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Terms of Reference

In July of 2004, Thunder Bay's City Council unanimously supported a proposal for the development of a Community Environmental Action Plan (CEAP). This resulted from a deputation made to Council by the Zero Waste Action Team (ZWAT) that spring. It was recognized that the development of a comprehensive, integrated CEAP would address a number of existing initiatives within the City, as well as meet the intent of previous council resolutions to develop a community energy plan and a sustainable energy policy to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions.

City resolutions led to the appointment of two Councillors and a City staff person to participate on the CEAP Steering Committee (SC). In addition, the City's Environment Division committed funds to hire a CEAP Co-ordinator to assist with plan development and act as a liaison between city staff and community partners.

EarthWise Thunder Bay was developed as a partnership between the City of Thunder Bay and a network of volunteers including the SC and community partners, with the purpose of developing the CEAP, and working on a variety of issues, including climate change and community sustainability. Development of a CEAP will assist in the implementation of the City's Corporate Environmental Policy, and support the vision of making Thunder Bay a more clean, green, and beautiful city.

Terms of Reference  Adobe PDF, 6 pages, 56 KB 
 

Purpose

The CEAP's purpose is to continue progressive leadership in Thunder Bay and the surrounding region by positioning Thunder Bay as a healthy, environmentally friendly, clean and green community. Earthwise and the CEAP will support the long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability of our community and region.

As part of the CEAP, a Community Energy Audit will be conducted and a comprehensive program will be developed to actively reduce energy costs. Reducing energy costs will result in more effective use of investment and resources within the City's corporate operations, as well as within the residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors.

The plan will address issues surrounding land use, water, food, human and environmental health, energy, transportation, and community sustainability. EarthWise Community Partners will form Working Groups to review issues, set goals and objectives, develop actions and measurable implementation targets. Our experience will be shared with other communities throughout the region.

As community and environmental sustainability become more prominent issues, many Canadian cities have accessed funding to develop and implement local environmental action plans. Quality of life, in which the local environment plays an important role, has become a key factor in retaining and attracting people and businesses. Canadian cities are aggressively marketing their plans in order to attract new interest and investment.

Mission Statement

EarthWise Thunder Bay will focus the energy, involvement and collective wisdom of the community to secure the environmental health of our region, and thereby improve the social and economic well-being of future generations.

Principles

The EarthWise SC will adopt and use the Merlbourne Principles for Sustainable Communities  Adobe PDF, 16 pages, 337 KB. These principles were tabled at the U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002 in Melbourne, Australia. These principles provide an excellent approach to community sustainability and have been endorsed by civic leaders worldwide and recognized by Environment Canada.

Goals

Goals of the EarthWise Thunder Bay Environmental Action Plan:

1) To produce a Community Environmental Action Plan that identifies specific actions for solving problems, measuring the results, and promoting the vision of the community

2) To consider a 20% reduction of Green House Gases (GHG) for the City (organization) and 6% reduction of GHG for the community (residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial) from 1994 baseline levels, by the year 2013 as an interim measure. This is subject to a review of a finalized emissions inventory and the development of the CEAP, ensuring that the target is realistic for the both City and the community.

3) To improve community health and quality of life and ensure long-term sustainability by implementing cost-effective action strategies

4) To promote public awareness of, and responsibility for, environmental issues and to increase public support for action strategies and investments

5) To strengthen the capacity to manage and implement programs, and the ability to obtain financing from provincial and national institutions and sponsors

6) To promote partnerships between The City of Thunder Bay, citizens, First Nations, businesses, industry, non-profit agencies, educational institutions, rural communities and Northern Ontario towns and cities

7) To work together in solving community and regional problems

8) To identify, assess and set environmental priorities for action based on community values and scientific data

Membership and Organization

A Steering Committee size limit of approximately twenty members will be maintained. However, size of the committee will be reviewed and determined by the existing members as required and will ultimately depend upon the number of working groups. The Steering Committee will make all reasonable efforts to be inclusive and reflect a broad diversity of community sectors. Representatives of the Committee will reflect the following areas:

  • Chairperson
  • Co-Chair
  • City staff (minimum of 1)
  • City Councillors (minimum of 2)
  • Forest Industry (1)
  • First Nation organization (1)
  • Ontario Power Generation (1)
  • Thunder Bay Hydro (1)
  • Education (2 university/college)
  • ICI Sector (1)
  • Community (greening)
  • Community (health)
  • Community (environment)
  • Community (education)
  • Youth (highschool)
  • Transportation (1)
  • Tourism (1)
  • Reps from each Working Group

EarthWise Community partners

Community Partners wishing to participate in EarthWise Thunder Bay are asked to sign a Declaration of Commitment to support the sustained development of the CEAP and to share our experience with others in the Northwest region. In addition to declaring their support for EarthWise Thunder Bay, Partners may choose to participate in a variety of ways including attending meetings, participating in working groups, sharing experiences and expertise, education and outreach, and providing project volunteers.

Working Groups

 Working groups will be developed according to identified issues. Reasonable efforts will be made to include at least one member from each of the individual Working Groups to participate as a SC member. This will enable direct liaison between Working Groups and the SC, and will facilitate ongoing communications for CEAP development.

Principles of Operation for all Working Groups:

An end target for all working groups will be the submission of a completed report to the EarthWise Steering Committee for consideration in the development of the Community Environmental Action Plan. Each working group will use the following for guidance:

a) All working groups should work within the context of EarthWise goals and mission statements. "Community Sustainability" should be the foundation for group discussions.

b) Identification of issues and proposed actions should focus on opportunities that support Kyoto commitments and targets as established by the Federation of Canadian Municipality's Partners for Climate Protection program. Working group actions should generally benefit efforts to reduce GHG emissions for municipal operations by 20%, and/or reduce community-wide GHG emissions by 6% by 2013.

c) Working groups may conduct research to analyse problems and seek opportunities.

d) Efforts should be made to be inclusive and to identify other champions or stakeholders that may have an interest in your working group subject area.

e) Recognize that some stakeholders may not wish to participate directly on a working group, but instead may prefer to participate indirectly as a sounding board for working group ideas/actions.

f) Working groups are encouraged to identify potential project funding sources where needed. A working group may identify funding opportunities for immediate pilot projects or actions in tandem with the development of the Community Environmental Action Plan. To prevent overlap or conflicts, applications should be discussed with the working group chair and approved through the Steering Committee prior to submission.

g) Should issues or topics arise that cannot be resolved by a working group, or that otherwise cause a gridlock in the progression of group discussions, it is recommended that they be forwarded to the EarthWise Steering Committee for a preferred approach or clarification on the direction to be taken.

CEAP/EarthWise Coordinator

The City of Thunder Bay has provided funding and office space for this position. In future years the position may be hosted and/or co-funded by alternate EarthWise Partners or grants. The Coordinator will help develop, facilitate and implement the CEAP in conjunction with the CEAP steering committee with a focus on the long term sustainability of the City, climate change, economic development and quality of life. The Coordinator responsibilities will include:

  • Assist in the organization of SC meetings as scheduled by the SC Chair (including minutes and agendas)
  • Assist Working Group chairpersons (i.e. booking meeting facilities, etc.) 
  • Arrange for meeting with government agencies and other information sources 
  • Facilitate data collection and other necessary research 
  • Perform logistical tasks associated with popular education and outreach 
  • Help prepare drafts of the issue descriptions, CEAP and other key documents. 
  • Seek opportunities for funding and assist in the preparation of funding applications where required