A record number of entries were received this year. Entries in the Corporate Operations category included Capital Regional District, Abbotsford/Mission, Colwood, Coquitlam, Dawson Creek, Richmond, Delta, Lake Country, Saanich and Whistler. In the Community Planning and Development category, entries included Burns Lake, Colwood, Gibsons, City of North Vancouver, Prince George, Port Moody and Sparwood.
This page is under construction. Please check back to view executive summaries of all applications. A brief description of each application can be found in the attachment at the bottom of this page.
Community Planning and Development - Honourable Mention 2009
Since the City of Prince George signed on to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection, Mayor, Council and staff have been busy on many initiatives to reduce GHG and energy emissions. Aside from the important Integrated Community Sustainability Plan process, which is currently in Phase 2, the city and its partners have been involved in a very exciting Smart Growth on the Ground Project which has produced various related design and research outputs on energy including “A Preliminary Assessment of Renewable Energy Capacity in Prince George”.
In 2007, after completing an Energy and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan and signing on to the Climate Action Charter, Council adopted greenhouse gas reduction targets of 2% reduction from 2002 levels for community and 10% reduction from 2002 levels for corporate operations and met Milestone 3 by beginning its implementation of the plan. The city also prepared a unique integration report examining benefits and opportunities for integrating air quality initiatives with GHG and energy reduction initiatives.
The city’s partnership with BC Hydro in working with small and medium sized business to assess and reduce energy consumption is currently in its final stages with over 30 audits completed to date.
A recent CAEE award has allowed the city to implement a pilot incentive program to encourage new home customers to choose a Built Green certified builder and set an EnerGuide target rating for their new home. Meeting an EnerGuide rating of 82 will mean a $7,500 rebate directly to the new home owner. Also though the CAEE award, the city is working with the Northern BC Real Estate Board, with advice from Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources and BC Hydro, to pilot a home energy assessment rebate program for homes being sold through a REALTOR® in agreement for allowing energy assessment information to be posted on MLS.ca.
Transportation related initiatives include the preparation of an Active Transportation Plan, and the Prince George Transportation Model (EMME), both which are planned to be brought together to create a sustainability plan allowing the city to plan and integrate a shift in transportation patterns to the more sustainable modes. Transit initiatives include Council’s approval to provide free transit on air quality advisory days (FreeFare for Clean Air) which is a first in Canada and establishing an anti-idling policy for transit buses. Numerous improvements to transit services, including U-Pass program, have resulted in a 12.6% annual increase in transit ridership.
The wide variety of important initiatives clearly show a strong city-wide dedication and commitment lead by our Mayor and Council in reducing energy and greenhouse gases and making Prince George more sustainable.