Sustainable Peterborough (SP) is a community based regional partnership historically comprised of community groups, businesses, educational institutions, local governments and First Nations. SP evolved out of an informal group of individuals and organizations who started meeting at the dawn of the new millennium under the name of Sustainability Network. Their work led to the creation of the Sustainable Peterborough Plan. In the spring of 2012 the City of Peterborough, the County of Peterborough, its eight Townships, and the two First Nations adopted the Greater Peterborough Area Community Sustainability Plan. SP is overseen by the Sustainable Peterborough Coordinating Committee, an advisory committee to local government. Components of the original Plan have been incorporated into Official Plans, and influenced Transportation Plans, Energy Plans, Cultural Plans, Age Friendly Plans, Strategic Plans, and the Community Well-Being Plan. SP has assisted in the securement of over $1,000,000 in external funding for projects such as the Healthy Kids Community Challenge and the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) for the Greater Peterborough Area.
Sustainable Peterborough has spent the last couple of years conducting an extensive organizational review, including a governance and plan review. This comprehensive work facilitated many insightful conversations and led to the decision that the new Sustainable Peterborough Plan should focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sustainable Peterborough has been operating under the auspices of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development since its inception in 2012, and a recent governance review has led to the mutually supported decision that this relationship continues. The SDG framework also aligns SP’s new strategic plan and PKED’s Future Ready Regional Economic Development Strategy.