Sustainable Peterborough

The City of Peterborough, eight surrounding townships and two First Nations that make up the County of Peterborough will design a regionally integrated sustainability plan. It will address areas of mutual responsibility, present a strong environmental focus and ensure that recommendations are financially sustainable. Five key areas have been identified as the focus: energy consumption, water quality and control, land-use planning (including transportation), culture and heritage, and waste management. Work will begin by completing an inventory of the current regional, municipal and First Nations sustainability initiatives and plans and then assessing the linkages, duplications and gaps. Following a literature review to determine best practices, consultations (both in person and online) will engage the communities and public to help align the various planning initiatives and create a sustainability vision complete with goals, targets, indicators and evaluation mechanisms. This initiative will use an “action through planning” strategy to ensure ongoing collective learning and promote early results. New performance measures will be designed to reflect the shift to sustainability principles and practices and a series of implementation workshops and public education strategies will help bring municipal employees and the public onside.

(Project description from original funding application)