Sustainability

The City of Nelson is committed to a sustainable future.  For the City of Nelson, sustainability is about having a productive economy, a well protected environment, and healthy citizens with strong cultural connections.  It is about living well today while preparing for the future.  The City of Nelson's Path to 2040 Sustainability Strategy was created through an open and collaborative process that sets the direction for future policy and planning decisions, and articulates the community vision for sustainability.  It is an umbrella document under which future work will align.

 

The City of Nelson sustainability initiative involves the following main components:

  1. Path to 2040 Sustainability Strategy
  2. Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan
  3. Sustainable Waterfront and Downtown Master Plan
  4. Low Carbon Path to 2040: Community Energy and Emissions Action Plan
  5. Affordable Housing Strategy [PDF - 5.8 MB]
  6. Active Transportation Plan [PDF - 4.5 MB]

On May 13, 2013, Nelson City Council adopted a new Official Community Plan.  The OCP incorporates all of the important sustainability initiatives that have been completed since 2008.

Additional Initiatives

  • The City of Nelson has signed onto the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) which is a network of Canadian municipal governments that have committed to reducing greenhouse gases and acting on climate change.  In addition, the City has committed to be carbon neutral by 2012. 

  • As a signatory to the Climate Action Charter, the City of Nelson prepares an annual Climate Action Revenue Incentive (CARIP) Public Report for the provincial government. The purpose of the report is report on and share publicly the significant work the City of Nelson is undertaking to reduce corporate and community-wide GHG emissions and create complete, compact energy efficient communities. CARIP Public Report 2012.pdf [PDF - 200 KB]

  • The City of Nelson has begun tracking its progress on sustainability initiatives [PDF - 73 KB] with a list of the various projects, initiatives and planning processes that are happening throughout the organization and how they fit into the focus areas identified in the Path to 2040 process.
  • The City of Nelson has developed a Sustainability_Checklist - 2011.pdf [PDF - 454 KB] to assist City Staff and Council in evaluating Major and Minor Development Permits, Development Variance Permits, Amendments to the Official Community Plan and Land Use Regulation Bylaw, and for the Preliminary Layout Approval of Subdivision. The checklist evaluates the applications through four pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, social and cultural.
  • The Province of BC has created the Community Energy and Emissions Inventory to track energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.  The Nelson Inventory [PDF - 117 KB] demonstrates the majority of emissions coming from on-road transportation, following by emissions from buildings and solid waste.

How do we move forward?

The following link has some information on how individuals can participate.  Start Taking Action Now!

 

 

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