3.2.1 Environmental Action Programs & Reporting Environmental Services

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1 HOW DOES THIS SERVICE CONTRIBUTE TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE CITY OF LONDON? The desired population results in the City of London s Strategic Plan: A Strong Economy, A Vibrant and Diverse Community, A Green and Growing City, A Reliable Infrastructure, A Caring Community We provide many services to about 165,000 households (single family and multi-family homes) and over 360,000 people in London. Many services are extended to the business sector. This business area s key focus is on Environmental leadership and being the central area for promoting a Green and Growing City with respect to the built environment, coordination with others and being easily accessible by the citizens and businesses of London. Environmental Programs applies practical municipal and private sector experience with a focus on air quality, climate change, energy conservation, active transportation, transportation demand management, urban watershed management, natural landscaping, community capacity building and community outreach. City staff and our contractors are driven by our mission At Your Service: A respected and inspired public service partner. Our programs, projects, people and partnerships are designed to make specific contributions to: A Strong Economy, A Green and Growing City, A Reliable Infrastructure. BASIC FACTS Cost per 2012 Approved Gross Budget 2012 Approved Net (Tax/Rate- # Staff Household ($000) Supported) Budget ($000) 4 $4.02 $777 $673 Name the main activities done to provide this service: How much did we do? (statistics - optional) Is this service provided by someone other than City staff? (Yes/No/%) Yes, 25% 1. Community Environmental Action Expanded programs into 4 new neighbourhoods 2. Environmental Programs Developed 5 new initiatives Yes, 15% Coordination and Management 3. Corporate Environmental Actions Supported several existing No programs for staff 4. Benchmarking and Public Yes, 15% Reporting Several programs reported on and ongoing comparisons and data sharing with several municipalities Page 1 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

2 TURNING THE CURVE Turning the curve is changing the direction of a trendline on an important measure of performance Number of Groups / Organizations Supported (How much did we do?) Number of Community-based Outreach Campaigns (How much did we do?) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions per Person in London (tonnes CO 2 e/year) (Is anybody better off?) % 9% 8% 7% 2004 Percentage of Londoners Walking & Biking to Work (Is anybody better off?) Page 2 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

3 100% 50% 0% Percentage of London Included in a Watershed Strategy (Is anybody better off?) THE STORY BEHIND THE CURVES Number of Groups and Organizations Supported Since 2003 when Environmental Programs had 5 partners, this division has been actively supporting and building the capacity of several environmental organizations which benefit local grass-roots environmentalism and increase the culture of conservation. When their efforts succeed, we all succeed and our environment benefits. We are now working with over 20 local groups/organizations, and our target is to expand the number of community groups we support. Number of Community-based Outreach Campaigns With an increased focus on neighbourhood activities and partnering with other groups and City divisions, Environmental Programs are taking advantage of a wider corporate direction on citizen engagement to extend our activities much further into the neighbourhoods. Therefore, the number of events and neighbourhood campaigns (e.g., Little Gems, SPARKS funded events) are being increased to capitalize on existing gatherings to increase citizen engagement and influence environmental stewardship practices. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions per Person in London GHG emissions is a performance measure that reflects both how much energy Londoners use, and how clean the sources of energy we use are. Due to the unique nature of Ontario s electricity grid, with a mix of zero-emission base load generation (nuclear, hydroelectric, and renewables) and fossil fuel peak load generation (coal and natural gas), electricity conservation generally displaces fossil fuel peak load generation. Due to a mix of conservation, reduced demand, and cleaner generation, GHG emissions from electricity use have dropped significantly in recent years. Londoners today are also using less natural gas to heat their homes and using less fuel for personal transportation than they did in The target line represents provincial GHG reduction goals applied to London. Percentage of Londoners Walking & Biking to Work This performance measure for walking and cycling (Active Transportation) continues to show a steady increase since the 2004 Household Transportation Survey. The target mode share of 11% by 2030 will be reached in stages over the next twenty years as more infrastructure is built and as incentives and programs are implemented. Percentage of London Covered by a Watershed Strategy This performance measure for wise environmental stewardship ensures that the built environment, the natural environment and the neighbourhood socio-economic factors are all considered together in a strategy. These strategies take on various forms including plans, report cards, updates and status reviews but all share the Page 3 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

4 common themes of assessing what currently exists, what is planned, what needs protection and what should be rehabilitated. A majority of the City covered by these strategies by 2016 is the goal of the Environmental Programs Business Plan which will be achieved with the support of our partners. STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS TO TURN THE CURVE Briefly explain the strategies and action plans you will undertake in the next 5 years to improve effort, efficiency, effectiveness and economy, including at least one no-cost/ low-cost strategy. Who are your partners and what is their role? London has a number of environmental groups who either provide targeted programs in specific neighbourhoods, or provide city-wide activities. Some have specific environmental categories that are addressed. Environmental Programs staff provide an umbrella of support for these groups, assist in their capacity building and encourage their growth. Traditionally, our partnering groups included Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, several watershed friends groups and the Thames Region Ecological Association who promote and partner with many of our initiatives. Business groups, service groups, and neighbourhood associations are key partners for successful environmental initiatives given their vested interest and firm placement in the community. A successful community-led, environmental event or campaign could generate broader London-wide awareness through earned media. On a per dollar basis, supporting community-led awareness likely to be more cost-effective approach than city-led advertising-based awareness programs. Several new groups are being approached to provide a more complete cross-section of citizens and cultural groups in the City and to ensure programs are accessible to all. Faith-based organizations are one of several new groups being piloted by Environmental Programs in Senior levels of government have provided significant financial assistance for City projects in the past (e.g., ecomobility, London Energy Efficiency Partnership Project), although current austerity measures at the federal and provincial government levels could reduce the availability of this assistance for the next couple of years. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund provides financial assistance for feasibility studies and capital projects in five sectors of municipal activity: brownfields, energy, transportation, waste and water. We will continue to utilize available funds like this in order to maintain London as an environmental leader. Action Plan Increase our Impact - City staff will continue to focus on working with community partners to expand the reach of environmental programs to leverage a greater amount of in-kind and matching financial support from community volunteers, private foundations, and outside sources of financial and in-kind support. Promote Action - For Environmental Programs issue-specific actions plans (e.g., Rethink Energy Page 4 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

5 London Community Energy Plan, Business Travel Wise Program, Subwatershed plans and strategies), City staff will work with community partners to implement these plans. Relationship Building - Existing relationships will be maintained, while new relationships with community organizations are fostered and developed. Deliver on Partner Needs - Once a community partner s capabilities and needs for 2013 are known, City staff will identify those resources that we could either provide with our resources, or help these groups access external resources, to address their needs. Source External Funding Opportunities - No additional municipal funding is being requested given the success of using a low-cost approach in partnering with outside funding sources. Increase our Influence and Effectiveness - With the new City of London website design to be completed in late 2012, City staff will consolidate deliver, and maintain meaningful, easilyaccessible, and easy to understand environmental indicators and educational information for all Londoners, including those with different cultural backgrounds (e.g. Spanish speaking citizens make up the second largest language group in London other than English). ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND STORIES Accomplishments, successes, improvements to efficiencies, economy and effectiveness in the last 12 months and stories of people who have been positively impacted by your Service. (Use point form) The TravelWise Summerside project, according to survey results, reduced the share of singleoccupancy vehicle trips in that neighbourhood by 16% while carpooling, transit, walk and bike mode shares have all increased. Lessons learned from TravelWise Summerside are being expanded into other London neighbourhoods in 2012 and beyond, including Argyle which is a Community Service s focus neighbourhood. The Workforce Mobility project in the Oxford Street East area allowed the City to reach over 50 employers with general information about commuter choices and the project. Of these, the City worked closely with eight employers. We learned that 23% of people employed in London live outside London, and that in a primarily industrial area with limited transit service and active transportation infrastructure, the first phase of promotion of sustainable transportation choices should be carpooling. Employees want or need to continue driving to work so they can do this more efficiently. London already has a good cycling network with many comparable cycling features to other communities. These include the Thames Valley Parkway (TVP) and reasonable access to downtown from the TVP. The network of on-road bike lanes, sharrow road markings and signed routes continues to expand. London also has a growing cycling culture and advocacy groups as well as several cycling celebration and educational events, including Car Free Days and neighbourhood bike rodeos. In 2011, London was awarded a Bronze level as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the Share Page 5 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

6 the Road Coalition. This lead to hosting a Bike Summit, drawing over 150 delegates from London, surrounding communities, and distant communities from Eastern Ontario and the U.S. London has a good cycling foundation to build on. Work is under way in the following areas: 9.3 km of additional bike lanes 5.2 km of additional sharrows Bike racks at more recreation centres and downtown Upgrade maps and signage in parts of the TVP New Bike & Walk Map and local cycling tours Measurement program/counts of cyclists Assist with the expansion of community action and engagement As of May 1, London s Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy had around 750 Londoners registered as participants, and we have had over 2,500 responses to 28 questions that have been posed, with a total word count exceeding 200,000 words (about a 500 page textbook). To the best of our knowledge, London s Roundtable is the most active online civic engagement program in Canada. Roundtable results also suggest we have polled a portion of the population who might not otherwise have been engaged in environmental issues. The most recent community-wide energy use and GHG inventory information indicates that London has been making progress in energy conservation and emissions reductions. The most recent estimates, using 2011 data, suggest that London s energy use per person is now five percent lower than it was in 1990, with most of the reductions coming from energy used at home and, more recently, on the road. London s total greenhouse gas emissions are now almost six percent lower than 1990 levels, and GHG emissions per person are over 20 percent lower than 1990 levels. The Integrated Energy Mapping project has identified a number of energy strategies that should provide a positive return of investment for London as a whole. In general, strategies that support the construction of high-efficiency new buildings in the industrial, commercial, and institutional (IC&I) sector, as well as the retrofitting of existing IC&I buildings with energy-saving features, will provide positive financial returns and lower emissions. London Clean & Green initiative continues to grow in size and impact, now involving more partners and stretching over more than 2 months of events from its humble beginnings as a one day event, 17 years ago. Estimates suggest that about 10,000 people volunteered their time between the 20 Minute London (Business) Makeover on April 20 and the Community Clean up on April 21. Between 18 and 20 tonnes of litter and garbage has been collected from boulevards, parks, neighbourhoods and river banks. London Police Service also coordinated the removal of graffiti in a number of areas. Bags of litter and garbage were collected from about 150 locations cross London. London has initiated a regional watershed initiative, titled the Thames River Clear Water Revival that has received provincial and federal funding for the next 3 years to update and expand the last watershed strategy completed in This effort will complement other broader London projects such as the Wastewater Treatment Research with Western University and Trojan Technologies and the Thames Valley Corridor Study. First Nations interest and involvement in the project has provided Page 6 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs

7 an opportunity for increased dialogue and understanding with those communities. London subwatersheds and neighbourhood action continues to reinforce the Environmental Programs approach of assisting those to take action locally to improve environmental conditions in the entire subwatershed. As examples, Friends of Stoney Creek recently celebrated 20 years of community stewardship at their May 5 Open House and the Friends of the Coves continue to attract funding and attention for their grass-roots perspective of environmental stewardship related to the Coves Environmentally Significant Area and surrounding neighbourhoods. OTHER KEY MEASURES Description of measure Interdepartmental programs supported Participation in outreach events Retail sales of gasoline/diesel (Litres per year per person) 1,120 1,100 1,070 1,010 1, Electricity use in the home (kilowatthour per year per person) 3,260 3,100 3,280 3,210 3,200 3, Number of conventional transit trips per person MEASURES UNDER DEVELOPMENT What important performance measures have you identified for which you do not currently collect the data? Energy-related eco-efficiency and economic indicators (e.g., percentage of local energy needs supplied locally, no. of energy-related jobs in London, number/percentage of locally-owned vehicles that are hybrids and/or electric vehicles, etc.) Active transportation traffic volume information for major routes (e.g., no. of cyclists/pedestrians per day, etc.) Watershed health metrics are only available at a coarse level that may not assist our 14 subwatersheds and associated programs to the degree necessary for neighbourhood value. Page 7 of Business Plan Environmental Action Programs