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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012
sustainable operations. These
services include a carbon
accounting and reporting tool,
and events including quarterly
Educational Forums and Techni-
cal Workshops, as well as
peer-to-peer networking events
and Member Facility Tours.
“These ongoing events provide a
local, ongoing opportunity to
inform the business community
and the general public on best
practices in improving environ-
mental sustainability and high-
light issues of environmental
importance,” says Morrice. Over
the course of three years, more
than 1,000 community members
have attended the events to learn
more about everything from
creating and sustaining success-
ful green teams to low-impact
commuting.
GROWING SUCCESS
The success of the RCI is
growing, along with Sustainable
Waterloo Region’s expertise in
GHG reporting. Being recognized
as a hub for environmental
sustainability, Sustainable Wa-
terloo Region recently co-created
a collaborative project with
another local non-prof it, REEP
Green Solutions, and the Region
of Waterloo, called The Climate
Collaborative. The project aims
to develop a community-wide
greenhouse gas inventory and
reduction plan. “The Climate
Collaborative will address the
need for local, community-based
action on climate challenges
across Waterloo Region,” says
Morrice.
The project will follow the
framework provided by the
Federation of Canadian Munici-
palities’ (FCM) Partners for
Climate Protection program,
through which over 200 munici-
palities across Canada have de-
veloped or are developing GHG
action plans. Emissions from all
sources within Waterloo Region
- including residential and
commercial energy consumption,
transportation, and waste - will
be accounted for in the GHG
inventory. The inventory process
began this past fall, and the
action planning process will be-
gin in the spring. Participating
partners will work towards set-
ting reduction targets in 2013,
which will be followed by
implementation of the actions
identif ied by partners.
Sustainable Waterloo Region’s
approach is being recognized as
a model for other communities
across southwestern Ontario and
beyond. Sustainable Waterloo
Region is helping communities
including Niagara, Hamilton,
Kingston to make a similar
model work in their own
communities, and is conducting
a research project to explore how
they might standardize this
community coaching and to
develop a network of grassroots
organizations all working to
advance the environmental
sustainability of their communi-
ties. “We learned a lot the hard
way and by sharing what we
know we can help other commu-
nities make similar progress
more quickly and with fewer
snags,” says Morrice.
It’s clear we can’t rely on our
elected leaders alone to solve the
climate crisis. As Sustainable
Waterloo Region and similar
organizations have begun to
show, there is an appetite for and
willingness by communities –
businesses and residents alike -
to make their own signif icant
efforts to address the problems
of climate change. A grassroots
approach can ensure success for
both the community and the
environment.
For more information about
Sustainable Waterloo Region,
please visit their website at www.
“
We learned a lot the hard way and by
sharing what we know we can help other
communities make similar progress more
quickly and with fewer snags”
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT - SUSTAINABLE WATERLOO