Rachel Telling
VFR: The City of Vancouver’s Greenest City initiate is a bold and forward-thinking program to address Vancouver’s environmental challenges – one that will propel us towards being one of the greenest cities in the world. Take us back to the beginning: what is the story behind the Greenest City initiative?
Rachel Telling: Decades ago, Vancouver residents decided that the way of the past was not for us. We chose a different path. Together, over the years, we’ve made the kinds of choices that have turned our home into one of the world’s most livable cities. In the 1960s, residents of Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood stopped the construction of a freeway into downtown that would have levelled their community and altered the shape of the city forever. Because of this action, Vancouver is one of few cities in North America that does not have a major highway cutting through its core. We are the birthplace of Greenpeace, the home of David Suzuki, and one of the first cities in the world to recognize the significance of climate change. In 1990, the groundbreaking Clouds of Change Task Force recommended that Vancouver begin to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. In response, we created dense neighbourhoods that have made our urban lifestyle a model for other cities around the globe. Our air and water are among the cleanest of any urban city. We have a spectacular urban forest. The natural beauty of our city is a valued asset that we preserve and protect.
In 2009, a group of local experts were brought together to form Mayor Robertson’s Greenest City Action Team to take this work to the next level. Together, they researched best practices from leading green cities around the world and established goals and targets that would make Vancouver the world’s greenest city. This work was published in two reports: the Quick Starts Report, which recommended 44 immediate actions (of which two-thirds were implemented), and Vancouver 2020: A Bright Green Future, which set ten long-term goals and thirteen 2020 targets. City staff were tasked with coming up with a complete plan. More than 35,000 people from around the world participated in the development of the resulting Greenest City Action Plan through social media, online, and in face-to-face workshops or events.
VFR: The Greenest City Action Plan commenced in 2011. Over the last decade, what have been some of the greatest successes and learnings coming out of this initiative, particularly with respect to the Zero Waste and Local Food priorities?
RT: In 2011, Vancouver set a goal to become the greenest city in the world by 2020, and we’ve been busy building a Vancouver that’s amazing for everyone. Enabling new buildings that are so efficient, you can keep your whole family warm with a hair dryer in the winter. Incentives for heat pumps that also keep you cool in summer. Turning waste into a resource and water into something we manage holistically.
We have neighbourhoods where everything you need is close at hand, and when you have to drive, making sure electric vehicle charging is available, no matter what type of dwelling you live in. We’re responsive to the changes in climate we’re already seeing and making sure no one’s left behind. As a community, we’re influencing green practices across the globe and helping our local green businesses get ready for the world stage.
LOCAL FOOD
The City’s work on creating a just and sustainable food system aims to impact many interrelated outcomes, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, healthy food access for all, biodiversity, and the local economy.
One of our targets was increasing city-wide and neighbourhood food assets by a minimum of 50% over 2010 levels, which we achieved. One of the highlights in area, which was a part of Vancouver’s COVID-19 response, was the Park Board golf course kitchens at Langara Golf Course being used to cook and package thousands of meals for residents in the city’s non-market housing. This enabled residents to self-isolate, and it supported them through food insecurity that was deepened by COVID-19. Some of the food was actually grown by Park Board staff. Meanwhile, a pop-up farm has sprouted at Sunset Nursery! Extra garden beds have been planted with vegetables and made available to community food programs providing meals and hampers for folks currently in need.
ZERO WASTE
Zero Waste isn’t just about recycling more – it’s about helping people make better decisions about how they purchase goods and services to reduce overall waste in the system. Zero waste is about consuming less, repairing, sharing, and reusing more, and then recycling what is left over, ideally meaning nothing goes to waste Our target was to reduce our total solid waste going to the landfill or incinerator by 50% from 2008 levels, and we’ve reached a 32% reduction (2019-20).
Some highlights and key actions on our path towards our 2040 goal of Zero Waste include:
Grocery Retail Solutions Lab (2019-20): Nine grocery brands completed five Solutions Lab sessions to assess the root causes of food waste in their operations and to identify and select prototype solutions to test in their stores. Results of the Lab are currently under review.
Love Food Hate Waste: This is an international undertaking coordinated in Canada by the National Zero Waste Council. The City of Vancouver is a partner in the National Zero Waste Council campaign. The program includes social media and other online promotions, public outreach, and the distribution of print materials through libraries, community centres, and city-owned theatres.
· Circular Food Economy Study: The city is partnering with the Vancouver Economic Commission on a project to establish baseline information on the state of the local food sector and to develop actions for reducing wasted food and increasing food rescue. This work supports Vancouver’s climate and zero waste goals and will also help address impacts to the food supply chain from COVID-19
Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy: Every week, 2.6 million paper cups and two million plastic bags are thrown away in Vancouver. Cups and take-out containers make up half the material in our public waste bins. Cleaning up these materials costs Vancouver taxpayers $2.5 million every year. Worst of all, bags, plastic straws and bits of foam along our shorelines are causing immeasurable harm to marine life and water quality.
Our modern lives crave convenience, but it doesn’t have to come at such a cost. With your help, we’ve created a made-in-Vancouver way to dramatically cut down this type of waste. Starting 2019, the Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy prohibits plastic straws (with exceptions for accessibility and healthcare needs), polystyrene foam cups and foam takeout containers. The strategy will also reduce disposable utensils, disposable cups, and plastic/paper bags. Over 8,000 of you helped us develop the strategy by giving us your feedback over two years, and 86% of residents agree we need to take action on single-use items.
VFR: Tell us about the recent Climate Emergency Action Plan, which puts Vancouver on track to reduce our carbon pollution by 50% by 2030.
RT: On November 17, 2020, City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan. This puts Vancouver on track to reduce our carbon pollution by 50% by 2030, in alignment with the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Our plan builds on our previous climate plans and focuses on cutting carbon pollution from our biggest local sources – burning fossil fuels in our vehicles (39%) and our buildings (54%).
The plan means change. It means residents, businesses and the city doing our part to transition off fossil fuels. It is designed to make it easier for you to live a carbon-free life. We’ll continue to gather public input on the actions, as we move forward to make this an effective and equitable climate plan. Moreover, we understand climate change affects people differently. Often, those who contributed the least to causing it, will experience the worst impacts. Climate justice will be a key part of our work, aiming to overcome historic discriminatory city legacies.
You can find the action plan summary here: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/climateemergency-action-plan-summary-2020-2025.pdf
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