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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOS 02-12 Report to Executive Committee PIC ERING Report Number: OS 02-12 Date: February 13, 2012 01 From: Thomas Melymuk Director, Office of Sustainability Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program - 2011 Year-end Summary and 2012 Work Plan - File: D-1000-003 Recommendation: 1. That Council receive for information Report OS 02-12 respecting the 2011 year- end summary and 2012 work plan for the Sustainable Pickering Program. Executive Summary: This Report provides a summary of the actions and accomplishments undertaken through the City's 2011 Sustainable Pickering Program and information on the 2012 work plan. A significant amount of work in 2011 was devoted to the completion of the City's second Measuring Sustainability Report that establishes a baseline measurement for 55 indicators of sustainability. The Report will be distributed in February, 2012 both as a hard copy and a user-friendly web-based version. The 2012 work plan was developed in consultation with the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee. The work plan includes a number of priority projects including the development of a corporate sustainability policy and the completion of Milestones 4 and 5 of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection Program. Community and corporate engagement will continue to be expanded in 2012 through existing and new initiatives including Sustainable Pickering Day and Smart Commute events, and a Neighbourhood Sustainability Challenge. Financial Implications: Annual funding approval for the City's Sustainable Pickering Program is established through the Council's budget process. The 2012 funding request for consulting and related services for Sustainable Pickering is $58,475 which includes $8,475 from the City's continued studies reserve (to complete studies that were started and budgeted for in 2011) and $10,000 through our 2012 Sustainable Pickering community contribution program. The remaining amount ($40,000) would be funded through property taxes. This amount is a 20% reduction relative to 2011. Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 2 0 In addition, the City has been asked by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to coordinate a technical assessment on the potential use of compact thermal energy storage technologies for space heating in Canadian buildings. This $35,000 research project will be 100% funded by NRCan and completed in early 2012. Discussion 1. Significant work was completed in 2011 on the City's Measuring Sustainability Report, providing valuable baseline information for tracking Pickering's progress towards becoming a more sustainable city. In June 2010, the City completed its first Measuring Sustainability Report providing baseline information on just over half of the 32 indicators of sustainability that had been identified through a community consultation process. Certain indicators could not be reported on at that time because of data limitations and/or the need for additional information or analysis. In 2011, staff and the Advisory Committee initiated a detailed technical review and analysis of the original indicators, and completed a community sustainability survey. As a result of this work, the list of sustainability measures was clarified and enhanced, and data was collected on a total of 55 indicators of sustainability. This information was compiled into version two of the City's Measuring Sustainability Report that will be released in February 2012 both as a hard copy, and a highly readable, user-friendly web- based version. The release of version two of our Measuring Sustainability Report marks a significant accomplishment in our Sustainable Pickering journey. Having reliable data on 55 indicators of sustainability gives us an excellent baseline from which to openly and n ble cit explicitly measure Pickering 's progress towards becoming a more _sustai a y. The intention is to update the Report approximately every two years. 2. The City completed and participated in a number of important corporate and community sustainability programs, initiatives and events in 2011. a. Sustainable Pickering Day The City in partnership with the Pickering Town Centre (PTC) hosted the 6t" annual Sustainable Pickering Day event on March 26, to coincide with the 2011 Earth Hour event. Attendees participated in a variety of family activities, took home tree seedlings for pledging to partake in Earth Hour, learned about energy conservation, and had a chance to win PTC gift cards. The event was an excellent opportunity for the City and our partners to educate and interact with hundreds of individuals from the area. There was good interest and participation in the event (similar to previous years) and approximately 250 seedlings were distributed. CORP0227-07/01 revised Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 3 03) b. Smart Commute Durham In 2011, the City received an honourable mention from Smart Commute Durham for its participation in this program. Throughout the year, staff organized and participated in a number of Smart Commute events, including Bike to Work Day, Clean Air Commute Week, Smart Commute Week, Presto Giveaway, Gimme 5, and a lunch 'n learn/expo for Carpool Zone. In addition to these events, the City enhanced its Carpool Zone program by providing for an emergency ride home, updated the City's intranet with information on the Smart Commute program, and provided additional resources for those who bike to work (e.g. bike rack at City Hall). c. Community engagement programs Throughout the year staff used opportunities to engage the local community in our Sustainable Pickering program through events such as the Devi Mandir green lighting celebration and the construction and opening of a passive solar straw bale house on Sideline 4 in Pickering. Awareness about the program was also raised within the community through regular emails sent to approximately 500 contacts on our Sustainable Pickering a-list. Also, as in previous years, the Office and the Advisory Committee distributed a number of Sustainable Pickering contribution packages to local businesses. In 2011, a total of $12,000 was received in contributions to help fund existing and future programs. Although, traditional tools such as email blasts, news releases, posters, and newsletters were used throughout the year, the use of social media is becoming an increasingly important way of communicating information on Sustainable Pickering. To this end, staff has undertaken social media training in 2011 to explore options and determine which social media tools would be most appropriate to integrate into the program. Over the course of the year, Office of Sustainability staff also actively participated on a number of internal staff teams that are examining ways of enhancing the City's communication and engagement efforts, including an E-Services Team, a Community Engagement Core Team, and a Corporate Communications Team. In 2011, the Sustainable Pickering program was presented to a gathering. of sustainability practitioners and leaders at an OCETA Forum on Growing a Green Durham - Sustainability for Business, Home and Schools. CORP0227-07/01 revised Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 4 04 d. Corporate engagement initiatives The Office of Sustainability continues to engage and promote the City's sustainability efforts across the corporation through various programs and events (Sustainable Pickering Day, Durham Smart Commute, etc.) as well as through sustainability training for all new staff hires and the on-going staff involvement in the development of the City's Sustainable Place-making framework. The Office also commissioned a third-party analysis to consider and report on the perceived barriers and motivators for staff engagement in sustainability. The results of this analysis will be used to help determine and structure future corporate engagement initiatives. e. External partnerships The Office of Sustainability actively participated on a number of external working groups and committees in 2011 including the Durham Environmental Coordinating Committee, the GTA Clean Air Council, the National Advisory Committee on Sustainable Cities (facilitated by Royal Roads University, BC), and the Global City Indicators Facility Project (facilitated by the University of Toronto). Participation in these partnerships allow staff to share their expertise with colleagues within the region and across the country and to learn from the experiences of others working in the field of sustainability. In 2011, Pickering was selected by an internationally respected sustainability organization (The Natural Step) as one of eleven municipalities to participate in a national study called Embedding Sustainability into the Culture of Municipal Government. The study involved an assessment of the work being done by the selected municipalities on corporate sustainability engagement, and testing this work against an engagement model developed by The Natural Step. A number of Sustainable Pickering initiatives were included in the final report as examples of corporate best practices. 3. Innovative work on the City's Sustainable Place-making framework was undertaken in 2011, and the six disciplines identified as being integral to Building a Sustainable City were further researched and described. Sustainable Place-making is one of the City's 5 corporate priorities. In 2011 innovative work was done on establishing a clear and workable framework for this priority. The framework involved two interrelated components: (i) Building a Sustainable City, and (ii) Living and Working in a Sustainable City CORP0227-07/01 revised Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 5 05 Significant work was completed in 2011 on identifying the various technical disciplines that need to be considered and integrated in building a sustainable city. Six disciplines were identified, and will be described and illustrated in an up-coming information piece that will be used for staff training in 2012. The six technical disciplines that are included in the framework are: land use planning, transportation planning, urban design, environmental management, infrastructure engineering, and energy management. The City's sustainable place-making priority was also embedded in a Request for Proposal (RFP) that was prepared for Pickering's Downtown Intensification Program. The RFP was issued in October 2011 and the successful consulting team (Urban Strategies) was hired in December. With the assistance of the Office of Sustainability and the Advisory Committee, Urban Strategies will prepare Sustainable Place-making Guidelines for Downtown Pickering for Council's consideration in 2012. 4. Energy management continued to bean important interest in 2011. In 2007, the City completed the first three of five milestones of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. In 2011, this Office retained Durham Sustain Ability to provide an update on Pickering's corporate greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, and consider barriers that may exist to implementing the City's greenhouse gas action plan and reaching our greenhouse gas emission targets. Durham Sustain Ability's work provides a foundation for refining the City's action plan and completing milestones 4 and 5 of the PCP program (for corporate emissions). In 2011, the City participated in a national Town Hall Challenge for energy and water conservation. Pickering received a lot of positive media coverage as a result of this participation when City Hall was ranked third out of sixty Canadian municipalities for energy and water use. Over the past few years, the City has implemented a series of measures to reduce water and energy use at City Hall including energy-efficient lighting, upgrading HVAC systems, and switching to an automated chilled water system. These and other efforts have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 500 tonnes annually. 5. The work plan for 2012 includes a number of new initiatives that will further enhance the profile and significance of the Sustainable Pickering program. The Office of Sustainable and the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee have a number of important initiatives planned for 2012. Some of the key initiatives are outlined below. CORP0227-07/01 revised Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 6 0 a. Enhancing opportunities for community and corporate engagement in the Sustainable Pickering program, including: • Developing and launching a Sustainable Neighbourhood Challenge • Holding the 7th Annual Sustainable Pickering Day with a focus in 2012 on local food. • Encouraging, increased staff involvement in Smart Commute Durham including Carpool Week, Bike to Work Day, Clean Air Commute, and Smart Commute Week. • Enhancing external partnerships with the Durham Environmental Coordinating Committee, GTA Clean Air Council, National Advisory Committee on Sustainable Cities, and the Global City Indicators Facility Project. • Enhancing our use of social, media (facebook, Twitter, etc.) and exploring new community engagement tools for the Sustainable Pickering program. • Creative marketing of the second Measuring Sustainability Report b. Development of a Corporate Sustainability Policy A staff team will be struck to help draft a corporate sustainability policy that will relate to various elements of the City's sustainability program including vehicle idling, energy use, waste management, etc. c. Completion of Milestones 4 & 5 of the Partners for Climate Protection Program A report will be completed and submitted to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities outlining the City's efforts toward achieving milestone 4 & 5 of the Partners for Climate Protection program with respect to corporate greenhouse gas emissions. d. Continued work on the. City's Sustainable Place-making framework An information piece will be completed on Building a Sustainable City, and additional work will be undertaken on Living and Working in a Sustainable City. In association with Urban Strategies and others, Sustainable Place-making Guidelines for Downtown Pickering will be prepared. e. Completion of a research project on Compact Thermal Energy Storage Technologies Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) approached the Office of Sustainability in late 2011 with a request to fund a technical assessment on compact thermal energy storage technologies and their potential integration into residential, commercial and institution buildings in Canada. The project will be 100% funded. by NRCan, and completed on the City's behalf in early 2012 by renewable energy experts at SAIC Canada with assistance from thermal energy experts from the Netherlands. CORP0227-07/01 revised Report OS 02-12 February 13, 2012 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Program Page 7 07 Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Chantal Whitaker Thomas Melyr auk, Coordinator, Sustainability Director, Office of Tustainability Doug Dickerson Deputy Mayor and Chair, Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee CW:cw Recommended for the consideration of PickerCo n it • 3 Zo l~ Tony Prevedel, P.Eng. Chief Administrative Officer CORP0227-07/01 revised