FCMs Centre for Sustainable Community Development

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FCMsCentre for Sustainable Community
Development

• SmartGuelph
• Expanding Perspectives on City Growth Solutions
• Louise Comeau
• Director
• Centre for Sustainable Community Development
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities
• October 17, 2002

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Federation of Canadian Municipalities

• National voice of municipal governments since
  1901
• FCM is dedicated to improving the quality of life
  in all communities by promoting strong, effective
  and accountable municipal government
• Focus federal advocacy on economic,
  environmental and social policies that affect
  municipal government
• Growing capacity to provide services to municipal
  governments Centre for Sustainable Community
  Development key to this service delivery

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The Centre for Sustainable Community Development
OUR VISION FCMs Centre for Sustainable
Community Development envisions a future where
Canadian communities provide a high quality of
life while imposing a small ecological footprint.
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What is a Sustainable Community?

• A sustainable community makes the most efficient
  use of resources while generating the least
  amount of waste and providing high quality
  services to all its residents.

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Program Services Tools

• Financial Services
• Green Municipal Funds
• Affordability and Choice Today (ACT)
• Capacity Building
• Partners for Climate Protection (PCP)
• FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Awards
• Community Energy Mission
• Tools
• Sustainable Communities Knowledge
  Networkhttp//kn.fcm.ca
• Environmental Management System (EMS)
• for small communities

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Publications

• Green Municipalities A Guide to Green
  Infrastructure for Canadian Municipalities
• FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Awards Best
  Practices Guide 2001 edition 2002 edition
• Guide to Sustainable Asset Management
• Sustainable Communities Guide to Municipal
  Building Retrofits
• Citizen Participation and Community Engagement in
  the Local Action Plan Process A Guide for
  Municipalities
• FORUM magazine
• Sustainable Communities Newsletter

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Green Infrastructure our focus
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Example Integrated Stormwater Systems
Source Green Municipalities A Guide to Green
Canadian Municipalities Prepared for FCM by The
Sheltair Group
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Getting there from here

• Behaviour change the goal
• Targeted approaches minimizing perceptions of
  risk
• Securing commitment
• Peer teaching
• Customer service through trust building and
  relationships
• Support of champions
• Networking
• Show me the money

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Some shining examples

• Partners for Climate Protection almost 100
  communities focused on GHG reductions in
  operations and community
• 67 developing GHG inventories
• About a dozen have corporate GHG plans
• Half a dozen have community GHG plans
• Sudbury and Edmonton stand out

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Some shining examples

• Whistler. Its Our Nature stems from a community
  visioning exercise that began in 1997
• Builds on an international framework called The
  Natural Step
• Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has begun
  to engage its entire community from residents
  and schools to businesses and municipal
  government in working toward environmentally
  sustainable practices.
• Already created an award-winning
  pedestrian-oriented village, completed a bicycle
  master plan that focuses on commuter
  transportation, and established the Environmental
  Legacy Fund, which is financed through excess
  landfill tipping fees.

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Some shining examples

• GVRD Century Urban Systems Plan (CUSP) supports
  regional growth management
• The Canadian entry to 22nd World Gas Conference
  in Tokyo in 2003
• Will deliver
• flow diagrams for energy, water, and materials
  flow within the GVRD
• Scenarios that evolve to a 100-year sustainable
  system

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Sound too good to be true?

• Thats because it is!! Barriers abound. Dont
  discount how hard it is to change.
• Risk issues perceived and real liability
• East Clayton in Surrey, B.C. sustainable design
  with full traditional infrastructure back up
  because of liability double the work, double the
  cost
• Customer choice higher density, ratepayers
  scream OMB will turn you down Hamilton
• Full-cost pricing lifecycle accounting over my
  dead body - water systems key example
• Restrict parking supply take transit youve
  got to be kidding!

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Ideas and strategies

• Engage the community early like Guelph has done
• Use visualizing tools like Quest to see long-term
  impact of todays decisions
• Set stretch targets, focus pollution prevention
• Use indicators
• Set goals that can be achieved within lifetime of
  Council
• Support Council on hard decisions
• Make attainment of goals part of Chief
  Administrative Officers evaluation
• Require annual reporting to Council

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Ideas and Strategies

• Establish Sustainability Advocate on Council
• Form staff/council committee to monitor
  implementation
• Establish a Community Advisory Committee to
  Council
• Host annual community events to celebrate
  progress/successes
• Seek national recognition Apply to FCM-CH2M
  HILL Sustainable Community Awards
• Apply to Green Municipal Funds
• Be one of Canadas first applicants to the
  Sustainable Communities Demonstration Program

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QUESTIONS?