The District of Saanich has established an innovative Carbon Fund (the first such municipal initiative in North America), which directs offsetting funds to corporate greenhouse gas reduction projects.
The Fund is used to support new GHG-reducing initiatives within Saanich. Each department in the municipality contributes to the fund based on their carbon footprint. The Fund is then used to implement new greenhouse gas reducing initiatives within Saanich operations including solar hot water, geo-exchange, photo-voltaic systems and carbon sequestration. Two innovative projects currently underway include the zero emission vehicle fleets pledge under the pacific coast collaborative and greener garbage collection.
Zero Emission Vehicle Fleets Pledge
The District of Saanich recently signed a pledge with the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC) - a sustainability leadership initiative between the Province of BC and US States Washington, Oregon and California - committing to procure at least 10% zero-emission vehicles for all new vehicle purchases. Saanich is the first local government in North America to commit to the PCC pledge.
Saanich currently has four Nissan Leafs in an electric vehicle (EV) fleet pool and the Saanich Police also use a Mitsubishi EV for court liaison purposes (making them the first Police Department in Canada to incorporate an EV into their fleet). The Municipality has an overall commitment to a fuel efficient fleet and has achieved a 25% reduction in fuel related greenhouse gas emissions. This reduction supports Saanich's overall Climate Action Plan commitment to reducing municipal emissions by 50% by 2020.
To learn more about the Pacific Coast Collaborative and the EV Pledge visit www.pluginbc.ca/fleets.
Greener Garbage Collection
Saanich recently launched its Greener Garbage Collection initiative, a project committed to keep organics out of the landfill while reducing community GHGs. The project is estimated to divert 11,000 tonnes of compostable material from the landfill each year resulting in a reduction of GHG emissions by 10,000 tonnes annually (currently 7% of community GHG emissions come from solid waste generated by Saanich).