Category Archives: Healthy Communities

Peterborough Rocks!

The Peterborough region has many economic strengths to brag about. Our close tie to our many lakes and rivers ensure our region is a magnet for tourists. Industries such as General Electric and Quaker are doing well, providing jobs and spurring the local economy, and we have an ever-growing small business community and vibrant downtown.

Businesses large and small are key to the growth of any region, and we in Peterborough are fortunate to have a solid business community.

Our business community is also very forward thinking, which adds to its continued success. When it comes to taking the environment into consideration in day-to-day operations, there are countless examples of local businesses that have stepped up to the plate, serving as positive examples for others.

Examples include Kawartha Chrysler Dodge Jeep Fiat, East Side Mario’s and Merrett Home Hardware who all upgraded their lighting and are now using significantly less energy because of it. One of the largest and most recognizable faces of the retail business community, Lansdowne Place, has worked hard to achieve environmental excellence. They’ve done everything from sending away organic waste for composting to installing a weather-based smart irrigation system to control water usage outside.

To further help businesses go green, Sustainable Peterborough in partnership with the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation and the Green Business Peterborough program are launching the Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI).

The SBI is designed to foster sustainable economic activities among our region’s small and medium sized businesses and aims to educate, motivate and empower local businesses.

The SBI kick-off event will embrace the compelling case for sustainability with guest speaker Bob Willard author of The Sustainability Advantage- Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line. Mr. Willard is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences. Mr. Willard applies his business and leadership experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.

Mr. Willard identifies three ways to frame the business case for sustainability: improved profit, high return on investment (ROI), and higher share price/market valuation.

Sustainability has become the new buzzword similar to green business. However, as Mr. Willard notes, the success of any corporate sustainability initiative needs to revolve around more than just what is socially correct.  In short, it needs to measure up financially, demonstrating it will increase profit, provide a higher more aggressive return on investment and, for publicly traded companies, must improve share value.

As a business leader with IBM Canada, Mr. Willard actively engages the business community to be proactive in capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.

The SBI is supported by local small and medium size business, those who can speak firsthand about the compelling case for adopting sustainable practices.  Some of these local sustainability champions will participate in a panel discussion at the event on January 17th.  This intriguing perceptive will provide justification for embracing sustainability strategies within our local region.

Since September 2012, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and GreenUP have been running a program for local businesses that supports the SBI. Called Green Business Peterborough, the program recognizes and encourages businesses to formulate goals and a plan of action that will help move businesses down the path to environmental sustainability.

The Green Business Peterborough program will help local organizations, discover how becoming more environmentally sustainable can bring many lasting benefits.  This program will help to identify incentives, opportunities, resources and create a network within Peterborough of mentors and testimonials; further making the case for businesses to embrace sustainability as a corporate practice that leads to success.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Sustainable Business Initiative, be sure to attend the kick off event on Thursday, January 17th at the Holiday Inn in Peterborough.  The event runs 7:30 to 9:30 am and includes a local continental breakfast. The registration fee is $10. Those interested in attending can register online at http://businesscaseforsustainability.eventbrite.com/ or contact Brigid Ayotte 705-743-0777 ext 2160 or by email at ..

This blog appears courtesy of Peterborough Green-Up.

“Be the Change you want to see in the world“ – Mahatma Gandhi

In a previous post, I shared a survey done by Leapfrog Sustainability of over 250 senior business executives worldwide on their views of the relationship between sustainable business and commercial growth.  A whopping 78% of businesses agreed that sustainability is vital to the future growth of their business and 83% viewed spending on sustainable initiatives as an investment rather than a cost.

Those numbers certainly suggest that the need to develop sustainable business practices is definitely on the radar for most organizations.  However, sustainability consultant and former federal Green Party leader Jim Harris, in his October address at the CIMA Canada Conference 2012, noted that this is not the case.  In mid-December, Financial Post reporter Dan Ovsey spoke with Mr. Harris to get his views on what is still preventing businesses from adopting strategies for sustainability.  A transcript of the interview is available online .

In the interview, Harris identified numerous positive examples of how organizations can recognize significant savings, both financial and environmental.  However these proposed changes are often be thwarted because of the up-front capital and profound operational change they perhaps involve.

Harris highlighted the over $500M in savings IBM recognized over a five year period by taking applications on 3,900 Wintel servers with low utilization rates of less than 10% and putting them on 33 mainframes with utilization rates of over 80%. This modification allowed the company to cut electricity costs by more than 80%; they cut the square footage required in their data centres by more than 85% and reduced their licensing costs by 99% because they no longer required operating and anti-virus systems on each of those servers.

So why aren’t other companies following suit? Well, Harris suggested that perhaps it is because in companies of this size you are asking the the head of one department to take on all the cost and risk of change while some other department gets the financial benefit.  In this case, the transition of applications would be implemented by IT department and therefore all costs associated with it would come out of that department’s budget.  In addition any risks associated with the conversion, which in one of this magnitude would include loss or corruption of data, breach of security and/or downtime of systems, would also be assumed by this department. What this department would not see however, would be any financial gain that came from the conversion such as electricity savings.  That would go to the facilities department.

So how and why would organizations foster and develop more sustainable business practices.  In his book, The Next Sustainability Wave, Bob Willard focuses on two drivers, 1) a compelling business case and 2) threatening market forces, that are currently igniting the need for change and providing a vision of business success if the transition to sustainable operations is managed properly.

Bob has written numerous books and papers on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies.  On January 17th, 2013, he will be coming to the Peterborough Holiday Inn to discuss the Business Case for Sustainability.  He will be joined by a group of local businesses who will participate in a panel discussion about how sustainable business practices have enhanced their operations. Tickets are available online or by calling Brigid Ayotte at 705-743-0777 ext. 2160

Life & Health Sciences Building “Block D”; Earns LEED; Gold Status for Sustainable Design

The special qualities of Block D of the Life & Health Sciences Building may be imperceptible by the students and staff working in the new labs, but for those who know what is behind the walls, the building’s status is golden, at least by the standards of the leading sustainability organization in Canada.

Block D, the most recent construction project on the Trent University campus), has achieved LEED gold status from the Canada Green Building Council, a non-profit, national organization working to advance green building practices in Canada.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and recognizes sustainable designs, practices and operations by offering four levels of certification (Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum) to projects meeting LEED certification criteria.

On the surface, students, staff and faculty may notice recycling bins, bike racks and showers for cyclists as obvious environmentally-friendly aspects of the new building. Since access to low-impact transportation is a valuable criteria in the LEED requirements, having year-round bus service also gained a point for the project.

But the rest of what earned the project LEED Gold status is everything people won’t see: building materials that were extracted and manufactured within 800 km of the job site, wood used from certified managed forests, and reflective paint used on the roof.

“Trent has a reputation for being green”, says Linda Smith, one of two project managers in the Physical Resources Department, and the one who oversaw the Block D construction from start to finish.

Ms. Smith talked about every aspect of the LEED designation with enthusiasm, not missing the irony that some aspects, like the large cistern installed to collect rainwater, takes us right back to our grandmothers time.  The cistern provides non-potable, or graywater, for flushing toilets; when water levels get low, the system switches to the municipal feed.

Following LEED criteria within the day-to-day building process presented constant challenges. “Construction waste diversion was difficult to manage sometimes,” said Ms. Smith, adding that, “the general contractor had to work with sub-trades on that and did very well. Fifty per cent of waste on site was diverted to recycle, salvage, and an implemented plan.”

According to the CaGBC website, “Buildings generate about 35 per cent all of greenhouse gases, 35 per cent of landfill waste comes from construction and demolition activities, and 80 per cent of all water is consumed in and around buildings”. This is why they are commending Trent University for their commitment to sustainability.

“I would like to congratulate Trent University for certifying their Block D LEED Gold” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council. I’m pleased that the university is committed to providing healthier, more sustainable facilities for its students. Walking the talk is key in preparing future professionals to have an appreciation and  take a leadership role in sustainability.

Managing the project from start to finish, Ms. Smith had to balance the input of many stakeholders, advisors, and consultants, from staff and faculty to engineers, architects and designers.

“We had a wonderful team here and everyone worked together”, she said.

That team can be credited with finishing on time and on budget, but the best news came when Ms. Smith was notified in October 2012 that the original goal of LEED Silver accreditation had been surpassed, and that they would instead be awarded LEED Gold certification.

Construction of the approximately 50,000 square feet building was funded by a $10.8-million contribution from the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP) and $9.9 million from the province of Ontario.

Block D of the Life and Health Sciences Building is only the second LEED Gold certified building in Peterborough. It is home to Trent University’s Department of Biology.

New Solar Panels Will Generate Clean Energy and Revenue for Douro-Dummer Township

The Township of Douro-Dummer today celebrated the installation of new solar panels on the community centre property. These panels will be a source of clean energy and will generate new revenue for the Township.

“Our government is proud to have invested in this innovative project that will generate power and revenue for the Township of Douro-Dummer,” said Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough. “We will continue to support local infrastructure priorities as we focus on promoting growth, job creation and economic prosperity here in Ontario and across Canada.”

“Truly an example of working together”, said Douro-Dummer Township Mayor, J. Murray Jones. “Douro-Dummer is a great example of how a small township can benefit in a big way with a little help.”

The Township of Douro-Dummer built a tracker solar system (10 kw) on its community centre property. The clean energy produced will be sold to Hydro One. The system is expected to generate $200,000 to $240,000 in revenue to the municipality over 20 years. Furthermore, the Township is planning to use any surplus money produced by the panels to offset future costs of implementing further energy efficiency initiatives.

The total cost of this $77,066 solar panel project was funded through the Township of Douro-Dummer’s share of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation.

The Gas Tax Fund provides long-term funding to local governments to help them build and revitalize public infrastructure. In December 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year. The Government of Canada, through the Gas Tax Fund alone, provides $746 million in funding annually for municipal infrastructure in Ontario. Between 2010 and 2014, the Township of Douro-Dummer will receive $853,256 from Canada’s Gas Tax Fund.

“Canada’s Gas Tax Fund acknowledges that all orders of government must work together to address the pressing need for infrastructure investment in our municipalities,” said Russ Powers, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). “Stable and predictable, the Gas Tax Fund supports investment in local priority projects that lead to job creation and economic growth in communities right across Ontario.”

The Government of Canada has engaged provinces, territories, municipalities and key stakeholders in a series of roundtables to guide the development of a new long-term infrastructure plan that will support job creation, economic growth and prosperity. We have heard that we are on the right track: there is a need for strong, sustained investment and we must continue to work together moving forward. To improve infrastructure across Canada and ensure affordability and sustainability over the long term, our new plan will encourage greater use of public-private partnerships. This will help leverage new investments in infrastructure, while respecting Canadian taxpayers’ ability to pay.

For additional information about the Government of Canada’s infrastructure investments in Ontario and to stay up-to-date with Web feeds, visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca.

For additional information, please contact:

Geneviève Sicard
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700

David Clifford
Township of Douro-Dummer
705-652-8392 extension 206

Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154

Sidewalk Strategic Plan Meeting November 21

Recognizing the value of a walkable community and the essential role that sidewalks play, the City of Peterborough policy is to provide sidewalks on both sides of all streets. Some streets were developed prior to this policy being in place and as a result, there are no sidewalks on many streets. Every year, new sidewalks are installed in locations where there was no sidewalk previously. In order to provide these new sidewalks where they are most needed, the city developed a Sidewalk Strategic Plan in 2008. The Sidewalk Strategic Plan ranks all missing sidewalks in the city according to a set of criteria to determine which sidewalks are the most important to provide. The criteria are comprehensive and examples include the type of street, how many students are designated walkers in that area, proximity to high density housing and whether it is on a transit route. The focus for provision of new sidewalks is on ones that are a Priority 1 or 2. The Plan only addresses locations where new sidewalks should be provided, not where sidewalks need repair. At this meeting, information will be provided about the purpose of the Sidewalk Strategic Plan, the criteria used to rate sidewalks and the revised sidewalk ratings. The technical aspects of the update have been completed and public input is requested to ensure that the criteria used to rate the sidewalks reflect community values and that missing sidewalks are rated appropriately within the Plan.  The public meeting is scheduled for: Date: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., presentation at 5:00 p.m. Location: Simcoe Street Transit Terminal, 190 Simcoe Street, Peterborough