Back to SearchThe City of Kitchener has closed out the current phase of its Corporate Climate Action Plan, exceeded its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals, and has been recognized for reaching the fifth and final milestone of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. PCP is a network of Canadian municipalities that have committed to reduce GHG emissions and protect the climate.
During the Monday, March 7 meeting of the City’s Community and Infrastructure Services Committee, staff reported on the completion of the Corporate Climate Action Plan, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by City operations. The City exceeded its emissions reduction goals, reducing GHG emissions by 20 per cent compared to 2016 levels. The next step for the City of Kitchener is to incorporate the new Transform Waterloo Region community climate action plan into its operations, which aims for a minimum 80 per cent reduction of carbon emissions from 2010 levels by 2050, with an interim goal of 50 per cent reduction by 2030 per person in our community.
“I’m extremely proud of the efforts by City Council and staff over numerous years to attain the fifth and final level of the Partners for Climate Action program by both exceeding our emission goals and doing so quicker than expected,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “Our early completion of this goal recognizes our community’s desire to be ambitious when it comes to climate action and that Council and staff are fully committed to meaningfully pursue our new shared objectives within the Transform Waterloo Region plan.”
As a member of the PCP program, the City of Kitchener is among over 450 municipal governments across Canada taking a leadership role and making a significant contribution to reducing Canada’s overall GHG emissions. In 2018, PCP member municipalities voluntarily reported over 160 projects to reduce GHG emissions. These projects represent over 720,000 tonnes in annual GHG reductions — equivalent to taking over 150,000 passenger vehicles off the road for a year.
Along with reducing the impacts of climate change, municipalities saw other community benefits and savings, including $2.88 million in annual cost savings generated by reducing emissions from streetlights and municipally owned vehicles and buildings. In Kitchener, the conversion of streetlights to LEDs in 2017 has led to a 69 per cent decrease in streetlighting GHGs.
The City was recognized during the committee meeting by representatives of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and ICLEI Canada, who manage the PCP program. They congratulated council on completing the corporate milestones. After presenting details on the completed Corporate Climate Action Plan, both staff and council emphasized that this is simply the latest milestone on a long journey towards our longer-term climate action goals.
“I’m pleased to see that we’ve exceeded our internal goals, but the real work is only just beginning,” said Ward 9 Councillor Debbie Chapman. “Our goal as a community is a 50 per cent reduction in GHGs per person by 2030, which will require us to rethink our daily operations and continually challenge the status quo. I’m excited to continue working with all of our community partners to build on this momentum.”
The City of Kitchener had committed to complete the Corporate Climate Action Plan as one of the ways it would demonstrate Environmental Leadership in its 2019-2022 Strategic Plan. More information about the City’s efforts on climate action can be found at kitchener.ca/sustainability.
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About the PCP program
The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program is managed and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI Canada).
Since 1994, PCP has provided municipalities of all sizes with the tools, resources and guidance they need to progress through a five-milestone process to lower GHG emissions and reduce the impacts of climate change. The five milestones are:
Milestone 1 — Create a baseline emissions inventory and forecast
Milestone 2 — Set emissions reduction targets
Milestone 3 — Develop a local action plan
Milestone 4 — Implement the local action plan
Milestone 5 — Monitor progress and report results
There are PCP members in all provinces and territories, and member municipalities represent more than 70 per cent of the Canadian population. PCP receives financial support from the Government of Canada and ICLEI Canada.
For more information
Partners for Climate Protection: https://www.pcp-ppc.ca
Federation of Canadian Municipalities: https://fcm.ca
ICLEI Canada: http://www.icleicanada.org
For more information, contact:
Shawn Falcao
Manager, Corporate Communication
City of Kitchener
shawn.falcao@kitchener.ca
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