City adds a climate and environmental implications lens to Council reports

BRANTFORD, ON – In 2019, Brantford City Council passed a resolution to officially declare the City’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. A key component of the City’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) is a communications and engagement campaign to educate residents about the climate emergency, the City’s carbon reduction strategy, and the immediate need to mobilize at local, provincial, national, and global levels.

To increase awareness of this important issue and potential impacts on the environment locally, all City staff reports to Council will now include a Climate and Environmental Implications section that in some cases will quantify emissions related to Council decisions, and/or provide staff recommendations to add sustainability metrics to relevant initiatives.

This ongoing tool will serve as a climate action lens, detailing environmental and (if relevant) potential Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts related to the subject matter of the report with the objective to ultimately help better inform Council’s decisions.

“Given the City provides over two hundred programs and services to residents, many decisions considered by Council have climate impacts,” says Rochelle Rumney, Climate Change Officer, City of Brantford. “This new process has been implemented to ensure Council has the City of Brantford’s climate change targets in mind when considering decisions that could have an environmental impact.”

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

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Media Contact:
Sharon Sayles | Communications Specialist, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | 519-757-2840 | ssayles@brantford.ca