WORKSHOP HANDOUT: LEADING CHANGE: TOOLS FOR STAFF

WORKSHOP HANDOUT: LEADING CHANGE: TOOLS FOR STAFF SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPIONS

FCM 2015 Sustainable Communities Conference 1

Municipal staff members face many different challenges in advancing sustainability within their organizations. This interactive workshop provided practical tools and advice from both staff and sustainability practitioners who have spent decades in the trenches. The workshop started with an overview of best practices followed by small group discussions on different topics, ranging from working with council, to articulating the business case, to renewing your sustainability or climate change plan. Each participant was given the opportunity to choose the three topics of greatest interest to them, and then dive into peer-to-peer discussions on the latest tools, approaches and lessons learned. This document compiles the following handouts developed to guide the small group discussions:

0. Overview: implementing sustainability plans (Chris Lindberg, FCM)

1. How to work with Council and administration (Anna Matthewson, Surrey, BC)

2. The business case for sustainability (Bob Willard, Author and Speaker)

3. Sustainability reporting (Prabh Banga, Markham, ON)

4. Sustainable purchasing (Tim Reeve, Reeve Consulting)

5. Integrating sustainability into planning and decision-making (Cheeying Ho, Whistler Centre for Sustainability)

6. Developing and renewing sustainability plans (Norm McInnis, Town of Olds, AB)

7. Supporting a community network of sustainability partners (Christina Fuller, Calgary, AB)

8. Enabling sustainability through collaboration & innovation – The Durham Partners in Project Green (DPPG) Model (Shawna Mutton, Durham Sustain Ability)

9. From planning to implementation: Okotoks’ success with water conservation (Dawn Smith, Okotoks, AB)

10. Climate Change Planning: The Guelph experience (Rob Kerr, Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc.)

11. L’acceptabilité sociale et le développement durable : le projet de PPU Henri-Bourassa Ouest dans l’arrondissement d’Ahuntsic-Cartierville (Richard Blais, Montreal, QC)

12. Sustainable Neighbourhood Engagement and Planning – Tools, resources and stories (John Purkis, The Natural Step Canada)

13. Effective Communications: Getting the message out about sustainability (Liz Nield, Lura Consulting)

14. Thinking Beyond the Environment: Bringing society and economy into the sustainability discussion (Kim Fowler, Red Deer, AB)

KEY MESSAGES: FROM GREAT IDEAS TO GREAT COMMUNITIES: HOW TO IMPLEMENT YOUR ICSP


Table Topic: Implementing Integrated Community Sustainability Plans

Table Host: Chris Lindberg

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 613-907-6327

1. Key Messages

A great plan isn’t enough to create a great community: it’s how you implement it that matters. The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM) worked with Golder Associates to create a guidebook for implementing integrated community sustainability plans (ICSPs) in Nova Scotia. This guide includes a framework and set of tools and resources for integrating ICSPs into planning and decision-making processes within a municipality. This handout contains excerpts from this guide. Implementing an ICSP is no simple task, and just creating and distributing the plan is not enough to make it happen. As a result, many municipalities report that there is a significant gap between what they plan or commit to doing in the long-term and what they actually deliver in the short-term. The key to bridging the “planning-implementation gap” is to make sustainability a central part of everyday thinking and decision-making at all levels of the organization. As illustrated above, this shift can be made by strengthening and aligning activities in seven key action areas: Vision, Govern, Engage, Plan, Act, Manage and Report. A strategy for success in each area is provided below, as well as suggested priority actions for years one and two.

RECOMMENDED STRATEGY

VISION Commit to a clear long-term sustainability vision with specific goals, targets and indicators

GOVERN Create municipal and community structures and teams to oversee implementation and move on actions

ENGAGE Educate, connect and inspire elected officials, staff, community members and stakeholders

PLAN Integrate sustainability goals and priorities into new and existing plans

ACT Refocus or revise programs, services, regulations and advocacy to be consistent with sustainability goals

MANAGE Embed sustainability considerations and analysis in corporate processes, policies and management systems

REPORT Publicly monitor, assess and report on progress towards achieving sustainability

mailto:[email protected]

KEY MESSAGES: FROM GREAT IDEAS TO GREAT COMMUNITIES: HOW TO IMPLEMENT YOUR ICSP


Getting Started: Priorities for Years 1 and 2

Visi

on

Create and distribute a summary “ICSP on a page” to all employees. Reinforce commitment through a declaration from senior management.

Gov

ern Clarify your internal and external governance model and develop terms of reference for who

will coordinate municipal activities and who will have senior decision-making authority. Set up a simple sustainability partners program and recruit members. Invite staff to join an informal sustainability team to promote the ICSP internally.

Enga

ge Create a basic website (or page) for posting news and updates on the ICSP and update

existing communications tools (e.g. signatures, newsletters) to include sustainability messaging.

Create an annual sustainability celebration and action-planning event to bring together staff and community champions to identify ideas and priorities.

Plan

Develop a strategic framework that shows the relationships among the ICSP and other key plans.

Update report templates for council and senior administration to include a question on the linkages to the ICSP.

Act

Invest in quick wins with short payback periods (e.g. lighting upgrades). Identify a pilot project to test new approaches (e.g. procurement, zoning).

Man

age Create a small transition team to support a sustainability culture shift. Consider hiring a

post-secondary student intern to help with coordination and outreach. Update council and employee orientation materials to include the ICSP. Highlight key sustainability initiatives for each departmental budget.

Rep

ort

Work with an ICSP Advisory Committee to produce an annual progress report with key measures, actions and lessons learned.

Key Questions to consider when using this framework to implement your plan:

• How is my municipality currently performing? What are the strengths we can build on and the weaknesses we need to address in each of the seven areas?

• Do staff and Council members think of implementing our ICSP as a priority or as a “side of desk” activity? What can I do to make it a higher priority?

• Looking at the list of priority actions, what are 2 things I can and will do when I get back to my office?

2. Resources: • The guide and links to resources in each of the seven areas is available at http://www.sustainability-

unsm.ca/icsp-implementation-guide-resources.html Related presentations and tools include: o http://www.fcm.ca/Documents/presentations/2014/SCC%202014/Catalyzing_Change_What_i

s_the_Future_of_Sustainability_Planning_Chris_Lindberg_EN.pdf • Passing Go: Moving Beyond the Plan provides a framework, tools and resources for engaging and

collaborating with community organizations to implement ICSPs. www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/resources/planning-resources/tools-and-reports.htm

• The Sustainable Cities Institute has a great resource database to support the implementation of ICSPs. http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/topics/equity-and-engagement/sustainability-planning

• The Natural Step Canada has a number of free toolkits on sustainability planning and implementation. http://www.thenaturalstep.org/en/canada/toolkits

http://www.sustainability-unsm.ca/icsp-implementation-guide-resources.html


http://www.fcm.ca/Documents/presentations/2014/SCC%202014/Catalyzing_Change_What_is_the_Future_of_Sustainability_Planning_Chris_Lindberg_EN.pdf


http://www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/resources/planning-resources/tools-and-reports.htm


http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/topics/equity-and-engagement/sustainability-planning

http://www.thenaturalstep.org/en/canada/toolkits



Table Topic: How to Work with Council and Administration

Table Host: Anna Mathewson


1. Summary At the City of Surrey, we have a very robust and detailed Sustainability Charter that was approved in 2008. It covers sustainability from the perspective of corporate operations as well as community sustainability, and deals with all three pillars. We have been busy implementing the Charter for the past six years, and have just started a process to update the document and refresh our vision. A key part of our implementation has been the ability to work well with Council, and with departmental staff and senior management/administration who play a role in sustainability (which is basically everyone!). The Sustainability Office has played a facilitating and leadership role in bringing these departments together, planning and coordinating our efforts, and monitoring and reporting to Council and the community. So what’s worked well for us?

• We have a very detailed sustainability plan in the form of the Sustainability Charter. When it was approved, Council approved the Charter as the overarching policy document for the City, which helped set the stage for it to be considered in all our decisions, plan, policies, etc.

• From the outset, many staff were involved in the creation of the Charter, which built buy-in. • After the Charter’s approval, we established an interdepartmental Sustainability Team to help

guide our efforts, and this has led to ongoing collaboration and support for the Charter’s vision and implementation.

• In addition to the interdepartmental team, for specific plans (e.g., corporate energy, climate adaptation), we establish staff steering committees with all relevant departments represented and which are facilitated by the Sustainability Office.

• We established a community-based set of sustainability indicators and targets (with lots of staff involvement too) to monitor our progress towards our sustainability vision.

• We have included a section on “Sustainability Considerations” in all Corporate Reports. • As Sustainability Manager, I report to the City Manager and I regularly report to and seek input

from the Senior Management Team. I also seek regular input and direction from departmental GMs on specific projects.

• We recently had an internal “check in” to allow us time to reflect on how we were doing implementing the Sustainability Charter, and embedding sustainability into our decisions and operations. This led to further discussion between the Sustainability Office and various departments about embedment, including needs around staff awareness and sustainable purchasing.

• We have a number of City Advisory Committees, including for Environmental Sustainability. This is chaired by one of our councillors, and is a good sounding board for various projects and reporting.

• We use our Sustainability Dashboard to report annually to Council on progress. Some of our barriers continue to be:

• Even though we have a good set of sustainability indicators and targets, we still struggle with departments taking ownership of those targets.

• While the interdepartmental sustainability team has been very supportive and overall effective, the levels of expertise has varied.

• The knowledge of sustainability on staff also varies, even though all staff and senior management are supportive of the vision.



2. Key questions or ideas to consider Some tips and suggestions for working with Council and administration include:

• Consider setting up a Sustainability Office (even if just one staff) in a centralized position, reporting to the City Manager or CAO.

• Establish a formal or informal interdepartmental sustainability team to collaborate and guide efforts. Consider the level of expertise/seniority of staff on this team, and how they report back up to their senior management.

• Identify a possible champion on Council that understands sustainability well and can support these efforts and help move them forward.

• When new Council members are elected, provide a briefing/orientation package or in-person briefing to them on sustainability, current work plan, challenges, etc.

• Brief departmental heads (GMs, Directors, etc) regularly on key projects and seek advice before proceeding to senior management meetings or Council.

• For key plans that relate to sustainability, such as climate adaptation, involve your key staff champions from the beginning and continue to rely on them for input, feedback, and implementation.

3. Resources • A useful guide and links to resources are available at http://www.sustainability-unsm.ca/icsp-

implementation-guide-resources.html • Related presentations and tools include:


• Passing Go: Moving Beyond the Plan provides a framework, tools and resources for engaging and collaborating with community organizations to implement ICSPs. www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/resources/planning-resources/tools-and-reports.htm

• The Sustainable Cities Institute has a great resource database to support the implementation of ICSPs. http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/topics/equity-and-engagement/sustainability-planning

• The Natural Step Canada has a number of free toolkits on sustainability planning and implementation. http://www.thenaturalstep.org/en/canada/toolkits







http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/topics/equity-and-engagement/sustainability-planning

http://www.thenaturalstep.org/en/canada/toolkits



Table Topic: The Business Case for Sustainability

Table Host: Bob Willard, Author and Speaker, Sustainability Advantage


1. Summary

If a typical company were to use best-practice sustainability approaches already being used by

real companies, it could improve its profit by at least 51% to 81% within three to five years,

while avoiding a potential 16% to 36% erosion of profits if it did nothing. The business case is

organized around seven easy-to-grasp bottom-line benefits that align with current evidence about

the most significant sustainability-related contributors to profit.

Increased top-line revenue is a result of customers attracted to a more sustainable brand; new revenue from green products; and new revenue from services and leasing. The 14 risks of not doing anything include loss of revenue and higher costs. Loss of revenue might be from a poor reputation on energy, carbon, water, waste, ecosystem damage, or bad supplier reputations; less competitive prices; or sudden disruptions in the value chain. Higher costs could be for energy, carbon, waste, water, capital, employee turnover, or loss of employee productivity. 2. Key question to consider How would the language and assumptions in the Sustainability Advantage business case simulator need to be changed if it were to be used to support municipalities being more proactive on sustainability? 3. Resources

Business Case for Sustainability animated video summarizes the business case in 4:30 minutes.

The New Sustainability Advantage describes the logic and examples behind the business case for sustainability strategies.

The free web-enabled Sustainability Advantage Dashboard enables executives to enter their own data and quickly identify high-leverage benefit areas for their organization.

Free, open-source, and downloadable Sustainability Advantage Worksheets help organizations drill down into specific areas of interest and fine-tune the assumptions in the business case simulator to their specific situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlW8-WW0k3g

http://www.sustainabilityadvantage.com/products/newsusadv.html

http://sustainabilityadvantage.com/sustainability_dashboard/dashboard-3-2.php

http://www.sustainabilityadvantage.com/products/worksheets.html



Table Topic: Sustainability Reporting at the City of Markham

Table Host: Prabh Banga

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 905-477-7000 ext. 5283

1. Summary A sustainability report focuses on the economic, environmental, and social performances of a corporation. It generally has two elements: collected data focusing on the triple bottom line, and strategies to improve on a company’s commitment to sustainability. The most widely used method of sustainability reporting is via the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

The City of Markham uses GRI to report on Building Markham's Future Together, the long-term strategic plan and The Greenprint, the community sustainability plan. Since 2011, Markham has integrated sustainability reporting into its annual report, using the GRI framework. The City was the first Canadian municipality and is currently the only Ontario municipality to use GRI.

The City’s sustainability reporting process is constantly evolving to remain transparent and accountable to stakeholders and to measure the progress being made in meeting our sustainability goals. In 2011 and 2012, the city relied on readily available indicator data. For 2013, the City included a materiality analysis of the City’s most important issues and more focused messages about what the indicators mean to the City’s overall management. Through the materiality analysis, 21 GRI key performance indicators were chosen to measure the City’s sustainability performance.

Our sustainability report is one way we communicate progress against our sustainability goals and key performance indicators. By providing an account of our business, our social and environmental impacts, our ongoing challenges, and where we are headed, we put ourselves in a stronger position to create positive change. We encourage you to visit www.markham.ca to learn more about our sustainability efforts.

2. General Process

- Select the sustainability reporting team that will coordinate the reporting process - Decide if your corporation will compile a standalone sustainability report or whether the

sustainability related information will be included within other reports (e.g. Annual Report) - Hold meetings with your corporation’s staff members to explain what is going to be done, why this

is important for your company and what will be expected from different departments at different stages of the reporting process. This should be the beginning of ongoing communication with staff to ensure that there is understanding and commitment across the company throughout the reporting process.

- Identify key stakeholders & consider how you will communicate with your key stakeholders - Identify a broad range of sustainability topics which may be relevant & conduct a materiality

analysis - If you are using GRI, compile the necessary data for each of the GRI indicators that you will be

reporting on (the indicators you choose will be based on your materiality analysis) 3. Resources City of Markham’s Annual Report, 2013

City of Markham’s Greenprint- Community Sustainability Plan

Global Reporting Initiative—Ready to Report?

GRI Sustainability Reporting: How valuable is the journey?


http://www.markham.ca/

http://www.markham.ca/wps/wcm/connect/markhampublic/98afc551-ad1c-4ac7-864d-728d82095f45/Annual-Report-2013.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=98afc551-ad1c-4ac7-864d-728d82095f45

http://www.markham.ca/wps/wcm/connect/markhampublic/f3327a2a-55b6-4e22-a36b-aedfe04f4f21/GreenPrint+FINAL+Plan_2011_Accessability.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=f3327a2a-55b6-4e22-a36b-aedfe04f4f21

https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/Ready-to-Report-SME-booklet-online.pdf

https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/Starting-Points-2-G3.1.pdf


FCM 2015 Sustainable Communities Conference - Tim Reeve Handout 1

Table Topic: Amplifying Municipal Priorities and Impacts with Sustainable Purchasing Table Host: Tim Reeve Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 604.763.6829

1. Why is Sustainable Purchasing Rising on the Municipal Agenda Sustainable Purchasing enables municipalities to achieve multiple benefits from within a single function and because it is amplifies strategic impacts across an enterprise. It is a connection point for enterprise wide innovation, collaboration and process improvement. Benefits will include:

• Increase in eco-efficiency and other sustainability benefits • More strategic supplier relationships • Enhanced brand as a leading municipality • More engaged employees • Better risk mitigation and reduction • Improved Financial return on investments / long term cost reductions

.



FCM 2015 Sustainable Communities Conference - Tim Reeve Handout 2

2. What is the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (MCSP)? The Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing (MCSP) is a member based network of Canadian municipalities for its members to share information, resources, technical expertise and best practices in sustainable procurement and other key supply chain topics. MCSP members learn from their peers -- Directors of Supply Management, Purchasing Managers and senior Environment/Sustainability Managers – as well as other experts in the field of sustainable procurement, enabling them to scale up impact within their own organizations more effectively.

3. Key Elements of an Impactful Sustainable Purchasing Program The framework of 10 key Sustainable Procurement Program Elements has been created to identify the policies and practices that drive impactful sustainable purchasing – efforts that deliver tangible business results. Ultimately, a program has all elements– but it takes time to reach scale in all areas.

4. Resources Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing: A Networks of Leaders Working Together http://blog.reeveconsulting.com/2010/11/05/reeve-consulting-and-the-municipal-sustainable-purchasing-network/ Buying Green: A Practical Action Guide for Purchasing Environmentally Preferable Products – Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2014 http://www.turnbackthetide.ca/government-action/pdf/buying-green.pdf Eco Label Index. Alphabetical index of 458 ecolabels. http://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/

http://blog.reeveconsulting.com/2010/11/05/reeve-consulting-and-the-municipal-sustainable-purchasing-network/



http://www.turnbackthetide.ca/government-action/pdf/buying-green.pdf

http://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/



Table Topic: Planning and decision-making tools

Table Host: Cheeying Ho

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 604 388 8421

1. Summary

As we all know, an ICSP (integrated community sustainability plan) or other long-range sustainability-based plan is only as good as its implementation. So often, we develop great plans, but then fall short in how we use them to guide planning and decision-making, or in implementing actions.

Implementation involves: 1. Embedding the ICSP goals into lower level plans, policies and processes; 2. Changing how, what, why: Aligning policies, procedures and decision-making; 3. Engaging – internal (staff) and external (community + partners).

Whistler Centre for Sustainability

Below we explore Aligning policies, procedures, and decision making, which can be done through:

A. A decision-making framework based on your long-term vision and goals B. Internal policies and procedures

A. Decision-making framework – to help guide planning processes (upstream decisions) as well as decision and approval processes (downstream decisions). Key questions in a decision-making framework need to address all of these questions:

1. Does the project/programme/service help your community move towards its long-term goals? 2. Does the project/programme/service help your community move towards its sustainability

objectives? 3. Does the project/programme/service offer a flexible platform for further movement towards the

community’s vision? 4. Is the project/programme/service a good return on investment (ROI) – financial, social,

community? These four questions should provide an opportunity for creativity to improve a proposed project/programme/service. For example, if a proposed project helps move towards some of the community goals, but moves away from (or has no impact) on others, what are ways the project can be improved so that it can move towards more (or faster towards) goals?




There should also be an opportunity to weight some community goals, or sustainability objectives, over others, depending on the type of decision. For example, for a large capital project, ROI may be a more important factor than flexible platform. However, all four questions need to be considered. B. Internal policies and procedures (e.g. purchasing, HR) – These should be aligned with the community goals and sustainability objectives. For example, a purchasing guide could include product assessment questions such as:

• Assess the need for the product: Can you meet the desired service without purchasing a tangible product (e.g. through purchasing a service or labour?)

• Identify the sustainability impacts.

2. Key questions or ideas to consider when undertaking this type of project How do we integrate this type of planning and decision-making into our current practices and processes? How do we get our community partners, vendors, and customers on-board? How do we make sure these practices endure changing political cycles? 3. Resources Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Purchasing Policy and Product Guides http://www.whistler2020.ca/what_are_we_doing/Purchasing_Policy/index Whistler2020 Strategic Question Worksheet file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/W2020%20Strategic%20Question%20Assessment%20v2.pdf http://www.whistler2020.ca/whistler/site/genericPage.acds?instanceid=1967995&context=1967994 From Great Ideas to Great Communities: A Guide for Implementing ICSPs http://www.sustainability-unsm.ca/integrated-community-sustainability-plans.html Whistler Centre for Sustainability www.whistlercentre.ca

http://www.whistler2020.ca/what_are_we_doing/Purchasing_Policy/index

http://www.whistler2020.ca/whistler/site/genericPage.acds?instanceid=1967995&context=1967994

http://www.sustainability-unsm.ca/integrated-community-sustainability-plans.html

http://www.whistlercentre.ca/



Table Topic: Developing and Renewing Sustainability Plans

Table Host: Norm McInnis, CAO, Town of Olds


1. Summary The first ICSP was adopted by Olds Town Council in 2008. The Plan included 15 strategic areas and hundreds of strategies. The Plan was developed by the Olds Institute for Community & Regional Development which is a not for profit that was tasked with stewardship of Sustainability Planning. A “dotmocracy” exercise was used to identify which organizations in our community would be responsible to create action plans for specific strategies. When a list of strategies was introduced to Town staff, staff had no ownership of the strategies because they were not directly involved in the planning and development process. As a result, implementation was not very successful. The second iteration of the ICSP was approved in 2011. The second iteration of the ICSP created 10 principles for sustainable community development, strategies and action planning was left to various groups in the community to develop and implement. At the Town of Olds this has totally changed the way we work. Around the three strategic directions of Engagement, Communication and Organizational Learning we have re-designed our organizational structure to focus on our core services and support services to the community. Key to this new structure is personal learning and organizational management.

2. Key questions or ideas to consider when undertaking this type of project A key idea in our case is the understanding that the corporate Town of Olds is not the community Town of Olds. We are only one piece of community and need to understand what our role is and how that role works with other parts of the community. Core service are responsible for traditional municipal infrastructure and services related to property, Supports services are responsible for facilitating community economic development that is done in the community for the community. This model requires




a strong volunteer culture in the community and a support structure to manage and guide community efforts. In our case the Olds Institute for Community & Regional Development plays this role. Our job as municipal staff is to support and facilitate the OI and to build, operate and maintain the infrastructure for our community to flourish. We have re-structure our organization to align with the concept of a Learning Organization. We have learned and fashioned our work with the help of the National Managers Community of the Federal Government. The use of Organizational Learning tools has helped us to understand public service from a personal, organizational and larger societal point of view.

Sustainability is no longer the responsibility of a position in our organization; it is everyone’s responsibility to understand our sustainability context and to support sustainable practices in their work. Points to consider:

- Facilitator training for those staff who wished to participate spreading the ICSP word to service organizations and OI members in the community

- Those staff have become ambassadors for sustainability - All new orientations take TNS course to provide them with a base on the subject matter - First tool used in all staff to determine vision and mission in 2011. So conversations have been

taking place over the last 4-5 years – employees are retaining information – repetition, repetition, repetition

- Continual use of tools, learning lunches, networking with cohorts from other municipalities and incorporating best practices into work at the Town

- Appreciative Inquiry sessions where staff is asked to look internally first, asking themselves questions. The dream section asks for staff to provide their input on the future of the organization empowering them with a sense of ownership contributing to the sustainability of the organization as a whole.

- Comprehensive Communications Strategy to tell our story - HR strategic plan aligned with ICSP - Town staff and resources contribute to social return on investment.

3. Resources

• http://www.managers-gestionnaires.gc.ca/documents/toolkit_e.pdf

• https://vimeo.com/91026446

• Town of Olds Human Resources Strategic Plan and Communications Strategic Plan

• The Natural Step ICSP Planning guide - http://www.naturalstep.ca/integrated-community-sustainability-planning-a-guide

• Leading Practices in Alberta Municipal Sustainability Planning http://www.stratos-sts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2011_11_Catalyzing-Change.pdf

http://www.managers-gestionnaires.gc.ca/documents/toolkit_e.pdf

https://vimeo.com/91026446

http://www.naturalstep.ca/integrated-community-sustainability-planning-a-guide

http://www.naturalstep.ca/integrated-community-sustainability-planning-a-guide

http://www.stratos-sts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2011_11_Catalyzing-Change.pdf

http://www.stratos-sts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2011_11_Catalyzing-Change.pdf



1. Background: The iC Plan Calgary’s Long-Range Urban Sustainability Plan, the imagineCALGARY (iC) plan, includes a 100 year vision for Calgary, 28 goals and 114 targets across the natural environment, built environment, social, economic, and governance systems. The plan was developed between 2004 and 2006 through the engagement and participation of over 18,000 Calgarians. iC represents the hopes and aspirations of Calgarians for the future of the city. It is a plan to guide the community, not just one organization. Key impacts associated with the iC plan:

- iC informed the principles and content of Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan (2009) and Calgary Transportation Plan (2009) – The key olicy documents for Land use and Transportation in Calgary.

- Formed the backbone for The City of Calgary’s 2020 Sustainability Direction (2011) - Informed numerous Calgary-based organizations’ corporate sustainability plans - Spun off the Calgary EATS! local food action team - Provides the framework for collective impact in Calgary around sustainability initiatives.

2. The imagineCALGARY Community Partnership

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together” – African Proverb The imagineCALGARY Partnership represents almost 150 organizations that have endorsed the iC plan and signed on to support the ongoing implementation and spirit of the plan. Since 2012, the Partnership has used the constellation model of governance whereby a Stewardship group of partners make up the decision making body and act as stewards of the plan. The City of Calgary’s Office of Sustainability supports the partnership in a secretariat role. Main activities of the Stewardship Group: Main activities of iC Stewardship Group

Recent examples

1) Convening conversation and collaboration • Hosting a Summit on the Natural Environment, April 2014

• iC website as base of all sustainability events happening in Calgary

2) Capacity building • Working with Community Associations to use the iC plan as

a framework for community sustainability planning 3) Measurement

• Progress report on the Natural Environment System, April 2014 [prototype report]

4) Celebrating and acknowledging • Blog articles, iC newsletter, social media campaign

Table Topic: Supporting a community network of sustainability partners

Table Host: Christina Fuller

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: Office: (403) 268-5373




Challenges:

- Complexity of managing a plan that contains 114 targets - Keep the plan relevant and useful - Measurement of the plan - Moving beyond the plan being symbolic north star into something tangible on the ground

Success factors:

- Keep it current and relevant - Using a City-led, community owned process - Where possible, find ways to streamline and keep it simple - Debrief and learn from mistakes - Clearly identify the role of the secretariat and the Stewardship Group - Develop a refresh plan in order to keep the content and direction fresh and purposeful

3. Key questions to consider when working with a partnership on a community sustainability plan?

- How do you work together to keep a long-range urban sustainability plan fresh and relevant as a living document and process?

- Who’s plan is it? - How can a municipality best provide leadership and support to a community partnership? - How can we use a community plan as a framework for catalyzing action around sustainability? - Do newly elected officials embrace the long-term plan developed before their term?

4. Resources

a. www.imagineCALGARY.ca b. imagineCALGARY prototype measurement report on the natural environment:

http://www.imaginecalgary.ca/stay-informed/reports c. Centre for Social Innovation (CSI, Toronto) information on constellation model:

http://socialinnovation.ca/constellationmodel d. Stanford Social Innovation Review article on Collective Impact

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact

The Constellation Model of Governance Source: Surman, T., & Surman, M. 2008 Sep 15. Open Sourcing Social Change: Inside the Constellation Model. Open Source Business Resource: http://www.osbr.ca/ojs/index.php/osbr/article/view/698/666

http://www.imaginecalgary.ca/

http://www.imaginecalgary.ca/stay-informed/reports

http://socialinnovation.ca/constellationmodel

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact

http://www.osbr.ca/ojs/index.php/osbr/article/view/698/666



Table Topic: Enabling Sustainability Through Collaboration & Innovation – The Durham Partners in Project Green (DPPG) Model

Table Host: Shawna Mutton


1. Summary Durham Partners in Project Green (DPPG) is the business program of Durham Sustain Ability, a non-profit organization. DPPG is a growing community of organizations (small – large businesses, municipalities, community, educational institutions etc.) working together to green their bottom line by building a stronger, greener and more productive regional economy. Through new forms of business to business collaboration, DPPG delivers programming that helps these organizations reduce energy and resource costs, uncover new business opportunities, and address everyday operational challenges in a green and cost effective manner. We recently re-launched this program with the help of many community partners. How Did We Do It?

DPPG = COLLABORATION HUB ANYONE CAN APPLY THIS MODEL

Key Results & Impacts

All above groups actively engaged and working together to re-design DSA’s business program through:

o Innovation workshops o One-to-one meetings o Online webinars o Surveys o Events

Hundreds of ideas generated

Relationships built & fostered



Lessons Learned

Sometimes you have to think like NIKE and Just Do It! Too much time spent planning will result in loss of interest from your once engaged partners.

The KISS model still applies. If you can say it in a page or two – keep it to a page or two! No one wants to read a 50+ page report if the key message can be summarized in a short document.

Building relationships, both internally and externally, takes time. Our Framework The framework we created reflects Professor Kotter’s (Harvard) change methodology. This tried and tested approach is at the heart of the DPPG program. DPPG’s “Five Simple Steps Towards Sustainability” model is as follows:

Tips

Keep things fun! There are many exercises out there that can keep everyone engaged, smiling, and laughing. This keeps morale high and innovative ideas flowing.

Take time to get to know your key partners and/or staff. This fosters frank conversations, respect and mutual support.

Treat all network partners as peers – they are equally important.

Encourage, support and celebrate new ideas.

Remembers what Thomas Edison said, “I never failed; I just discovered 1,000 ways in which the light bulb would not work. And every attempt brought me closer to the knowledge of how it would.”

2. Key questions or ideas to consider when undertaking this type of project

Think of your organization/municipality as the hub – put yourself in the centre of the circle.

How does my municipality typically pick the best team to solve a specific issue or pursue an opportunity?

How can my municipality get active engagement from various different groups & partners?

How can my municipality create value for everyone on the outside of the circle?

Has my municipality created an atmosphere which embraces innovation and collaboration?

How do our project teams typically generate a myriad of new ideas?

Remember – the middle circle is not the “doer” of everything, it is the integration point.

Remember that innovating comes out of collaboration – become the “Hub”. 3. Resources

Durham Sustain Ability: www.sustain-ability.ca

Durham Partners in Project Green: http://sustain-ability.ca/programs/business/durham-ppg/

The 8 Step Process for Leading Change: http://www.kotterinternational.com/the-8-step-process-for-leading-change/

http://www.sustain-ability.ca/

http://sustain-ability.ca/programs/business/durham-ppg/

http://www.kotterinternational.com/the-8-step-process-for-leading-change/

http://www.kotterinternational.com/the-8-step-process-for-leading-change/



Table Topic: From planning to implementation: Okotoks’ success with water conservation

Table Host: Dawn Smith


1. SUMMARY

The Alberta Context Through the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) Licence Moratorium (2006), the SSRB has been closed to new water licence applications except for First Nations, Water Conservation Objectives and approved water storage projects. This moratorium on the issuing of new water licences has created Canada's first market-based system to transfer (trade) water licences.

Alberta uses a water allocation system referred to as FITFIR (First-in-Time, First-in-Right). This system uses ‘priority’ (date and time number assigned to a water allocation) as the determining factor in certain water-specific situations. There is no priority given to the specific use, however the priority number indicates seniority in times of shortage. This means when there is not enough water for all the licencees, the oldest licencees get their water before the newer ones (junior licences). Of the Town’s 20 water licenses, 11 are senior, six are senior (seasonal) and three are junior licenses.

Impetus for the Plan In 1998, the Town of Okotoks created its ‘Legacy Plan’ which embedded strong sustainability principles within its Municipal Development Plan (MDP). The Town of Okotoks was one of the first municipalities in the Region to adopt sustainability principles and have a MDP based on ‘smart growth’ principles. One of the main drivers for the creation of the ‘Legacy Plan’ was the limited water resources available through water licenses for the Town. At that time, the Town made a pioneering decision to live within the carrying capacity of the Sheep River Watershed. Through a water consumption analysis, based on a per capita water consumption target of 318 litres per capita per day (lpcd), the ‘carrying capacity’ of the community was estimated at approximately 30,000 people.

Conservation Target To achieve the community’s water consumption target of 318 lpcd, the Town created its first Water Management Plan in 2002, which contained the foundation strategies for the 2014 Water Conservation Efficiency and Productivity (CEP) Plan. At the time the Plan was penned, the Town’s 2001 gross water consumption average was 510 lpcd, making the Plan’s target an aggressive 38% reduction in consumption. Through the implementation of the programs contained within the Plan and its iterations (2005 & 2008), the Town achieved and surpassed its 318 lpcd target in 2010. Since the implementation of the suite of programs in 2002, the Town reduced its gross water consumption from 510 lpcd (2002) to 273 lpcd (2013), a reduction of 46%.

Water & Growth Over the past 10 years, while experiencing rapid community growth, the Town has remained within its allocated licensed water supply. Over this period, the community achieved a 41% reduction in gross water consumption per capita while experiencing a 45% increase in population. The Town procured nine additional water licenses (360,287m³) in tandem with the water conservation programs to manage the population growth within a limited water supply in the short term. While the Town needed to procure additional licenses within this period to accommodate the population growth, through the strategies of the Water CEP Plan, the Town has avoided procuring the additional 11.6 million m³ (at a cost of approx. $66 million) in water licenses that would have been required if the community had not reduced its per capita consumption from the 2001 (pre-plan) rate. Additionally, the Town experienced $1.3 million in energy savings, over the ten year period, through not treating and processing the conserved water.

Successes of the Plan Through the implementation of the programs contained within the Water CEP Plan, the Town of Okotoks has achieved one of the lowest per capita gross water consumption averages (273 lpcd (2013)) and residential water consumption averages (177 lpcd (2013)) in North America.




While the Plan is primarily focused on water quantity, there remains an emphasis on the quality of the water supply and the biodiversity of the river. On average, the Town returns 96% of the water withdrawn from the Sheep River back to the watershed as high quality treated effluent. Through proactive leak detection and monitoring, the Town has achieved a tight waterworks utility with a system leak rate of less than 5%.

The Town has been successful over the past decade at achieving strong community support in water conservation. Requirements in the Water Bylaw, such as the Outdoor Watering Schedule, are supported by residents and often self-policed. The Town’s annual Water Conservation Rebate Program has also been a great initiative to measure community engagement and participation, with the Program quickly being fully subscribed to each year.

Lessons Learned Whilst the community understood the impetus for the implementation of the aggressive water conservation strategies, they eventually arrived at a saturation point for the absorption of knowledge and adjustment. The success of the Water CEP Plan has in some ways delayed the successful implementation and acceptance of other environmental programs, due to compounding programs and community acceptability for the rate of change. Future As the Town’s existing short-term water supply is not a financially or politically sustainable option long term, the Town of Okotoks is currently in negotiations with the City of Calgary for the creation of a regional water supply through a pipeline from Calgary to Okotoks. The Town has committed that, although a supplementary water supply will be available in for future community growth, the conservation, efficiency and productivity programs of the Water Management Plan will not be abandoned.

2. KEY QUESTIONS AND IDEAS TO CONSIDER WHEN UNDERTAKING THIS TYPE OF PROJECT

Do we have the staff available to implement and monitor the diversity of measures? The Town experienced this issue with the Development Density Bonus Program and the top soil depth requirements of the Drainage Bylaw. The Development Density Program set advanced water conservation requirements through individual lot’s restrictive covenants. Due to staffing limitations, the Town struggled keeping up with the inspection process to ensure compliance and evolving the water conservation requirements over time to keep pace with product innovation. The top soil requirements of the Drainage Bylaw faced the same challenges with the application, inspection and monitoring process. A revised Bylaw was required to close these loops throughout sign off processes.

Once you implement a Rebate Program, ongoing community expectation is created The Town implemented its first Rebate Program as part of the Water CEP Plan in 2008. Since the implementation of this first program, the program’s annual budget has doubled to meet community demand. Even with a doubled budget, the Program sells out annually within five months, leaving some residents wanting. While the Program is run on a first come basis, the expectation of a rebate has been created within the Community, many seeing it as a reward for environmental behavior. While rebates can be a strong tool to incent and implement change, the Program designer must step back and consider, am I incenting a behavioral change or simply providing reward for common practice? It is a hard balance, when expectations for fixtures are created (i.e. toilets), while the price for the advanced product has reached level playing field. What are we incenting?

3. DISCUSSION POINT

When and how can North American communities begin to implement true water conservation (i.e. achieving European water conservation rates)? Is a fundamental change in thinking required? Change from existing linear consumption models and end of pipe solutions?

4. RESOURCES

• http://www.okotoks.ca/sustainability/environment/water-efficiency-conservation • http://issuu.com/town_of_okotoks/docs/mun_dev_plan?e=3149091/2626011 • http://albertawater.com/how-is-water-governed

http://www.okotoks.ca/sustainability/environment/water-efficiency-conservation

http://issuu.com/town_of_okotoks/docs/mun_dev_plan?e=3149091/2626011

http://albertawater.com/how-is-water-governed



Table Topic: Climate Change Planning: The Guelph Experience

Table Host: Rob Kerr, GM Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. (GMHI)

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 519-822-1260 ext. 2079

1. Summary – Key Messages In 2009, a Steering Committee established by City Council to review the future direction and opportunities of the Guelph Hydro business enterprise made a recommendation to Council to modify the existing asset management approach of the City and to develop a business case study for the incorporation of a holding company for current and future- owned City assets. In 2010, Council approved the incorporation of a holding company for current and future city- owned assets, including Guelph Hydro Inc., its affiliates Guelph Hydro Electric Services and Envida Community Energy, and Guelph Junction Railway Company. Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. was incorporated in August 2011 and the City’s shares of Guelph Hydro Inc. were transferred to GMHI on December 31, 2011. A Shareholder Declaration was made in 2011 by the City establishing GMHI’s objectives, its governance requirements and the oversight of financial matters, including reporting and performance. The Declaration also defined the relationship between the City and GMHI and GMHI and the GHI group of companies. During its first full year of operation in 2012, GMHI focused on building its governance capacity and learning the GHI businesses. A Strategic Framework for the corporation for 2013 to 2016 was developed at the end of 2012, establishing the Vision, Mission and Mandate for GMHI.

Vision, Mission & Mandate Vision: An adaptive, agile and creative corporation focused on value-added public asset management in support of municipal innovation, revenue generation and community prosperity. Mission: To actively explore opportunities, establish stakeholder partnerships and act as a vehicle for leveraging and implementing innovative delivery models. Mandate: (as approved by Guelph City Council June 28, 2011)

- To work with operating companies, investors and private partners as appropriate to maximize the value of current and future City-owned assets;

- Act as a catalyst for operational excellence and; - Advise, inform and make recommendations to the City, as Shareholder, on matters and

opportunities pertaining to the operating companies reporting to GMHI.

The creation of a holding company such as GMHI is facilitated by a change to the Ontario Municipal Act in 2006 that allows for companies to be created by local governments, operating under the Business Corporations Act that leverage city asset toward city building and local community benefit. This creates two fundamental principles in which to bring creative solutions to implementation of highly complex city-building activities:

1. Allows for the municipal corporation to play a significant role in implementing complex, integrated strategies and related projects that the municipality is challenged to execute while complying with the procurement guidelines under the Municipal Act. This facilitates a process for creative partnerships with the private sector and other orders of government.




2. In pursuing and assessing the above named partnerships, the holding company can use local economic development as a key criteria in defining relationships.

The Community Energy Initiative established in 2007 forms the fundamental business framework for Envida Community Energy and Guelph Hydro Electrical Systems Inc. thus aligning a significant policy framework developed by the City with the strategic activities of the regulated and non-regulated utility assets under GMHI. A significant list of key results and impacts have emerged with this alignment:

- Over 10 MW of rooftop solar across the City. - Over 75 MW of CHP projects in development. 30 MW already awarded by the Ontario Power

Authority - Two district energy nodes with growing number of thermal energy customers in downtown and

business park - Increasingly active community groups partnering in communications and conservation

engagement - Direct impact on attracting energy-related companies to Guelph as well as providing competitive

energy services to all companies considering locating in Guelph. Learnings The following itemizes key aspects of the learnings related to the ongoing development of GMHI. These learnings are incorporated into the ongoing strategic alignment of GMHI and the City’s Strategic Objectives.

• Understanding of Municipal Assets. Clarity is key on what assets exist within the municipality that can be leveraged for additional community value. Are these hard or soft assets?

• Clarity of Purpose. Is the municipality looking to solve a specific development or policy

challenge or is looking to create a tool for solutions to as-yet unknown challenges?

• Protocols. How does the holding company work on an ongoing basis with the City? Lack of clarity of protocols can create significant confusion.

• Governance. Governance and oversight to the holding company are key. A skills-based board

that understands the space between public and private sector is key.

• Transparency. A holding company is not a loophole to avoid the public interest inherent in Municipal Act guidelines. Communications and clarity of strategy and results with City Council as shareholder and the community at large is critical in maintaining support.

• Culture. When merging city interests with arm’s length assets such as an electrical utility,

acknowledgement of the differences in “corporate culture” are a critical success factor.

• Community of Practice. Building and maintaining a network of other municipalities pursuing similar objectives is critical. Further, ongoing support from Provincial bodies is bolstered when there is seen to be growing number of cities engaged in similar activity.

2. Resources

• Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. (GMHI) web: www.guelphholdings.com • Community Energy Initiative (CEI): http://guelph.ca/plans-and-strategies/community-energy-

initiative/ • CEI and Jobs (media): http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5245171-guelph-emerges-as-

national-leader-in-renewable-energy-jobs/

http://www.guelphholdings.com/

http://www.guelphholdings.com/

http://guelph.ca/plans-and-strategies/community-energy-initiative/

http://guelph.ca/plans-and-strategies/community-energy-initiative/

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5245171-guelph-emerges-as-national-leader-in-renewable-energy-jobs/

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5245171-guelph-emerges-as-national-leader-in-renewable-energy-jobs/

DOCUMENT DE L’ATELIER : STIMULER LE CHANGEMENT : OUTILS POUR LES EMPLOYES CHAMPIONS DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE

Conférence sur les collectivités durables 2015 de la FCM 1

Sujet de la table de discussion :

L’acceptabilité sociale et le développement durable : le projet de PPU Henri-Bourassa Ouest dans l’arrondissement d’Ahuntsic-Cartierville

Animateur : Richard Blais

Courriel : [email protected] Tél. : 514 206-7329

1. Résumé En 2010, l’arrondissement d’Ahuntsic-Cartierville de la Ville de Montréal s’est doté d’un plan de développement durable avec le support du Fonds municipal vert (FMV). Depuis ce jour, chaque action significative projetée par l’arrondissement doit être évaluée selon les trois principes de développement durable que sont la responsabilité environnementale, l’efficience économique et l’équité sociale.

Ce troisième aspect du développement durable est parfois plus difficile à cerner, les mesurables étant moins clairement définis et les effets pouvant s’étaler sur de longues périodes. À l’intérieur de cet aspect se trouve également la notion d’acceptabilité sociale. Délicat équilibre entre les aspirations populaires et le pouvoir politique, cette notion a pris une importance considérable au cours des dernières années, particulièrement dans le domaine du développement du territoire. Les citoyens désirent être au cœur des décisions prises par leurs élus et réclament de plus en plus à être entendus lors des processus visant l’adoption de plans d’ensembles, projets particuliers de développement et programmes d’urbanisation. Le citoyen veut décider de l’avenir de son quartier!

C’est ce contexte qui a amené le conseil d’arrondissement d’Ahuntsic-Cartierville à proposer un nouveau modèle en matière de Programme particulier d’urbanisme (PPU) sur son territoire. La population locale fortement mobilisée réclame une vision participative pour l’avenir du secteur connu sous le nom de «Henri-Bourassa Ouest», dont une vaste portion est composée de terrains vacants ou sous-utilisés. Par ailleurs, une proposition antérieure de développement de la part d’un des grands propriétaires situés sur le territoire en question avait fait la quasi-unanimité autour de son rejet et rendu la population locale très méfiante envers tout nouveau projet. De ce fait, la faisabilité du développement passe désormais par la voie de la participation citoyenne. Comme aucun modèle de PPU participatif existant ne correspondait à la réalité du territoire visé, il est devenu nécessaire de créer un processus adapté et de le mettre en œuvre de manière à pouvoir rallier la population autour d’un projet de développement répondant à la fois à leurs aspirations et aux impératifs environnementaux, économiques, sociaux et législatifs. Entrepris en 2013, le projet de PPU Henri-Bourassa Ouest, validé par l’Office de consultation publique de Montréal, a été élaboré par les professionnels de l’arrondissement avec l’apport de trois consultations publiques à grande échelle, sept ateliers d’idéation (auxquels étaient invités la population locale, les partenaires communautaires, les grands propriétaires terriens et les représentants des organismes et entreprises présents sur et autour du territoire visé) et pas moins de 12 tables rondes servant à discuter des détails en plus petits groupes. Les élus locaux ont été impliqués à chaque étape du processus.


DOCUMENT DE L’ATELIER : STIMULER LE CHANGEMENT : OUTILS POUR LES EMPLOYES CHAMPIONS DU DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE

Conférence sur les collectivités durables 2015 de la FCM 2

Bien qu’une telle entreprise vise essentiellement un consensus le plus large possible, certains groupes de pression prennent des positions parfois irréconciliables avec les objectifs de la majorité et parfois même des paliers décisionnels supérieurs. La gestion de cette dissidence n’est pas facile et reste un aspect très délicat du processus. Il est néanmoins impératif de pouvoir arriver à une solution qui, au-delà de son acceptabilité sociale, soit à l’avantage du plus grand nombre tout en respectant les engagements de la municipalité envers les objectifs de développement régionaux. L’expérience du PPU Henri-Bourassa Ouest à Ahuntsic-Cartierville permettra à la fois de relancer le développement d’un secteur sous-utilisé depuis des décennies et de ressouder le lien de confiance entre la population et l’administration municipale. De plus, l’aspect pédagogique non-négligeable servira à sensibiliser toutes les parties impliquées aux points de vue des autres et ainsi élargir la vision de chacun. Le processus devrait connaître sa conclusion au cours de 2015, sa première adoption par le conseil d’arrondissement étant prévue pour le mois de février. Le modèle pourra être réutilisé pour la réalisation de projets semblables en milieu urbain.

2. Questions ou idées clés à prendre en compte quand on entreprend ce type de projet

• Équilibre entre la volonté populaire et les objectifs municipaux; • Le respect des trois critères de développement durable à l’intérieur du projet; • Une ferme volonté de recherche d’une solution consensuelle; • Une sincère transparence dans toutes les étapes de réalisation; • Un échéancier souple prévoyant les imprévus (il y en aura!).

3. Ressources Voici le lien pour la page du PPU Henri-Bourassa Ouest sur le site web de l’arrondissement d’Ahuntsic-Cartierville : http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=7957,110085570&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=7957,110085570&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

WORKSHOP HANDOUT: SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBOURHOOD ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING


Table Topic: Sustainable Neighbourhood Engagement and Planning – Tools, resources and stories

Table Host: John Purkis, Senior Associate The Natural Step Canada

Host Email: [email protected] Host Tel: 613-748-3001 ext 5227

1. Summary

An effective sustainable neighbourhood planning process engages neighbours and neighbourhood stakeholders in a collaborative endeavour, helps people to see the big picture, provides people with the space to learn from each other and with each other, draws on the group’s collective intelligence, and fosters the creation and implementation of initiatives towards desirable shared visions. The Amazing Neighbourhoods: Engagement and Sustainability Planning Guide was developed and piloted with the Ramsay Community Association in Calgary. Ramsay used the guide to create their Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan and The Natural Step incorporated lessons learned into an updated guide. A key aspect of sustainability planning at the neighbourhood scale involved backcasting from sustainability principles. Backcasting simply means beginning with the end in mind while the sustainability principles provide an overarching description of what is required to achieve a sustainable society. For backcasting purposes, they can be translated into long-term goals that a neighbourhood can work toward, orienting the actions and investments in the neighbourhood in the direction of sustainability. Alignment with the principles is a long-term objective because of the many initiatives that need to be carried out in order to achieve that level of socio-ecological success. Economic and financial successes, on the other hand, are required immediately and in the short-term as well as throughout the process of moving toward the long-term alignment with the principles. The key is to use these long term goals to prioritize short-term initiatives, which: • Over time, move the neighbourhood towards

alignment with the socio-ecological principles of sustainability.

• Are flexible platforms for future investments and initiatives that allow for changing realities.

• Generate a sufficient economic, social, political or financial return to seed future initiatives and investment.

2. Guiding Principles to support a sustainable neighbourhood planning process:

1. Structure the process but stay flexible: The process should be guided by an overarching structure, so people know what to expect. It should also provide sufficient flexibility to enable the co-creation of detailed steps and initiatives.

2. Invite everyone: Invite the whole neighbourhood and all of its stakeholders to contribute to the process, particularly those who may be affected by — and can influence — the success of efforts to move the neighbourhood toward sustainability.

3. Engage people in different ways: Offer neighbours a variety of ways to contribute to the process and ensure that engagement methods respect cultural norms within the neighbourhood.

4. Whoever shows up are the right people1: Work with the energy of the participants and identify initiatives that can be done with the resources and energy of the willing collaborators.

1 “Whoever shows up are the right people” is a principle of Open Space Technology, which reminds participants that they don't need the CEO and 100 people to get something done. What are needed are people who care.


WORKSHOP HANDOUT: SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBOURHOOD ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING


5. Collaborate: Synergistic opportunities arise when collaboration occurs among neighbours and neighbourhood stakeholders from multiple sectors and even across different neighbourhoods.

6. Nurture relationships: Make time at the beginning of the process to build trust and a sense of community by hosting “neighbourhood-building” events that also serve to increase awareness of the relevance of sustainability for the neighbourhood.

7. Manage expectations: First, by communicating the overall process, and second, by understanding everyone’s ability to participate in the planning process and implementation, and their responsibility to the overall process.

8. Develop shared visions: Focus more on what people want (i.e., a shared, desirable vision), and less on what they don’t want. This will energize the process and help overcome entrenched positions.

9. Focus on the positive: Focusing on the neighbourhood’s assets — in terms of skills, networks, existing and proposed initiatives, resources and energy — energizes and empowers people. Work for what you want.

10. Be transparent about the process: Ensure that the process and its outcomes are transparent and well communicated. This will enable neighbours and neighbourhood stakeholders to easily follow the process and understand how they can contribute to it.

11. Choose a good facilitator: The process will benefit tremendously from the support of a capable and committed coordinator and the use of experienced facilitators.

12. Take one step at a time: Do what you can with the people and resources that you have. Momentum builds step-by-step.

13. Have fun! Remember to celebrate along the way, all the time. Stop and notice what you have achieved, the good you are doing right now, and why you are doing the work – with smiles and laughter.

3. Key questions or ideas to consider when undertaking this type of project

• How do we know if our vision, strategies and actions are helping to achieve sustainable outcomes?

• As we strive to make the neighbourhood more sustainable, what aspects are the most important to focus on?

• What are the desirable future characteristics of the neighbourhood in each of these focus areas? • What is our current reality relative to what we desire? • What are some of the opportunities for bridging the gap in each focus area? • How can we keep the momentum going and identify other initiatives to bring us closer to our

sustainability vision? • How can we encourage maximum neighbourhood and stakeholder participation?

4. Resources

• Amazing Neighbourhoods: Engagement and Sustainability Planning Guide:

http://www.naturalstep.ca/amazing-neighbourhoods-engagement-and-sustainability-planning-guide-national-version

• Urban Ecology Center: http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en/ • Seeking Community (Tamarack Institute): http://seekingcommunity.ca/ • Deepening Community (book by Paul Born): http://www.deepeningcommunity.org/ • Sustainable Community Awards: http://www.fcm.ca/home/awards/fcm-sustainable-communities-

awards.htm • Green Municipal Fund – Planning Resource: http://www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-

fund/resources/planning-resources.htm • City of Vancouver Neighbourhood Planning: http://vancouver.ca/home-property-

development/neighbourhood-planning-projects.aspx • Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plans: http://sustainableneighbourhoods.ca/wp/



http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en/

http://seekingcommunity.ca/

http://www.deepeningcommunity.org/

http://www.fcm.ca/home/awards/fcm-sustainable-communities-awards.htm

http://www.fcm.ca/home/awards/fcm-sustainable-communities-awards.htm

http://www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/resources/planning-resources.htm

http://www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/resources/planning-resources.htm

http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/neighbourhood-planning-projects.aspx

http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/neighbourhood-planning-projects.aspx

http://sustainableneighbourhoods.ca/wp/



Table Topic: Effective Communications: Getting the message out about sustainability

Table Host: Liz Nield, CEO, Lura Consulting


1. Summary The approach to engagement outlined in your strategy should ensure that key stakeholder groups, as well as the general public, have an opportunity to participate in the development of a Action Plan. The objective of your engagement process should be to collaborate with and empower the community to take action. This document outlines some of the tools and strategies municipalities can use to communicate effectively around sustainability. Working Collaboratively to Define the Strategy for Engagement – Work collaboratively with your team to develop the “narrative” and key messages that will provide the foundation for communicating the project to stakeholders and the public and set the stage for constructive and useful feedback. Use Innovative Public Engagement Techniques – The world of consultation and engagement changes on a very regular basis – and communities are becoming more interested in engaging in ways that are different, fun and unique. Effective consultation involves bringing a “tool-box” of the latest approaches and techniques to our clients and then designing engagement strategies that are unique and tailor-made for each specific client and process. An example is the approach used for ReThink London, which engaged more than 45,000 people over two years. What is the Tool? Why Use It? Project Identity A user friendly name and look and feel for the project could be designed and used

to foster broad community engagement. Poster/Notice A poster could be designed and used to promote and publicize upcoming

community engagement activities; one key recommendation is to obtain permission from school boards to send this home with every student in K-8– to spread the message widely about the opportunity to participate. The poster/notice can also be distributed broadly by email and made available at community centres, etc. and can be included in City notices section of local newspapers.

Discussion Guide and Comment Card

Prepare a Discussion Guide and Comment Card to gather feedback from the community – this can be also be used to spark conversations online.

Task Force Sometimes, setting up Task Forces to focus on specific themes can help to build capacity as well as your Action Plan! They can be tricky to manage, but well worth it if managed properly.

Panel Discussion on Public Places

To kick-off the engagement we recommend hosting a panel or a keynote speaker – sometimes this can be budget intensive, but well worth it if you want a large turn out to your first public meeting.

Charrette Interactive charrettes are an excellent way to engage people in a conversation on a municipality’s future. An example tool that we could use is a “community asset map” - these help identify and communicate the assets that already exist in a community

Participatory Asset mapping promotes knowledge sharing and helps to define a positive story




What is the Tool? Why Use It? Mapping and builds on what the public knows. Identifying assets requires the community

thinking in a holistic manner about the attributes and positive features in an area and how the different assets are interconnected.

Pop-up Neighbourhood Events

In addition to hosting public charrette sessions, always go to where people are, and invite them to participate. You should think about spending as much of your time out talking to people as you do anything else– using this approach you can also make sure that you are targeting specific audiences such as youth, seniors and newcomers.

Youth Engagement Engaging youth is an often overlooked part of a good community engagement plan. The youth engagement activities can use the materials prepared as part of the pop-ups, workshop-in-a-box, or be delivered in a similar fashion as the community charrettes but with messaging and activities that are tailored to youth interests and approaches.

Digital Engagement

Increasingly, communities and residents are expecting and seeking online engagement opportunities in parallel with face-to-face engagement. You could establish an online portal for the project as part of the Municipality’s existing website. Two online tools worth looking at are: MindMixer: http://mindmixer.com and Metroquest: http://metroquest.com. Social media could also be used – explore the use of a Municipality’s existing accounts, as well as the creation of a new account or new hashtag (e.g., #rethinkldn) to help promote social media focused conversation during the consultations. This could be done in tandem with the face-to-face consultation and meetings.

Behaviour Change Encouraging behaviour change and creating a culture of positive change for desired behaviours is vital for the successful implementation of many strategies and action plans. Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) is an approach based on research in the social sciences that is effective in changing behaviours and maintaining sustainable behaviours over the long term. CBSM programs are designed to go beyond traditional information and awareness campaigns to target individual behaviours, bridging the very real gap between awareness and action. CBSM initiatives focus on removing barriers to an activity and promoting the most influential benefits or motivators to the desired behaviour change. CBSM tools are then employed to reinforce and sustain the behaviours, usually with direct contact at the community level.

2. Key questions or ideas to consider when undertaking this type of project When developing your engagement and communications strategy, consider the following questions:

• How will you and your team ensure that the community is informed and kept up to date throughout all phases of the project?

• How will you ensure the community feels they have been heard and you are listening? • How will you provide multiple avenues and opportunities for community members and

stakeholders to help shape your project? • How will you implement an iterative engagement process that provides feedback on how

community values and input have shaped the outcome? • How will you integrate a sustainability lens (economy, society, culture and environment) and

promote the overall vision and values throughout the community? • How will you instill a positive impact on your on community and a sense of pride of ownership?

3. Resources

• Lura Consulting: www.lura.ca • Sustainable Peterborough: http://sustainablepeterborough.ca/ • City of Hamilton’s Climate Action Plan: http://climatechangehamilton.ca/ • ReThink London: www.rethinklondon.ca • MindMixer: (http://mindmixer.com/) and Metroquest: http://metroquest.com

http://mindmixer.com/

http://metroquest.com/

http://www.lura.ca/

http://sustainablepeterborough.ca/

http://climatechangehamilton.ca/

http://www.rethinklondon.ca/

http://mindmixer.com/

http://metroquest.com/

5 Vol. 29, No. 2, 2014 | 5

o fficial Plan review—these words mean a call to action for municipal planners and an exciting opportunity to refresh local policies and plans. But from a community engagement perspective, the

same words can lead to glazed eyes, community apathy and most telling, a near empty public gallery as council decides on a new official plan. Recognizing this, City of London planners made a conscious decision to look at the official plan review process and community engagement in a completely different light. Rather than embarking on a traditional policy-driven, statutory review, we created ReThink London—an inclusive, community-driven conversation with Londoners about city-building and the future of our community. The result has been what we had hoped for and much more, with residents stepping up to engage in record numbers in an important dialogue about issues that matter and the kind of London we all want in the future.

As we began to map out our community engagement approach, there were two key considerations that guided our thinking. First was a commitment to talk about ReThink in a way that people could understand—we would not use planning jargon. For example, we banned the use of the term Official Plan and even set up a swear jar in the office for anyone who uttered these words at any time. ReThink was to be a conversation about city-building, what London could be in the future and how we will achieve this vision. The second key factor was that this was not to be a land use plan. Of course land use is a core component, but it is just one of many that will inform our new plan. The ReThink London plan will not just be for the Planning Department, but rather a guide for the entire Corporation of the City of London—and its residents—on how we will live, grow, move, prosper and protect our environment in the future.

What we have achieved

To date, the ReThink London community engagement process has shown us in spades that the people of London really do care about their city, how it will be planned, and its future. As of mid-January 2014—1.5 years into the process—over 14,500 Londoners have attended public meetings or engaged through non-traditional means (i.e., social media or online). We have held 78 public meetings/events over a seven-month period and have reached out to 240,000 Londoners via mailouts or media.

What is notable is that the vast majority of this engagement work has been undertaken in-house. The ReThink team has engaged consultants (as an example, Lura Consulting was retained to help design the engagement process and assist with implementation behind the scenes) to help prepare background studies, communications and engagement plans and provide capacity building, data management support and website support. But the Planning Department is proud to have taken a very visible lead role for the engagement process and has found the ongoing conversation with residents to be both constructive and reinvigorating.

The launch event, with a keynote address from Peter Mansbridge, was one of the largest engagement events in London’s history. We were able to attract over 1,300 people to discuss community issues and planning and kickstart

ReThink London. Since then, we have used a mix of face-to-face and online engagement activities to enable residents to participate in crafting the ReThink vision, objectives and strategies. As we embark on our last leg of engagement, which is to seek feedback on the draft plan (likely this spring), we are looking at new ways and tools to maximize engagement in refining our blueprint for city-building. Our goal is to make the plan

as accessible as possible, using plain language to convert planning policy lingo into an easy and exciting read.

lessons learned

While we have learned many things through ReThink, there are five main lessons that the team has taken from this process. First, effective community engagement takes time and resources. It requires connecting with individuals on a localized, recurring basis, which takes both time and resources. However, there is a benefit to all this and that is getting more people involved in planning matters and contributing to the plan. As noted above, we conducted 78 public meetings in a seven-month period; however, 93 per cent of those meetings took place in the first three of those seven months. It takes time to prepare for these meetings as each was individualized for the particular group. We could not go out with a stock presentation and expect to get relevant information back from the participants. Each group has its unique issues and perspectives.

Second, is the use of social media. This tool has many facets to it, and a huge amount of potential. However, you need information to feed to it…constantly. Looking back on our use of social media, it would have been wise to identify a specific person to perform this function, rather than the ad hoc approach we took. A dedicated social media person

Community Engagement London-style

rethinking consultationBy Sean Galloway, Liz Nield and David Dilks

sean Galloway

liz nield

David Dilks

E NgagEE

6 | ONTARIO PLANNING JOURNAL 6

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would constantly be searching for information, educational pieces, pictures and other resources to post to the various tools. In future, as these tools become more prevalent in the way we do planning we will require a larger dedication to the researching of information and maintenance of social media. Meanwhile, through ReThink, we have developed a solid following on Twitter, which we can use and leverage moving into new projects and the review of the plan.

Third, is that as planners we can no longer expect people to come to us. To effectively engage with the public, we need to go to the people. We need to engage them on their own terms, their schedule and in places and spaces that they congregate. Our engagement approach has demonstrated the utility of tools and techniques such as, show and tell, workshop-in-a-box, places and spaces conversations, online visual preference surveys and other web-based tools. Our next round of engagement on the draft plan will continue this by using some unique GIS tools and other measures that will make reading the plan interesting and pertinent to people.

Fourth, is to work with community groups and social infrastructure to get a diversity of citizens engaged. As an example of this, the ReThink Team engaged with the city’s Housing Advisory Committee, which helped to hold a public meeting with the homeless at a local mission/shelter in the city. Additionally, we connected with other community groups such as the Kiwanis Club, Rotary International and both of the major hospitals in London to engage with staff and stakeholders. Through these groups we were able to reach a much wider audience and involve people who do not generally participate in the planning and design of their community.

The fifth lesson is all about the benefits of doing a project like

this mostly in-house. We have built tremendous corporate knowledge and capacity to engage with the community. With the “all hands on deck” mentality the vast majority of staff members have been exposed to the underlying foundations of this plan, and have no doubt developed a clear understanding of how we got to where we are. Even more important is that by providing staff the opportunity to be a part of such an important city project it instilled confidence in them and the work that they do. Equally as important, is that it has helped build the confidence of the citizens of London in their civic administration.

Honourable mention—is branding. The ReThink London concept and logo was developed very early in the process and quickly became a recognizable trademark for the project. We are actively considering how we can continue to use the ReThink brand—and for what—once the plan has been finalized later this year.

This has been a great process for all involved including city staff, consultants and the citizens of London. As we move forward, there is an ongoing effort to innovate and in that vein we have built some non-traditional elements into our new city plan. You will have to wait until later this year to see those. All in all, this has been one of the most significant engagement processes ever undertaken in London, facilitating a conversation about city-building and our city’s future. The new vision statement says it all—Our Future: Exciting, Exceptional, Connected London.

Sean Galloway, MUDD, MCIP, RPP, is Urban Design and GIS manager with the City of London. Liz Nield is CEO and David Dilks is president of Lura Consulting. For more information visit www.rethinklondon.ca.

http://www.rethinklondon.ca

http://www.bousfields.ca

http://www.westonconsulting.com

http://www.tunnockconsulting.ca

http://www.sph-planning-consulting.ca



Table Topic: Thinking Beyond the Environment: Bringing society and economy into the sustainability discussion

Table Host: Kim Fowler


1. Summary

Successful implementation of sustainability initiatives requires an integrated systems approach that understands economic, environmental and social interconnections, viability and limits. Just as an approach that considers only economics has failed, so do solely environmental or social sustainability initiatives unless they are integrated into an overall system. The following are several examples of integrated municipal sustainability plans, tools and processes used from the strategic level to detailed development applications.




Area Factors CE-R

-N-19

3400

Bloc

k St. A

nne S

treet

CE-R

-N-20

Side

walks

- Mary

Hill R

oad

CE-R

-N-21

Loca

l Area

Servi

ces

CP-P-

N-01

Ligh

ts-Ga

tes Pa

rk Ba

seba

ll Fiel

d

CS-I-N

-04 Do

cume

nt Ma

nage

ment

Syste

m

CS-I-N

-06 Hu

man R

esou

rce Sy

stem

CS-I-N

-07 Fi

nanc

ial Re

portin

g

CS-I-N

-08 Bu

dget

Revie

w

CS-I-N

-09 Cl

ass to

Caye

nta In

tegrat

ion

CS-I-N

-10 Te

mpes

t to Ca

yenta

Integ

ration

A Strategic Plan Alignment

Mobility and Access, Protect Infrastructure, Complete Community, Safety, Customer Service, Strategic Alliances, Financial Stability, Strong Organization

B Financial/Economic Value

Increased revenues, cost savings/avoidance, productivity improvements, minimize risk , increase economic opportunities

Tangible benefits

C Social/Community Value

Improve Ee safety or morale, enhance citizen participation, strengthen neighbourhoods, improve service/image/decision mak ing

Intangible benefits

D Environmental Value

Enhance natural areas/green space, reduce air emissions, encourage environmental stewardship, contribute to regional sustainability

E Risk Organizational change risk , tech risk , etc.

Liklihood of achievment'

Proposal score 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Scoring Rank on a scale of 1 to 10A the greater the alignment the higher the score

BCD the greater the benefit the higher the scoreE the lower the risk the higher the score

20%

20%

20%

20%

20%

Triple Bottom Line Assessment Matrix for Capital Budget Submissions

TBL Checklist for Rezoning and Development Permit Applications



City of Red Deer Neighbourhood Planning

& Design Principles

Timberlands North Model Neighbourhood



2. Key Questions or ideas to consider

• Identify the major aspects of the systems involved. What are the major processes and impacts to consider?

• Ensure connection from strategic to operational. • How will community sustainability and resiliency be supported by this initiative? • What are the short, medium and long term system goals and impacts? • How are you going to measure success and provide for system feedback adjustments?

3. Resources City of Red Deer • Corporate Strategic Plan - http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/strategic-plan/ • Economic Development Strategy - http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-

projects/ongoing-plans-and-projects/economic-development-strategy/ • Environmental Masterplan - http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/ongoing-

plans-and-projects/environmental-master-plan/ • Neighbourhood Planning & Design Standards - http://www.reddeer.ca/media/reddeerca/business-in-

red-deer/planning-and-development-of-property/planning/Neighbourhood-Planning-and-Design-Standards-Oct-2013.pdf

• Timberlands North Neighbourhood Plan - http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/ongoing-plans-and-projects/economic-development-strategy/

• Riverlands Area Redevelopment Plan - http://www.reddeer.ca/business/planning-and-development-of-property/planning/area-redevelopment-plans/riverlands/

Other Resources • Victoria Dockside Green neighbourhood redevelopment - http://www.docksidegreen.com/ • City of Port Coquitlam Sustainability Checklist - http://www.portcoquitlam.ca/Asset2040.aspx

http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/strategic-plan/

http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/ongoing-plans-and-projects/economic-development-strategy/


http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/ongoing-plans-and-projects/environmental-master-plan/

http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/plans-and-projects/ongoing-plans-and-projects/environmental-master-plan/

http://www.reddeer.ca/media/reddeerca/business-in-red-deer/planning-and-development-of-property/planning/Neighbourhood-Planning-and-Design-Standards-Oct-2013.pdf





http://www.reddeer.ca/business/planning-and-development-of-property/planning/area-redevelopment-plans/riverlands/

http://www.reddeer.ca/business/planning-and-development-of-property/planning/area-redevelopment-plans/riverlands/

http://www.docksidegreen.com/

http://www.portcoquitlam.ca/Asset2040.aspx