Learn about the long-term vision for FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in this strategic plan for 2018-2023.
The strategic plan outlines how GMF will continue to support Canadian cities and communities of all sizes to develop and implement municipal projects that advance innovative solutions to tackle environmental challenges.
It was developed by GMF staff and council following revisions to the federal funding agreement in 2017 and leverages GMF's experience over the past 17 years.
Read the full plan to learn about the GMF's objectives and work packages for 2018-2023.
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The Village of Salmo's Sustainable Salmo Asset Management project is the 2018 winner in the asset management category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
Although the Village of Salmo, BC, is small, the municipality has adopted advanced asset management practices that make the community more sustainable and resilient. (Photo: Village of Salmo, BC)
How can an organization rebuild after having no financial statements, filing system or records for two years? The small Village of Salmo, BC, faced this challenge, compounded by having brand new staff in all levels of the organization. Their solution? Take the opportunity to start from scratch and implement best practices in sustainable asset management.
Comprehensive plan improves resilience to extreme climate events
Today, the municipality's Sustainable Salmo Official Community Plan defines the community's vision and principles for asset management and sustainable service delivery, and guides council decision-making. Community engagement exercises took place during the development of the plan, which educated community members about the importance of asset management and allowed citizens to have a say in what mattered to them.
The plan addresses capital assets, such as roads, equipment, machinery, water and sewer systems, along with the community's valuable natural assets, such as wetlands and the aquifer. This enables the Village to manage and protect those systems to ensure that the capital and natural assets continue providing services to the community.
Residents can rely on sustainable services
The municipality's asset management assessments and inventory help them deliver reliable services to residents. The information also allows the Village to budget for and maintain their infrastructure, and prepare for potential failures. This is particularly critical for a small community with limited financial resources. Having a clear picture of their assets enables them to prioritize funding for asset maintenance, and apply for grants for upgrades or new services as required.
Asset management is embedded in municipality's operations
The municipality received grant funding to support their asset inventory and condition assessment and to train 70 per cent of staff in the National Asset Management Strategy. This has saved money over the long term and has helped embed asset management practices into day-to-day municipal operations at all levels.
The community's award-winning organizational improvements have been recognized across the province, and Salmo is a pilot community for the national Communicating Asset Management Initiative.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
Throughout Northern Canada, heating buildings is both essential and expensive. The region relies on costly fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To address these issues for their community, the City of Yellowknife, NT, came up with an innovative solution: a Biomass District Energy System, shared by several buildings and fuelled by wood pellets. This heating system is expected to reduce GHGs by 829 tonnes a year, and save the City up to $160,000 annually.
Heating offers an opportunity to significantly impact City's energy use
Heating homes and buildings in Yellowknife accounts for more than 70 per cent of the community's energy consumption. The City needed to address heating to achieve their Corporate and Community Energy Plan target to cut GHG emissions in half by 2025 (from 2009 levels). The heating oil they relied on is GHG intensive, and shipped over long distances. So, they turned to biomass energy as a renewable energy source that is less polluting, and that has potential to be sourced locally.
Switch to biomass reduces carbon footprint and lowers costs
Yellowknife's district energy system heats a group of five municipal buildings that previously consumed about 367,000 litres of heating oil a year. The switch to biomass is expected to lower GHGs by 829 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) a year, which is almost half of the City's GHG reduction target, and increase their corporate renewable energy use by 10 per cent. The City expects to see direct cost savings between $140,000 and $160,000 a year, and additional maintenance and operations savings are also expected.
Project sets example for other Northern communities
Yellowknife's district energy system is an inspiration to other Northern communities looking for viable alternative energy sources. In fact, neighbouring building owners have already approached the City to discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing similar systems. The project will support a local wood pellet plant that is currently being developed, which will bring economic benefits to the region once it is up and running.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The City of Kingston's Transit High School Bus Pass Project is the 2018 co-winner of the transportation category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards. The initiative also received FCM's inaugural Inspire Award for the project that best demonstrates creativity and innovation, as decided by a live vote of delegates at FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
How can a community encourage teens to use a sustainable, active mode of transportation to get to school, work and recreational activities? The City of Kingston, ON, and the local school boards found that giving high school students free bus passes wasn't enough to address this challenge. The solution? They introduced a transit orientation program, and now the students are on board with riding the bus.
Transit orientation generated 20-fold increase in bus trips
The City and school boards work collaboratively by providing a bus orientation program to high school students. The orientation familiarizes students with the transit system, teaches them about the environmental benefits of public transit and the cost savings compared to owning and operating a car, and shows them how riding the bus increases their freedom to travel to school and other activities.
The result? Students took nearly 600,000 trips on public transit between September 2016 and August 2017 alone—a staggering increase from 30,000 trips in the project’s first year.
Project succeeded in increasing travel independence for youth
Students said the transit pass helped them feel more independent and let them participate in more activities-such as volunteering, work, and sports. A study of the program, conducted by the University of Waterloo, showed about half the students' bus trips were to activities outside school hours, and that students tended to take the bus more often as they got older and gained experience using transit. Following graduation, students continued to use the bus to travel within Kingston.
The study concluded that the program is an important stimulant for students' travel independence that could be applied in other mid-sized Canadian communities.
Environmental and economic benefits seen in the broader community
Students, parents, the environment and the community all benefit from this initiative. Students acquire a life skill that gives them more freedom and helps them remain physically active. Parents save the time and money spent driving their children and reduce the environmental impact of using the car. And the transit system has more riders during off-peak hours, bringing the buses to life for the whole community.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The City of Port Coquitlam's Blakeburn Lagoons Park project is the 2018 winner in the brownfields category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
The City of Port Coquitlam, BC, wanted to return a former sanitary lagoon to public use, but the location showed unsafe levels of contaminants. When funding became available, the City jumped at the chance to transform the area. They came up with an innovative remediation plan that avoided the costly process of removing contaminants from the site, and created the safe, natural green space residents wanted.
City tests innovative self-remediation techniques
The project team used natural techniques to develop a self-remediating site that avoided the cost of removing and replacing contaminated soil and sludge. By mixing the sludge with clean soil, they diluted contaminants and added nutrients so plants could grow. Any areas that couldn't be diluted enough were capped with new materials. To absorb and immobilize remaining heavy metals, the City planted phytoremediation shrubs, plants, grasses and trees.
Community gets desired park and access to nature
Before starting the project, the City consulted with the community and learned that residents wanted a natural recreation space - a use supported by the City's Strategic Plan. Residents can now connect with nature on the park's 1.6 kilometres of fully accessible walking trails and viewing platforms. Interpretive signs around the park enhance public education, and the nearby elementary school will use the space as an outdoor environmental studies classroom.
The naturalized surroundings create a wetland and nature preserve, including wildlife-only islands and landscape features that enhance wildlife habitat and food supply. The new plants form six ecological habitats and were installed in varying ages and sizes to increase habitat complexity.
Economically sustainable design also boosts area property values
The park's natural landscape limits ongoing maintenance costs, and linking the ponds to the area's storm systems helps manage runoff and reduce flooding in nearby communities. The redeveloped site increases neighbouring residential property values and makes it possible to develop an adjacent site, which will stimulate local economic growth.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The City of Guelph's Guelph Innovation District Secondary Plan is the 2018 winner in the sustainable neighbourhood revitalization and design category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
How can the City of Guelph, ON, meet its target to grow the population to 175,000 by 2031 without expanding the city's boundaries? One significant contribution to this goal is the revitalization of a parcel of land that housed a former correctional institution into a new mixed-use community that will embody the municipality's core environmental, economic social and cultural development objectives. The innovative design aims to be carbon neutral and connected to the natural surroundings, and will provide space for people to live, work, shop, play and learn.
Design sets out an efficient, sustainable live-work community
The new Guelph Innovation District (GID) community will use efficient and sustainable design to support a range of employment, housing commercial and recreational spaces. The village will focus on higher-density housing, such as apartments and townhouses, to accommodate a planned 6,650 people. Residential areas will be separated from the existing heavy industry on the site, which will remain in the new community to provide employment. About 8,650 research, development and green technology jobs will be created in the new community.
Plan envisions a carbon neutral development
The village is intended to be carbon neutral with a focus on sustainable energy sources. Buildings will be oriented to maximize their potential for solar energy, and efficient building standards and construction methods will be followed. The mix of land uses will encourage a carbon-neutral lifestyle for residents. The village design will favour walking, biking and public transit over cars, and the project will protect, showcase and provide public access to well-loved green spaces to the public.
New village supports City's economic, environmental, social and cultural planning goals
The 436-hectare GID is planned as an integrated mixed-use community, which will connect to the surrounding green space, as well as the downtown and University of Guelph communities. The GID is also closely connected with the City's goals, and plans integrate specific targets that meet the objectives of City plans including the Local Growth Management Strategy, Prosperity 2020 Economic Development Strategy, Agri-Innovation Cluster Strategy and Community Energy Initiative.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine's Terrace Area Integrated Solid Waste Management Program is the 2018 winner in the waste category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
Building a new waste management facility can be a hot topic in any community. The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, BC, discovered that taking the time for thorough consultation with residents, businesses, First Nations and other stakeholders really made a difference to the project. Incorporating the community's interests and concerns into the plan resulted in the construction of a waste management facility that provides strong economic benefits for the Terrace Area of the Regional District, and is a model for small or rural communities across Canada.
Addressing stakeholder concerns enhanced the project plan
The Regional District's project team applied state-of-the-art techniques to address concerns raised during extensive community consultation. For example, a composite liner with leak detection protects nearby bodies of water, and a comprehensive monitoring program exceeds provincial standards. Steel plates cover garbage 95 per cent of the time, preventing birds from feeding and improving the view from a nearby recreation site. A top-of-the-line fence keeps animals out, protecting the black bears hunted by the local First Nations community.
Integrated program increases waste diversion
The Regional District's new integrated waste management program includes a variety of strategies to increase waste diversion, such as expanding the curbside collection program, and leading community education and awareness campaigns. The program now diverts 532 tonnes of paper and packaging, 100 per cent of sewage sludge, and has a goal of 50 per cent diversion of organics and recyclables in 2018. Liquid discharge (effluent) from waste at the facility will be nearly zero once the phytoremediation orchard on site is fully mature.
Program keeps more money in the community
The Regional District ensured local contractors could bid on the project and, as a result, 83 per cent of the construction work and an ongoing $1.1 million annual contract were awarded locally.
The Regional District can amortize costs over a longer period, since the diversion programs extend the life of the landfill. Plus, the project was designed to meet Recycle BC requirements, making it eligible for future funding, and the Regional District can also generate GHG offset credits.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
The City of Montreal's Pedestrian and Shared Street Program is the 2018 co-winner in the transportation category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
Small-scale projects in Montreal neighbourhoods are helping residents walk and bike more, and are adding green space to the urban environment. (Photo: City of Montreal, QC)
How can a large city meet residents' growing demands for active transportation in their local neighbourhoods? The City of Montreal, QC is rising to the challenge with a program that supports small-scale, borough-led street design projects that encourage walking and cycling. The initiative improves public health and safety, and benefits the environment by promoting sustainable transportation and greening urban spaces.
Flexible, phased approach is key to the program's success
The local projects focus on redeveloping streets near public gathering-places, such as shops, schools, museums or markets, to encourage walking and create more shared public spaces. Rather than applying a one-size fits all solution, project teams take a flexible approach, testing different options and improving proposed measures over two years before installing more permanent infrastructure in year three. This gradual transformation gives residents and businesses time to adapt to the changes, and allows for community input. This approach provides valuable insights that are being shared with boroughs across the city.
Small, local initiatives add up to city-wide benefits
The program supports the City's Sustainable Development Plan, Pedestrian Charter and Transportation Plan. Closing or narrowing traffic lanes or reducing speed limits calms traffic, and eliminating street parking and enlarging sidewalks reduces car dependency. Two streets have been closed to traffic altogether, and a pilot project is underway to evaluate sharing pedestrian streets with slow cyclists in areas where there are no bike lanes. Converting local commercial streets into pedestrian areas helps local businesses by increasing foot traffic, promoting window shopping and improving neighbourhood appeal. Projects also create green space to reduce heat islands by adding urban agriculture and greening impervious surfaces.
Installing recreational features and urban furniture encourages people to spend more time in the new spaces, benefiting their physical and mental health. Residents can enjoy features and play structures made from sustainable materials, such as obstacle courses, carousels, seating to stop and rest, as well as water fountains and bike repair stations.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Evaluating your municipality's brownfield programs on a regular basis can help you identify ways to improve and enhance their performance and impact. Reporting on your progress and showcasing your successes demonstrates the value of brownfield redevelopment projects to key stakeholders, such as residents and decision-makers. This guide presents case studies illustrating the evaluation process and its benefits, and offers lessons you can apply in your city or community.
In this guide, learn how to:
Improve your brownfield programs by regularly evaluating and reporting on their performance
Adjust your program offering based on lessons learned and enhance your impact in the future
Communicate your successes to generate interest and support from your community and stakeholders
The guidebook is designed for municipal staff, such as brownfield coordinators, planners and economic development officers, who are responsible for overseeing brownfield redevelopment in their community.
This free publication is part of a series of guidebooks on brownfield redevelopment, created through FCM's Green Municipal Fund and the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal program.
Case study: Unique approach helps Durham Region, ON, plan effectively for climate change
The plan will reduce the municipality's exposure to uninsured losses and mitigate loss of revenue for businesses due to climate events. During emergencies, it will reduce the need for assistance from other jurisdictions, and lower the risk of loss of life
The Regional Municipality of Durham's Community Climate Adaptation Plan is the 2018 winner in the climate change category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.
Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.
When it came time for the Regional Municipality of Durham, ON to develop its community climate adaptation plan, no single method suited its needs. So, staff developed a hybrid approach that combined two methodologies along with local expertise and scientific projections of future weather conditions in their area. The result is a far-reaching plan that will help the community adapt to the realities of climate change over the next 25 years.
Pioneering approach to developing a community climate adaptation plan
To develop its community climate adaptation plan, Durham Region blended the ICLEI Adaptation Methodology and Toronto WeatherWise Partnership process, and used the best available scientific data from a Future Climate Study of projected weather in the 2040s. They gathered over 60 experts from local municipalities and agencies, who used the projected weather data to identify hazards and risks to buildings, roads, electrical systems, human health, the natural environment and food security.
Socially-minded plan will look after residents' future needs
The result of this integrative process is a socially-minded plan that focuses on using and supporting natural systems and green infrastructure as much as possible. Programs supporting social adaptation include protecting outdoor workers from exposure to extreme weather and providing wellness checks during weather events for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly or ill, and low income households. Plans include educating high-rise dwellers on emergency protocols, implementing higher building standards for new construction, retrofitting older homes to better protect against climate change, and strengthening the electrical grid and extreme weather alert and response system.
Plan protects community from economic losses due to extreme weather
The plan will reduce the municipality's exposure to uninsured losses and mitigate loss of revenue for businesses due to climate events. During emergencies, it will reduce the need for assistance from other jurisdictions, and lower the risk of loss of life. The plan will also improve infrastructure and social recovery time from extreme weather events.
Want to develop a similar project in your community?
Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.
FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
