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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - JANUARY 2012
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 environmen-
tal sustainability and highlight
issues of environmental impor-
tance,” saysMorrice. 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 successful 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, Sus-
tainable Waterloo Region recently
co-created a collaborative project
with another local non-profit, REEP
Green Solutions, and the Region of
Waterloo, called The Climate Collab-
orative. 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 Federa-
tion of Canadian Municipalities’
(FCM) Partners for Climate
Protection program, through which
over 200 municipalities across
Canada have developed or are
developing GHG action plans.
Emissions from all sources within
Waterloo Region - including residen-
tial and commercial energy con-
sumption, transportation, and waste
- will be accounted for in the GHG
inventory. The inventory process
began this past fall, and the action
planning process will begin in the
spring. Participating partners will
work towards setting reduction
targets in 2013, which will be
followed by implementation of the
actions identified 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 conduct-
ing a research project to explore how
they might standardize this
community coaching and to develop
a network of grassroots organiza-
tions all working to advance the
environmental sustainability of their
communities.“We learned a lot the
hard way and by sharing what we
know wecan help other communi-
ties 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 significant 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
“
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