Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOS 01-08 CLUI o~ REPORT TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Report Number: OS 01-08 1 2? Date: February 11, 2008 From: Thomas Melymuk Director, Office of Sustainability Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and 2008 Work Program Recommendations: 1. That Council receive report OS 01-08 providing an update on the Sustainable Pickering initiative and 2008 work program. 2. That Council authorize staff and the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee to continue to work on the City's Sustainable Pickering initiative as outlined in this Report, with the continued assistance in 2008 of Durham Sustain Ability. 3. That Council agree to the City's participation in "Earth Hour" on March 29, 2008 between 8:00 and 9:00 pm, and that all residents, business and institutions within the City be challenged to also participate, and furthermore, that the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee and staff be authorized to take the appropriate actions to engage the City and community in this event. Executive Summary: This report provides an update on the work undertaken to date on the City's Sustainable Pickering initiative and outlines the 2008 work program for this initiative. It also requests Council's approval to continue to use the consulting services of Durham Sustain Ability to assist in delivering the program in 2008. Financial Implications: The approved 2007 budget included a consultant allocation of up to $50,000 for the City's Sustainable Pickering program. Of this amount, approximately $8,000 was not spent because of cost efficiencies and work program refinements. This money has been transferred to the City's Continuing Studies Reserve for use in the Sustainable Pickering program in 2008. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subj1c2 ~ustainable Pickering Update and Work Program Page 2 Total funding for the 2008 Sustainable Pickering program is projected at this time to be approximately $78,000. Of this amount, $8,000 would come from the Continuing Studies Reserve fund and $20,000 is anticipated to be raised through a Sustainable Pickering sponsorship program that will be launched in 2008. Remaining funding ($50,000) will be included in the 2008 budget for Council's consideration. This amount is the same as what has been approved by Council in previous years. There would therefore be no new budget implications on the City in implementing the 2008 Sustainable Pickering work program. Sustainability Implications: Sustainable Pickering is the overall umbrella initiative that coordinates, leads and measures the City's sustainability journey. The initiative involves and affects all municipal departments and engages numerous outside groups, organizations and individuals. Through this initiative, the City is gaining a reputation as a municipal leader in sustainability both in the Province and across Canada. More importantly, tangible progress is being made in a number of the key areas of interest identified within the City's five objectives of sustainability (i.e. healthy environment, healthy society, healthy economy, responsible development and responsible consumption). Our progress will become increasingly evident in 2008 as the City moves into Phase 3 of the Sustainable Pickering journey. Background: The Sustainable Pickering journey essentially began in September 2005 after Council adopted a resolution establishing a "Benchmarking Committee" made up of municipal politicians and senior staff. That Committee was asked to establish "benchmarking standards for sustainability" for all new development in Pickering through a consultative process with broad representation from the community. Shortly after work progressed, the Committee realized that the benchmarking exercise could only be undertaken as part of a much broader City-wide "sustainability" effort. Council concurred and in November 2006 the City launched a comprehensive program that came to be known as the Sustainable Pickering journey. The journey can generally be divided into three phases. Phase One: Building Local Understanding and Capacity Phase Two: Developing a Solid Foundation and Framework Phase Three: Creating the Sustainable City The City is now entering Phase Three of the journey. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program Page 3 1 ~? C) Phase One: Buildinq Local Understandinq and Capacity At the outset of Phase One of the journey it was necessary for the Benchmarking Committee to "test the waters" and determine the extent to which the community and corporation was interested and able to engage in a comprehensive sustainability program. The results of this assessment helped provide guidance to later decisions concerning the scope, timing and direction of the program. To gauge the community's awareness and understanding of sustainability, a number of activities were undertaken in 2006 by the Benchmarking Committee in collaboration with staff, the ROC Consulting Group (now Durham Sustain Ability) and other partners. Below is a summary of significant Phase One activities: · Undertook a literature review of sustainability concepts, principles and frameworks, leading to the general acceptance by the City of the 1987 Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development1, and the creation of the "three lenses" model of sustainability. The model illustrates the need to look through each of three lenses of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) before making decisions and taking actions. Social Lens · Examined past City initiatives to identify and learn from those that were building blocks for the current sustainability program, including our 1998 Healthy Community Initiative, our 2002 membership in the GTA Clean Air Council, and our 2004 partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to assist the City in preparing Sustainable Neighbourhood Development Guidelines and complete Milestones 1-3 of FCM's Partners for Climate Protection program. · Designed and launched a special website (sustainablepickering.com) to provide information on our Sustainable Pickering journey and encourage community engagement and feedback. · Held a series of Town Hall and other meetings (e.g. Pickering youth) to determine the level of community interest in sustainability, and to discuss priorities. Associated with this activity was the launch of a Sustainable Pickering Community Ideas Challenge. 1 The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program 1 ], (\.! ,-I I Page 4 · Held the first Sustainable Pickering Day at the Pickering Town Centre shopping mall in May 2006, involving 20 exhibits, an afternoon workshop and business seminar and an evening Town Hall meeting. · Provided staff orientation and training sessions to approximately 400 City staff to introduce the Sustainable Pickering program, obtain staff input and discuss the importance for City staff to "walk the talk." Associated with this activity was the launch of a Sustainable Pickering Staff Ideas Challenge. Phase Two: Developinq a Solid Foundation and Framework By mid 2006, Council had approved a series of recommendations from the Benchmarking Committee that had the effect of establishing Sustainable Pickering as a core program within the municipality. Despite some initial uncertainty about what "sustainability" meant and where the journey was headed, by the end of Phase One it had become clear that the corporation and the community were genuinely engaged, and interested in moving forward with the journey. During Phase One, a draft "Sustainability Framework" had been developed to illustrate the potential magnitude and scope of program (shown below). The framework lists the City's five sustainability objectives and identifies priority areas of interest for each objective. The framework is a key element of the underlying foundation for the Sustainable Pickering program. OBn(1'~Vle 1 HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT . Our Air . Our Ldnd . Our WHer . Our Plants & Animals 2t HEALTHY SOCiETY . Basic Needs . [dut/lti:Jn;' Literacy . Communit,' Safety;' Prqmedne>s . Health / Well-being / Happiness . Arts! Culture / Herit~ge . Citizen PilrticiOJtion Ilnvolvement Oan(f~V! 3t HEALTHYECONOMY . Employment Opportunities -Income Levels -Innovation / Entrepreneurship . Labour Participation Rates -Business Attraction! Expansion . Agriwlture i The Rural Economy OiU!(f~VI 4~ IUSPONSIBU DEVELOPMENT . BulltJlI1gs! Structures . Transportatioll System . NelghbourtlOods . The City of Pickering Eh RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION . Energy Use . rood Consumption . Water Use . Waste Production I Oi/eIJian The next step of the journey is to develop, in consultation with the community, vMimr<; MellI nfintere<;t listed under the five objectives of Sustainable Pickering. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program Page 5 1 3 1 Following the 2006 municipal election, the Benchmarking Committee was reconstituted as the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee comprised of Councillor Dickerson (Chair), Councillor O'Connell (Vice Chair), Councillor Pickles and Mayor Ryan as an ex- officio member. The mandate of the Committee is to provide overall leadership, direction and advice to Council and staff on the Sustainable Pickering journey. Community engagement continues to play an important role in Phase Two of the Sustainable Pickering journey. Various activities and events were held in 2007 to maintain community awareness of the importance of living more sustainable lifestyles, including: · The second annual Sustainable Pickering Day again held at the Pickering Town Centre shopping mall, at which the shopping mall launched its award winning "Be Seen - Be Green" campaign. · Involvement in various partnership initiatives, including the launch by Durham Sustain Ability of "We Have The Power", first for households in Pickering and more recently for businesses in Pickering and Ajax. · On-going updates and enhancements to the Sustainable Pickering website. · Attendance at various workshops and forums, including an "Experts Forum" organized by the Town of Halton Hills, at which we were asked to share information and answer questions about our Sustainable Pickering journey. A very significant step was also taken in 2007 to further reinforce the City's commitment to Sustainability. The Chief Administrative Officer, with Council's concurrence, established an Office of Sustainability, making Pickering the first municipality in Ontario to do so. The Office resulted from an internal reorganization of the City's Corporate Projects & Policy Division and has six staff (Director, Office of Sustainability; Manager, Marketing & Business Development; Coordinator, City Development; Coordinator, Community Sustainability; Economic Development Officer; and Website Coordinator). It works in partnership with all other City Departments and various outside groups and organizations, including Durham Sustain Ability, the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade, the Durham Strategic Energy Alliance and others. In addition, a number of important projects related to the City's sustainability initiative were completed in 2007. These projects further strengthen the foundation upon which the Sustainable Pickering journey is based: · The City received confirmation from FCM in March 2007 that it has successfully completed Milestone 1, 2 and 3 of its Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. This makes Pickering one of a small number of Ontario municipalities to have Council-approved greenhouse gas reduction targets (i.e. a 35% per capita reduction for the community greenhouse gas emissions, and a 50% per capita reduction for corporate emissions by 2016). The City is now in a position to begin the final two Milestones of the PCP program, the implementation and monitoring our progress toward achieving our greenhouse gas reduction targets. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program " 7..') , I , Page 6 · In June 2007, Council endorsed two noteworthy sustainable development documents: (i) Sustainable Neighbourhood Development Guidelines that provide comprehensive sustainability standards and targets for new development in Pickering, and (ii) a draft Scorecard for Neighbourhood Sustainability that provides a basis for measuring sustainability in existing neighbourhoods. These two documents were prepared by the Planning & Development Department in association with Dillon Consulting and the Office of Sustainability, with funding assistance from FCM. The documents are currently available for discussion purposes and will be used as input to future work, including the official plan review and the neighbourhood planning program for Seaton. · The City completed an energy efficiency re-Iamping of City Hall in 2007 that is expected to save almost $70,000 per year in energy costs, and over 400 tonnes per year in greenhouse gas emissions. Another project critical to the success of the Sustainable Pickering journey was initiated in 2007. Through this project, called "Measuring Sustainability" the City will establish key indicators and targets of sustainability. Our progress with respect to these indicators and targets will be measured, analyzed and reported to Council and the community. To date, a series of multi-stakeholder Working Group meetings have been held to identify priority indicators. The work is currently being reviewed and will be finalized with input from the community in 2008. Technical and professional assistance on the Measuring Sustainability project is being provided by Durham Sustain Ability, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto. Phase Three: Creatinq the Sustainable City As Phase Two nears completion, the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee and the Office of Sustainability have developed an engaging work program for Phase Three of the Sustainable Pickering journey. Phase Three is centred around a unique program called the "Sustainable Pickering Challenge." The Challenge is intended to be a high-profile, community-wide challenge that will propel the City forward in our journey to becoming one of the most sustainable municipalities in Ontario and Canada - a challenge that will positively impact everyone that lives, works, plays and invests in Pickering. The Sustainable Pickering Challenge is a multi-year program with a simple but ambitious goal - to transform Pickering from a suburban community to a sustainable City. Through the Challenge we hope to inspire residents to live more sustainable lifestyles, persuade developers to build more sustainable communities, and encourage businesses to adopt a triple bottom-line perspective. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program Page 7 1 7 ( ,J The Sustainable Pickering Challenge will focus on four broad initiatives in 2008: A Community Cha"en~e (Engaging our Residents and Businesses) The Community Challenge will be a proactive challenge that actively seeks out, solicits and engages community sustainability leaders from our schools, businesses, resident groups and others to "Take the Challenge" and recruit and encourage others within their respective groups to also participate. Promotional materials and training kits will be prepared and meetings with our community sustainability leaders will be held. This Challenge will be lead by the Coordinator, Community Sustainability with the assistance of the Economic Development Officer, Manager, Marketing & Business Development and Durham Sustain Ability. Information on the Community Challenge will be provided through various means including the Sustainable Pickering website, our third annual Sustainable Pickering Day, Town Hall meetings, public workshops, documentary screenings, Communities in Bloom and other opportunities and events as they arise. In addition, partnerships with others engaged in community outreach programs will be incorporated into the Challenge, such as the very successful partnership that the City has established with Durham Sustain Ability on the "We Have The Power" program, which has now been extended to the business community. A Development Cha"en~e (Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods) The Development Challenge will be implemented for Pickering's builders and land developers. The objective of the Challenge is to create neighbourhoods and buildings that are significantly more sustainable than those currently being built. All City departments (and Council) will be involved in this Challenge. The City's Sustainable Development Guidelines and draft Scorecard for Neighbourhood Sustainability will provide valuable direction and guidance to this Development Challenge, as will on-going work being undertaken by the City in Downtown Pickering, Duffin Heights and Seaton. Noteworthy infill projects in South Pickering will also be highlighted and promoted as good examples of sustainable development, such as the Indopak project proposed for Fairport Road and Kingston Road, and the Coughlan Homes "Energy Star" project under development at Brock Road and Finch Avenue. A Corporate Cha"en~e (Leading by Example) The Corporate Challenge provides an opportunity for the City to lead by example. It is of critical importance that the City continues to show real progress in our Sustainable Pickering journey through specific, measurable corporate activities and projects. In this regard, as mentioned earlier, the Measuring Sustainability project will be finalized in 2008 and be used to measure the City's progress on our Sustainable Pickering journey. There will also be an opportunity for Council to "-"""',-~-...._- Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program 1 "\ 4 1 ~, Page 8 consider a number of corporate "sustainability" projects during the 2008 budget process, including hybrid vehicle purchases, "green" facility expansions and energy efficiency retrofits. In addition, staff education and training on sustainability will continue in 2008, including advanced sustainability training in adaptive management practices, and integrative thinking. An Outreach Pro~ram (Teaching and Learning) The objective of the Outreach Program is to actively seek out and engage outside groups and organizations interested in sustainability, in order to share information, advance understanding, and where appropriate establish partnerships. The Outreach Program will help ensure the City remains current in its knowledge, understanding and approaches to sustainability, and will help maintain and promote the City's emerging image as an innovative leader in this field. The Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee plays an important role in the Outreach Program. The Committee regularly schedules knowledgeable experts to Advisory Committee meetings to present information of interest and value. Recent presentations have been given by Enbridge Gas on natural gas vehicles, the Green Municipal Corporation on Carbon Offset Credits, and the Power Application Group on community energy management. The practice of inviting experts to speak to future Advisory Committee meetings will continue in 2008. Seminars, workshops and conferences are also very valuable component of the Outreach Program. In 2007 at the invitation of FCM, Pickering participated in an Energy Mission to Alberta. For 2008, the City has been invited to give a formal presentation of its Sustainable Pickering program at two major Canadian sustainability conferences: FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference and Trade Show in Ottawa (February 14-16), and the Energy Matters Summit in Mississauga (April 1-2). The City has also been invited to submit a proposal to present its Sustainable Neighbourhood Planning work this July at the Canadian Institute of Planners National Conference in Winnipeg. The Outreach Program also involves working with our local businesses, schools and educational institutions. In this regard, the Ontario Power Generation has expressed an interest in working with the City in 2008 on the Sustainable Pickering Challenge. Interest in Sustainable Pickering has also been expressed by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the University of Toronto. As well, the Office of Sustainability has been contacted by Dunbarton High School and has agreed to take on a placement student to work part-time with the City on our sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Report OS 01-08 Date: February 11, 2008 Subject: Sustainable Pickering Update and Work Program Page 9 Conclusion "1 7.. L. I ,.1 The City has made excellent progress with its Sustainable Pickering journey over a relatively short period of time. Awareness, understanding and capacity is increasing and a strong foundation has been built. The time is right to move into high gear and launch in 2008 the Sustainable Pickering Challenge as outlined in this Report. An opportunity exists for the City to promote the 2008 Sustainable Pickering Challenge by participating in "Earth Hour", an international event that will take place on Saturday, March 29 between 8:00 and 9:00 pm. The campaign began last year in Sydney Australia, and is spreading to cities across the world, including the GTA (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham and other GTA municipalities have expressed interest in participating). It is intended to draw attention to climate change and involves the simple action of turning off lights for one hour in order to deliver a powerful message about the need to take action on global warming. Should Council concur, the City would participate in Earth Hour by turning off non- essential lighting in municipal buildings where feasible, promoting the event as part of the Sustainable Pickering Challenge, and encouraging the participation of all residents, businesses and institutions in Pickering. Prepared By: Approved I Endorsed By: Shawna Mutton Coordinator, Community Sustainability Thomas Mel mu Director, Office Approved I Endorsed By: Copy: Chief Administrative Officer () d ~~.A'>e7(f/n Doug Dickerson City Councillor, Ward 2 Chair, Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee Recommended for the consideration of Pickering Gity/ Cou. ;/ ;;