Brantford City Council committed to climate action with innovative climate lens tool

BRANTFORD, ON – Brantford City Council remains committed to the City becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and most recently approved the use of the innovative climate lens tool to continue in all council reporting as of May 1, 2023. First introduced in November 2021, the climate lens assessment and calculator tool indicate the environmental impact of City projects and, in some cases, quantifies emissions related to Council decisions and provides staff recommendations to add sustainability metrics to relevant initiatives.

“The climate lens tool has been hugely successful in its pilot year,” says Gagan Batra, Manager of Business Support and Sustainability, City of Brantford. “The City has received recognition for its innovation as the only Ontario municipality that quantifies its climate emissions to report them to the public and recently presented the tool at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Good Roads Association conferences.”

Developed in partnership with the Environmental and Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (ESPAC), the climate lens assessment and calculator tool ensures that every matter coming before Brantford Council will quantify and report its environmental impact. For the past year and half, public works and community housing staff have calculated greenhouse gas emissions resulting from their projects. Staff in other departments include the high-level environmental impacts of their projects in the new climate and environmental implications section to educate staff, members of Council, and the public on the broad climate impacts of various projects whether direct or indirect.

City Council’s decision will ensure that all staff reports, including those for task forces, advisory committees, and direct to Council, will identify the climate impacts of matters moving forward. This will ensure more transparency regarding the environmental impact of decisions made by Brantford City Council.

The City of Brantford declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and committed to taking action to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). With this declaration, staff developed a carbon reduction strategy, in collaboration with ESPAC, that details a process for ensuring matters coming to Brantford City Council quantify their environmental impact. Additionally, staff developed a public reporting framework regarding the climate emergency that includes quarterly updates on the impact of municipal actions and decisions on Brantford’s carbon reduction strategy.

To learn more about how the City of Brantford is taking action on climate change and what residents can do to get involved, please visit www.Brantford.ca/ClimateAction.

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Media Contact:

Heather Carvalho, Manager, Communication and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5741 | hcarvalho@brantford.ca

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