Take Action Burlington

Happy New Year! In keeping with a relatively new tradition, our ‘year in review’ summary provides us an opportunity to share some of our ongoing achievements.

In 2024, we published 31 posts and had the most visitors and views to our blog for a given year. We never imagined when we started this blog in November 2015 to promote some of our environmental sustainability initiatives, that we’d publish over 240 blog posts and be entering our tenth year!  

We started 2024 by releasing our Taking Action on Climate video. The video, which was viewed over 15 thousand times, profiles our three climate plans and some actions we are taking to reduce our impact on our climate while also preparing for our warmer, wetter, and wilder weather. Below is a list of initiatives that took place in 2024.

Climate Mitigation

The City’s Corporate Energy and Emissions Management Plan 2024-2029 was updated and approved by City Council. The plan continues a path toward net carbon neutrality for City operations by 2040. Actions highlighted in the report included deep energy retrofit studies for some of our buildings to identify low carbon pathways, heat pump installations, and a new solar PV system at Fire Station 5 in Kilbride.

The Corporate Energy and Sustainable Buildings policy was also updated to be in line with our net carbon neutral target for City buildings. The new policy targets Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Standard for Design, replacing the former LEED Silver designation target.

Our community’s greatest greenhouse gas emissions relate to the transportation and building sectors. As such, most of the Climate Action Plan actions and initiatives highlighted in the annual update report are linked to those sectors including:

Buildings

• The Better Homes Burlington pilot program, offering a zero-interest loan for up to $10,000 for heat pump installations as well as a concierge service, was launched in 2023 and extended into 2024. The zero-interest loan has come to an end; however the concierge service will continue allowing residents to connect with staff about home energy retrofit related resources.
  • A three-part webinar series about energy efficient and climate resilient homes was offered in November. The recordings are posted in case you missed the sessions.
  • A solar incentive pilot program ran from the spring to the end of 2024, refunding the building permit fee for solar panel installations.
  • In December, we launched the Burlington Solar Map to help Burlington residents learn about the solar potential of their home along with payback and environmental benefits.

Transportation

• In November, new EV charging stations on City property were announced including the first fast charging (Level 3) stations. This brings the total number of chargers to 35 with 67 charging ports on City property including downtown parking lots, community centres, and arenas.
• Almost $17 million in public transit investments were announced in November which included new and greener buses, specialized transit vehicles, and route expansion and service improvement.
• The Smart Commute program for local businesses was relaunched in Burlington and other local municipalities. The program encourages employees to transition from a single occupied vehicle to alternative modes such as carpooling, transit, etc.
• A reminder about Burlington’s Idling bylaw was posted in December encouraging residents to turn their engines off while they wait to pick someone up from school, work, the store, a transit hub, etc.

Towards Zero Waste

• In April, the City’s corporate Zero Waste Policy was updated and approved. The policy includes a guide for staff concerning City operations.
• BurlingtonGreen continued to deliver several programs to engage the community on waste reduction, community clean-ups, e-waste drop-offs, and waste diversion services for special events.

 Climate Adaptation

In May, the second annual Climate Resilient Burlington plan update was presented to City Council highlighting initiatives that took place in 2023 including:

• Promotion of flood prevention programs such as the Home Flood Protection Program, Plumbing Permit Fee Grant Program, and Halton Region’s Enhanced Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy Program;
• Drainage bylaw amendment to prohibit the obstruction of any drain or watercourse and regulate the altering or repairing of private drains in Burlington;
• Flood hazard mapping for Tuck, Shoreacres, Appleby and Sheldon Creeks completed by Conservation Halton along with their Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity within Conservation Halton’s Watersheds report; and
• Restoration work at City View Park, a rain garden installation at Howard Rd., tree plantings and giveaways, etc. 

In July, Burlington experienced a devastating flood. Flood prevention and protection programs continued to be offered and new programs related to the July event were created including a Flood Relief Grant and a Building Permit/Zoning Certificate Fee Flood Relief Program.

The Urban Forest Master Plan and Woodland Management Strategy were approved in April. Related initiatives included spring and fall tree giveaways; tree walk and talk sessions teaching about the benefits of our urban forest; tree planting events; and a street side tree planting program.

The City’s Bird Friendly status was successfully renewed in 2024. The City currently has bird-friendly glass installed at Mountainside Community Centre, City View Park Pavilion and Skyway Community Centre, which is scheduled to open in 2025. Decals have been placed in those buildings to help raise awareness.

Partner Events and Initiatives

Burlington Enterprises Corporation presented City Council with a Burlington Distribution System Sustainability Plan in July 2024 to determine current and planned actions needed by Burlington Hydro to support the City’s climate mitigation and adaptation plans and actions.

BurlingtonGreen continued to raise the profile on environmental actions including launching their 200,000 Eco Actions by 2030 program and hosting events such as the annual Clean Up, tree planting, e-waste collection, Climate Action Day, etc.

The Bay Area Climate Change Council hosted a webinar about residential retrofits, the Bay Area Climate Forum, and a student contest featuring creative writing and art submissions related to sustainable cities.

The City’s climate actions were updated on the Clean Air Partnership’s Climate Action Atlas.

Conservation Halton hosted their annual spring and fall healthy neighbourshed sessions centred around creating healthy home gardens that promote biodiversity, manage rainwater and use less energy and resources. They also held engagement sessions for their Watershed Strategy and their Spill Flood Hazard Policies.

Halton Region hosted a Special Waste Drop-Off Day in June and created a series of videos to showcase their Enhanced Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy Program.

Coming Soon

Stay tuned for the next blog post highlighting how you can get involved in the Climate Action Plan update.

Please Stay in Touch

• Subscribe to the Take Action Burlington blog at TakeActionBurlington.ca
• Subscribe to the City’s community engagement page at GetInvolvedBurlington.ca

Let’s all work together to Take Action Burlington by reducing our carbon footprint, and preparing for our warmer, wetter and wilder weather. Collectively we can make a difference!