Energy Conservation, Air Quality and Climate Change

 

• Reducing Our Impact on Climate Change

• Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan
• Community Energy and Emissions Plan

• Energy Management Committee
• Local Air Quality Study
• Anti-Idling

 

The City of New Westminster is committeed to protecting the natural environment and is playing a part in regional, national and international efforts related to both energy conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  The City is a participant in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection Program and is currently implementing activities identified in the Green Action Plan - a plan that provides a set of GHG reduction initiatives that can be implemented at a local level. A summary of the City's progress (in 2011) towards achieving its greenhouse gas reduction goals can be found in the Climate Action Revenue Incentive (CARIP) Report.

Corporately, the City formed an Energy Management Committee in 2007 to provide a professional and coordinated approach to energy management of municipal operations. The Committee was instrumental in creating a Memorandum of Agreement that allows BC Hydro to offer the full complement of its Power Smart programs to the City’s electricity customers. City citizens can now take advantage of energy conservation and increased energy savings, both at home and the office. Check out the incentives that the Power Smart Program offers.

Did you know?

The pedestrian crossing signal at 6^th Street and Queens Avenue is powered by the sun!

 

 

 

 

Reducing Our Impact on Climate Change

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate protection (PCP) program is a network of 151 Canadian municipal governments who have committed to reducing greenhouse gases and acting on climate change, of which New Westminster is an active member. 

The PCP program is based on a five-milestone framework:

1. Completing a greenhouse gas emission inventory
2. Setting a local emissions reduction target
3. Developing a plan to reach reduction target
4. Implementing the plan
5. Monitoring actions and results

New Westminster committed to reduce both corporate and community GHG emissions through the PCP program.

Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan

In 2008, the City of New Westminster completed PCP milestones #1, 2, and 3 for its municipal operations. The resulting Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management Plan states that the City can reduce its 2007 corporate greenhouse gas emissions quantity by 1,311 tonnes CO2e, or 15% by 2017.

The City is currently implementing energy conservation measures and regularly reports to Council on the progress of its Plan. More information on the Plan's details and recommendations can be found in the Corporate Greenhouse Gas Plan Executive Summary.

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Community Energy and Emissions Plan

As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to reduce its impact on climate change, the City developed a Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) in 2011. The CEEP outlines a strategy to help conserve energy in the areas of transportation, buildings and solid waste. The plan outlines actions and policies that help to, for instance, diversify our energy supply, create energy efficient buildings and build a community that maximizes the use of sustainable transportation modes and minimizes waste. The CEEP was developed with input from City staff, residents and organizations in New Westminster.

As part of the plan, the City adopted a GHG emissions reduction target that is associated with implementation of actions under the “Moderate Green” scenario described in the CEEP: Reduce community-wide GHG emissions by 15% by 2030 (relative to 2007 levels).

Click here for details of the City’s Community Energy and Emissions Plan.

For tips on how to help maximize energy efficiency of your traditional home while maintaining heritage value, please click here. 

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Energy Management Committee

The City's Energy Management Committee (EMC) was formed in February 2007. The purpose of the EMC is to partner municipal operations and the energy network utility to improve municipal performance by reducing the costs and environmental impact of municipal operations through increased energy efficiency. Areas under consideration are electricity, gas and water consumptions, alternative energy sources such as geothermal, district heating, heat recovery & solar and potential reduction of emissions through fleet management. Policy changes within purchasing procurement will also be looked at over the next 14-16 months.

Membership

The Committee comprises municipal operations of the City of New Westminster, City Council and BC Hydro-Power Smart. Municipal operations representatives are from the Electric Utility, Electrical Services, Engineering, and Engineering Operations.

Municipal Department	Staff	Title
City Council	Jonathan Cote	Councillor
Engineering	Terry Atherton	Mgr. Civic Buildings, EMC Chairperson
Engineering	Jennifer Lukianchuk	Environmental Coordinator
Electrical Utility	Rod Carle	General Manager, Elec. Utility Commission
Electrial Utility Services	Tim Smith	Manager, Electrical Services
Engineering	Eugene Wat	Manager, Infrastructure Planning
Engineering	Roger Emanuels	Coordinator Design & Const.
Engineering	Monty Peters	Building Management Coordinator
Engineering	Wayne Werbovetski	Building Management Coordinator
Engineering Operations	Martin Ryberg	Manager, Fleet Services
BC Hydro - Power Smart	Rick Truong	Senior Key Account Mgr.

 

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Local Air Quality Study

Metro Vancouver (GVRD) has initiated a special study on the air quality in New Westminster as a follow-up to the New Westminster (Front Street) Air Quality Monitoring Study in 2004.  Since April 2009, specific air contaminants (e.g., nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter 2.5) have been monitored at Front Street (by the Parkade) and at a station in Sapperton Park.  The goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of air contaminant dispersion and the impact of vehicle emissions on the local air quality. Metro Vancouver’s aim is to monitor until spring 2010.

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Anti-Idling

The millions of Canadians who drive vehicles every day can take actions to help save fuel and money, and reduce tailpipe emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollution. Some actions include, avoiding jackrabbit starts, maintaining proper tire pressure, carefully planning trips by combing errands, or even walking or taking a bus instead of the car. But one of the easiest actions that motorists can take is to avoid unnecessary idling.

Many people are unaware of these basic idling-related facts:

1. With today's engines, the best way to warm it up is to drive it - assuming your windows are clear. Modern engines need less than 30 seconds of warm-up idling.
2. 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.
3. Idling can actually damage your engine components and reduce engine life by 20%.
4. Reducing idling by just 10 minutes a day saves of $70 per year in fuel AND reduces greenhouse gas emission by 1/4 tonne a year!

As part of the City's commitment to protect the natural environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an anti-idling bylaw was adopted by New Westminster City Council in October 2008.

According to the bylaw, idling for more than three minutes is prohibited on city streets. Please review the Anti-idling Bylaw for more information and the exemptions to the rule.

Did you know?
This anti-idling initiative is supported by both the Federal government and the Province of BC.

Please check out their websites for more information:
Natural Resources Canada

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