events and programs
throughout the year, including the GTA Clean Air Partnership's Smog Summit and
Pollution Probe's Clean Air Commute.
Financial Implications: Funding approval for the 2011 Sustainable Pickering Program
will be established through the 2011 City Budget. The 2011 request remains the same
as what has been approved by Council in previous years. Total requested funding is
$70,000, which includes $10,000 from our 2011 Sustainable Pickering community
contribution program (which money will not be spent unless the contributions are
raised), $5,000 from our continued studies reserve fund, and $5,000 from our 2010
community contributions.
I
Report OS 01-11 March 7, 2011
Subject: Sustainable Pickering 2010 Update and 2011 Work Program Page 2
Sustainability Implications: Sustainable Pickering is the overall corporate program
that coordinates, leads and measures the City's sustainability journey. The program
involves and affects all municipal departments and engages numerous outside groups,
businesses, organizations and individuals.
Background: Since its inception in 2005, the City's Sustainable Pickering program has
evolved to become one of the leading municipal sustainability programs in Ontario and
Canada.
With the support and assistance of the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee, a
number of important initiatives were completed in 2010, and significant new strides are
planned in 2011 that-will continue the City's progress on our Sustainable Pickering
journey.
2010 Accomplishments
Below are some of the key 2010 accomplishments of the Sustainable Pickering
program. The work could not have been completed without the advice and assistance
of the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee, whose members in 2010 were
Councillor Doug Dickerson (chair), Councillor Jennifer O'Connell (Vice-Chair),
Councillor David Pickles and Mayor Dave Ryan.
• The City's first Measuring Sustainability Report was released in June 2010. It
outlines a framework for measuring our progress toward becoming a more
sustainable city and provides baseline data for a number of the City's key
indicators of sustainability (baseline data for the remaining indicators will be
measured in 2011). This Report marked a significant step in our Sustainable
Pickering journey and was the result of significant community consultation over
the past few years.
• Initial work in 2010 was done on developing the City's "Sustainable Placemaking"
framework. This initiative represents another important step in the City's
Sustainable Pickering journey and is one of the five corporate priorities identified
by the City. The framework will be finalized and rolled-out in 2011.
• A Report to Council was prepared in 2010 providing an update on the City's
progress toward meeting its 2016 corporate greenhouse gas emission targets
established by Council through the City's Partners for Climate Protection
program.
• In response to increasing inquiries by Pickering businesses and residents for
information on the Ontario Power Authority's Feed-In Tariff, the Office of
Sustainability prepared two online resource guides. One of the guides dealt with
the FIT program, targeted at large scale renewable energy installations (10kW or
larger), the other with the microFIT program for installations smaller than 5kW.
Report OS 01-11 March 7, 2011
Subject: Sustainable Pickering 2010 Update and 2011 Work Program Page 3
• On-going updates and refinements were made to the Sustainable Pickering
website throughout the year, including the addition of the Measuring
Sustainability Report as well as the FIT and microFIT resource guides, and
significant updates to the "My Challenge" section and the Sustainable Pickering
calculators (Electricity Use, Water Use, and Vehicle Idling). As well, a mobi
domain was added to better serve the growing population of smart phone users
accessing the site. The Sustainable Pickering website receives a monthly
average of 1600 visitors from within Pickering, Canada and internationally.
• On March 27, 2010 (Earth Hour Day), the City hosted the 5t" Annual Sustainable
Pickering Day in association with Pickering Town Centre. The event provided an
opportunity for the City and its partners to interact with members of the
community and promote energy conservation programs. At that event, people
were encouraged to "Take the Pledge" and participate in Earth Hour. A total of
422 people registered to do this, and of these, 162 provided their e-mail address
and were added to the Sustainable Pickering e-mailing list.
On-going progress was also made in 2010 to promote the Sustainable Pickering
program through displays, advertisements, email postcard blasts, and articles.
Existing partnerships were enhanced and new partnerships fostered. In 2010,
the Sustainable Pickering training presentation for new staff was updated to take
into consideration feedback from past participants and to add information on the
Measuring Sustainability Report.
• As in previous years, Sustainable Pickering community contribution packages
were distributed to a number of local businesses.' A total of $10,000 in
contributions was received in 2010 to help fund existing and future Sustainable
Pickering programs and events.
• Staff gave presentations on the Sustainable Pickering program and the.
Measuring Sustainability Report in a number of forums, including the OCETA
2010 Climate Change Conference the Durham Region Round Table on Climate
Change, and the GTA Clean Air Partnership.
• In June, the Director, Office of Sustainability agreed to join a national Advisory
Committee on Sustainable Cities as part of a strategic review being conducted by
the Research Chair in Sustainable Community Development at Royal Roads
University in British Columbia.
Report OS 01-11 March 7, 2011
Subject: Sustainable Pickering 2010 Update and 2011 Work Program Page 4
• Throughout 2010, staff of the Office of Sustainability participated in a number of
community sustainability events, including:
o coordinated the City's involvement and community participation in Earth Hour
Day (March 27) and offered an "earth hour cake" as an incentive to staff
o assisted with and participated in the GTA Smog Summit (June 2)
o participated in Pollution Probe's Clean Air Commute (June 14-18)
o coordinated staff and community participation in the Ontario Power Authority's
Power Pledge Community Challenge Day (August 11); Pickering placed 8th
out of 28 participating Ontario municipalities with populations greater than
75,000 based on participation per capita
• In 2010, Pickering enrolled in Durham Sustain Ability's Eco-Business Program
and became a member of the Global Cities Indicator Facility Project, an initiative
of the University of Toronto that provides an established set of city indicators with
a globally standardized methodology, allowing for global comparability of city
performance and knowledge sharing
2011 Sustainable Pickering Work Plan
The proposed 2011 Sustainable Pickering work plan has been designed to take the City
to the next level on our Sustainable Pickering journey. The 2011 work plan has been
developed in consultation with the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee, and will
focus on the following important initiatives:
1. Prepare Sustainable Development Guidelines for Seaton
• the Minutes of Settlement for the Seaton Community call for endorsement by
Council of Development Design and Sustainability Guidelines
• the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainable Pickering Advisory
Committee will work closely with the City's planning team on finalizing these
Guidelines for recommendation to Council by May 1, 2011
2. Produce a second version of the Measuring Sustainability Report
• collect and update baseline indicator data to enhance work done in 2010
• refine and initiate a community sustainability survey
• produce and promote version two of the Measuring Sustainability Report
3. Continue work on Sustainable Placemaking
• finalize the Sustainable Placemaking framework (both the "Building a
Sustainable City" and "Living and Working in a Sustainable City" components)
• roll-out the "Building a Sustainable City" component to staff as well as the
local building and development community
Report OS 01-11 March 7, 2011
Subject: Sustainable Pickering 2010 Update and 2011 Work Program Page 5
4. Enhance and expand the Sustainable Pickering community engagement
programs
• refine and reorganize information on the Sustainable Pickering website to
ensure user-friendliness and compatibility with smart phone and other
electronic devices used for web access
• enhance promotion of the Sustainable Pickering Challenge
• enhance engagement efforts through the use of regular communique
correspondence with the Sustainable Pickering e-mail distribution list and
other means
• expand the Sustainable Pickering Ambassador Program
• explore and implement where appropriate, the use of social marketing and
networking tools such as RSS Feed, Twitter, Blog, etc.
5. Continue to take. action on corporate and community energy use and
greenhouse gas emissions
• continue to implement the City's corporate GHG reduction action plan
• monitor and report on the City's progress on reducing community GHG
emissions and prepare a community GHG reduction action plan
• complete Milestones 4 and 5 of FCM's Partners for Climate Protection
program
6. Plan and implement Sustainable Pickering's Earth Hour Celebration
• Sustainable Pickering Day will again be held in conjunction with Earth Hour
Day, on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Pickering Town Centre
7. Continue participation in sustainability events and programs and increase
opportunities for professional staff development
• 2011 events will include: Smart Commute's Carpool Week, GTA Clean Air
Partnership's Smog Summit, Pollution Probe's Clean Air Commute, Ontario
Power Authority's Energy Conservation Week
• 2011 programs will include: Global City Indicators Facility, Town Hall
Challenge (TRCA), and continued involvement on the national Advisory
Committee on Sustainable Cities
• planned professional development activities in 2011 include: 4-day Municipal
Climate Change Adaptation Training and Social Media Training
• 2011 Sustainable Pickering presentations (to date) will include the OCETA
Forum on Growing a Green Durham- Sustainability for Business, Homes,
and Schools on March 23, 2011
8. Promote and expand the Sustainable Pickering community contribution
program
• the 2011 community contribution program is targeted to meet and possibly
exceed the $10,000 raised in community contributions in 2010
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