Take Action Burlington

For over 50 years Canadian Environment Week has been celebrated around World Environment Day (June 5) to highlight environmental accomplishments and encourage Canadians to conserve and protect our environment. This year, Canadian Environmental Week is taking place from June 2 to 8, 2024. We thought we’d take the opportunity to highlight 10 ways we’re making a difference for the environment. Don’t forget to also check out our Taking Action on Climate Change video.

1. Greening City facilities

We are working towards low to zero carbon emissions buildings for our new and existing buildings.

• Corporate Energy and Sustainable Buildings Policy with a Canada Green Building Council Zero Carbon Building Standard
• Corporate Energy and Emissions Management Plan – targeting net carbon neutral operations by 2040
• City View Park pavilion – a net zero carbon operations building
• Skyway Arena and Community Centre – a planned low carbon operating and solar ready building using geothermal and heat recovery
• Robert Bateman Community Centre – transitioning from a 1960s era low efficiency high school to a low carbon emissions building
• Solar panel installation at Fire Station 5 will slightly offset more than 100 per cent of the building’s electricity usage allowing City staff to electrify elements of the buildings’ heating system to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Deep energy retrofit studies on some City buildings – setting a road map to convert them to low emissions buildings

2. Promoting home retrofits

• Better Homes Burlington – a free concierge service to answer your questions about home energy retrofits and available financial incentive programs
• Residential Solar Incentive Pilot Program provides you a grant for the cost of a Solar Panel Building Permit, saving you about $600
• Home Flood Protection Assessment Program offers a 50 per cent subsidy to have your home assessed for flood risk and offer tips to minimize risk through a confidential report
• Halton Region Enhanced Basement Flood Prevention Subsidy Program offers a 50 to 100 per cent subsidy on improvements to reduce flood risk such as downspout disconnection, weeping tile disconnection and sump pump installation, backwater valve installation, and sewer lateral (pipe) lining and repair. The City offers an associated Plumbing Permit Fee Grant Program covering the cost of a building permit related to any of Halton Region’s flood programs that require a building permit.

3. Targeting sustainable development

• Working towards a mixed-use, livable, walkable, bikeable and transit friendly community
• Sustainable Building and Development Guidelines

4. Supporting sustainable transportation

• Burlington Integrated Mobility Plan
• Plains Road protected bikeway and protected intersections from Spring Gardens Road to Waterdown Road with plans for an additional protected bikeway and protected intersections on Prospect Avenue
• Free transit rides for children and seniors all day, every day and for youth, aged 13 to 19, evenings and weekends
• Bike racks on Burlington Transit buses

5. Promoting electric mobility

• Electric Mobility Strategy
• 59 publicly available Level 2 EV charging ports on City property for public use with an additional 24 Level 2 and two Level 3 charging ports coming by the end of 2025
• Green Fleet Strategy – increasing the City’s green fleet inventory with fully electric equipment and vehicles, and hybrid vehicles
• Increasing fuel efficiency with telemetry (remote automatic measurement)

6. Increasing community preparedness

• Alert Burlington, a public notification system for community emergencies
• Three designated emergency operations centres, as well as reception centres and an evacuation centre
• Cooling and warming centres
• Generators to provide back-up power for City facilities’ critical infrastructure and ensure business continuity

7. Reducing flood risk

• Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adapting to Our Warmer, Wetter and Wilder Weather
• Climate Change Impacts Story Map
• Stormwater Management Design Guidelines
• Drainage Bylaw Amendment – to prohibit the obstruction of any drain or watercourse and regulate altering, relaying or repairing of private drains
• Projects to address shoreline erosion such as at the Window-to-the-Lake sites
• Conservation Halton flood hazard mapping
• Plains Road rain garden with 18 trees and a variety of grasses and flowers

8. Increasing biodiversity

• Urban Forest Master Plan with a 35 per cent canopy cover goal by 2060
• Woodland Management Strategy
• Tree Protection and Canopy Enhancement Policy
• Private Tree Bylaw
• Tree planting partnerships and giveaways – In 2023, 2,081 trees planted street side; 1,152 trees distributed at Spring and Fall tree giveaway events; 1,779 trees planted in tree planting events.
• Supporting Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System

9. Growing local food

• Community garden program at five City parks
• Zoning bylaw update to allow food gardens on any property, private or public, removing zoning barriers to residential, institutional, and commercial property where people would like to have a food garden

10. Encouraging waste reduction

• Water refilling stations and water fountains at many City buildings to minimize single use plastic bottles
• Annual community clean up event in April hosted by BurlingtonGreen in addition to ongoing cleanups between March and October
• Event greening services offered by BurlingtonGreen at many events

Take Action Burlington! Let’s all work together to reduce our impact on the environment. Collectively, we can make a difference.