Halton Hills is a leader in sustainability, climate change action and the green economy. The Town has committed to achieving a net-zero target by 2030 through a broad range of corporate and community-wide actions.
Commitment to Achieving Net-Zero Emissions
In 2019, the Town of Halton Hills' Council committed to taking action to achieve a net-zero target by 2030. The broad range of corporate and community-wide actions are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through mitigation and adaption measures. To achieve measurable results, Halton Hills has adopted a Low Carbon Resilience Framework.
The Town has already made considerable strides towards its goals, including installation of solar panels on institutional buildings, introduction of low-carbon geothermal into its municipal buildings and the adoption of a transit service strategy that will commit the Town of Halton Hills to investigate the purchase of zero-emission vehicles for future transit expansions. All municipal decision-making is also subject to a no/low-carbon filter test.
A Variety of Climate Change Projects Underway
As a leader in climate change action, Halton Hills has a variety of projects underway to help achieve its climate change goals, including a Low-Carbon Transition Strategy, Green Development Standards, the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy, and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Strategy – all of which include a focus on climate change and the green economy that stems from the Town’s Strategic Plan, Official Plan and Community Sustainability Strategy.
Halton Hills’ Community Sustainability Strategy is a long-term strategy approved by Council that acts as a blueprint to integrate sustainability into the Town’s day-to-day decision-making, plans, policies and initiatives. A key component of this approach is the long-term investment in geothermal, advance heat recovery and renewable energy installations designed to minimize natural gas consumption and associated emissions.
To date, Halton Hills has won 14 sustainability awards and has over 600 certified Green Buildings. The Town will continue to encourage clean energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon mobility initiatives across the community in order to meet its net-zero 2030 goal.
| Initiative | Overview |
|---|---|
| Climate Change Adaptation Plan (CCAP) | The CCAP has been developed to address the physical, economic social and ecological impacts of climate change, expected for the Town of Halton Hills in the next 30 years. |
| Low Carbon Transition Strategy (LCTS) | The LCTS establishes the action pathways necessary to achieving the target set to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030. The plan addresses de-carbonizing every aspect of town-wide GHG emissions, from homes to transportation to industry to agriculture and waste. |
| Corporate Energy Plan (CEP) | The CEP is the Town's second Energy Conservation & Demand Management Plan, originally completed in 2014. The 2020-2025 CEP reaffirms the Town's commitment to energy management and efficiency with an emphasis on deep GHG emissions reductions. It provides a roadmap for reducing energy consumption, utility costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Green Development Standards (GDS) | GDS were first developed in 2010 and were updated in 2014 and 2021. The current version of the GDS (version 3) was approved by Town Council in June 2021. The focus of GDS v3 builds on the foundation of previous green development standards and puts increased weight on measures that reduce greenhouse gases of new development in the community. |
| Retrofit Halton Hills | This program will target deep energy retrofits in the residential sector, which is the second largest source of GHG emissions in the Town, through use of Local Improvement Charges (LICs) as a financing mechanism to encourage homeowners to implement retrofits. This pilot program is still in development. |