Category: Sustainable Development Committee

City of Burlington a Finalist for the 2025 Business Excellence Awards in the Environmental Impact Award Category

May 15, 2025

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce’s Business Excellence Awards were held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. This event recognized 62 finalists across eight categories including: The City of Burlington was nominated for an Environmental Impact Award and then announced as one of six finalists earlier this year. While we were not the winner of our category, … More City of Burlington a Finalist for the 2025 Business Excellence Awards in the Environmental Impact Award Category

Is the Ultra Low Overnight Electricity Plan Right for You?

March 4, 2024

On May 1, 2023, the Ontario Government rolled-out an Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) price plan with six electric utility companies to encourage residents to shift their electricity usage to overnight hours. All utility companies, including Burlington Hydro, were required to offer this plan by Nov. 1, 2023. Why was the ULO price plan introduced? Electricity needs … More Is the Ultra Low Overnight Electricity Plan Right for You?

Living with Wildlife in Burlington

November 8, 2023

Burlington is a beautiful community surrounded by many natural features including Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and Bronte Creek Provincial Park. The parks, waterfront, creeks, and ravines that we love to visit also provide homes for animals such as foxes, racoons, skunks, and coyotes. As such, there exists the … More Living with Wildlife in Burlington

Manage Rain Where it Falls

March 1, 2023

Our climate is changing, and we are experiencing warmer, wetter and wilder weather. There are things we can do to better prepare ourselves for unpredictable rainstorms and risk of flooding to increase our resiliency. Join Sasha Benevides, Community Outreach Coordinator, Conservation Halton to learn about how nature-based solutions, also known as Low Impact Development (LID), … More Manage Rain Where it Falls

Winter, sidewalks, snow and ice … Oh my!

January 16, 2023

“Slip slidin’ away” goes the old Paul Simon song. Every winter, slipping and sliding along sidewalks and driveways is a problem that most residents face multiple times throughout the season. As a home or business owner, what are your responsibilities and options to reduce the hazards caused by our Canadian weather? Be Nice, Clear Your … More Winter, sidewalks, snow and ice … Oh my!

Hands holding earth

2022: A Year in Review

December 8, 2022

It’s hard to believe we started the Take Action Burlington blog seven years ago as a place to highlight the City of Burlington’s environmental accomplishments, profile community initiatives and events, and promote tips for home, work and play to reduce our collective footprint. Since then, we have published 173 posts and over the past five … More 2022: A Year in Review

The Future of the Reusable Economy – Registration Now Open

May 3, 2022

Throughout the pandemic, we saw an increase in the single-use plastics, especially in the food industry. According to the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup annual reports, the single-use food and beverage category made up 15.3 per cent of the litter found in 2019,  26.6 per cent in 2020 and 32 percent in 2021. Each year, the … More The Future of the Reusable Economy – Registration Now Open

Idling gets you nowhere. Turn your engines OFF!

January 31, 2022

Did you know that the City of Burlington has an idling control bylaw to limit unnecessary idling and that idling for more than one minute can result in a $120 ticket? Idling and Climate Change In April 2019, Burlington City Council passed a Climate Emergency Declaration “that Council and staff immediately increase the priority of … More Idling gets you nowhere. Turn your engines OFF!

FREE Event: Could Your Next Vehicle Be Electric?

May 6, 2021

The Burlington Sustainable Development Committee is partnering with the Burlington Public Library (BPL) to present a free virtual event called “Could Your Next Vehicle Be Electric?” Brian Millar of Plug’n Drive will speak about the benefits of making your next vehicle electric with an opportunity for a live Q&A period for participants. Event Details Monday, … More FREE Event: Could Your Next Vehicle Be Electric?

Graphic with energy related icons including lightbulb, solar panels, wind energy, EV, bike, etc.

Use a climate lens for personal decision-making

January 20, 2020

January 2020 not only brings a new year but also a new decade. From a climate change perspective, this is a very important decade as the impacts of our daily decisions need to be considered now more than ever. Please continue reading to find out why. The Science The International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) … More Use a climate lens for personal decision-making

Learn more about climate action in Burlington on Nov. 12

October 25, 2019

Did you know that Burlington City Council declared a climate emergency? Come out and hear about some projects and initiatives city staff are working on with respect to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to our new climate. There will be five presentations with time for Q&As: Climate Change Projections and Impacts in Burlington City … More Learn more about climate action in Burlington on Nov. 12

BurlingtonGreen volunteers greening a local event.

Take Action Burlington: An Update on Our Local Environment – Waste

August 14, 2019

Earlier this summer, City of Burlington sustainability staff presented Take Action Burlington – An Update on Our Local Environment to Council. This report provides an overview on the state of Burlington’s environment including information on local sustainability efforts and actions that can be taken. This is the last in a series of five blog posts … More Take Action Burlington: An Update on Our Local Environment – Waste

Take Action Burlington – An Update on Our Local Environment

June 21, 2019

On June 17, 2019 City of Burlington sustainability staff presented Take Action Burlington – An Update on Our Local Environment to Council. This report provides an overview on the state of Burlington’s environment including information on local sustainability efforts and actions that can be taken. This is the first of five posts about the report. … More Take Action Burlington – An Update on Our Local Environment

YFR stencil

Join the 100in1Day Yellow Fish Road Painting Event

May 23, 2019

The Burlington Sustainable Development Committee is hosting a Yellow Fish Road event as part of 100in1Day Burlington on June 1 and you’re invited! What is 100in1Day? 100in1Day is part of a growing global movement of citizen driven change, where people take ownership of their city and together, create a better place to live. Last year … More Join the 100in1Day Yellow Fish Road Painting Event

Mountainside Arena solar photovoltaic installation

City of Burlington declares climate emergency

April 29, 2019

On Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019, Burlington’s City Council unanimously passed a motion to declare a climate emergency, joining over 400 local governments around the world. There were 12 delegations in support of the declaration – ten in person and two written. What is a climate emergency? A climate emergency helps to raise the profile that … More City of Burlington declares climate emergency

Cities in Action - Climate Change Summit promotional image

Cities in Action – Bay Area Climate Change Summit

March 12, 2019

Are you interested in learning more about climate change and how cities like Burlington can take action? If yes, then you should consider attending the Cities in Action – Bay Area Climate Change Summit taking place from March 25 to 28, 2019 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. You can attend one, two or … More Cities in Action – Bay Area Climate Change Summit

Fall garden image

Fall Tips for Tree and Garden Care

September 17, 2018

“General awesomeness all round,” said Claudette Sims referring to Halton Master Gardeners. However, this statement also rings true for the Fall Tree and Garden Care event held on September 13, 2018. Eric Torkelson, a City of Burlington arborist, was entertaining and knowledgeable keeping the audience engaged throughout his presentation. Key points included: The right tree … More Fall Tips for Tree and Garden Care

Maintaining a garden plot in one of the city's community gardens

Learn about growing your own local food

April 18, 2018

With the seemingly never-ending winter this year, is it possible that springtime temperatures have finally sprung? We’ll be optimistic and assume “yes!” With the warmer temperatures, many start to think about gardening and growing fresh, local food. If you’ve never grown your own food but want to enjoy the satisfaction of doing so along with … More Learn about growing your own local food