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Town striving towards net zero by 2050

May 20, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

The Town of Orangeville adopted a target for net zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) by 2050 at its most recent Council meeting (May 10).

Town staff are now in the process of developing and setting an interim community emissions reduction target once specific mitigation actions are prioritized dependent on level of impact, available resources, and support.

Sustainable Orangeville has been having discussions on setting a target and making it as ambitious as possible, noted Coun. Grant Peters, who has been a proponent of reducing GHGs locally.

He said that while much of the emissions in Town are beyond the municipality’s control, such as those produced by residents or automotive vehicles, there are certain changes that can be made by Council to reach the net zero emission target. Particularly, with respect to Town buildings and their operation.

General manager of corporate services, Andrea McKinney, said there’s two initiatives currently underway that are aimed at reducing energy use in Town owned facilities.

One of the initiatives involves putting Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on some internal equipment, which will help to better understand their operating efficiencies and provide a bit of a baseline monitoring of energy output and expected consumption, McKinney explained.

She said the other initiative entails finding an external partner to work with the Town of Orangeville on making major capital investments to its buildings that will increase operational efficiencies while reducing their carbon, energy, and environmental footprint.

McKinney indicated that this should take place in less than a year’s time.

Clear short term targets will be established once the work is completed to understand what is realistic and achievable with respect to the Town’s GHG emission goals.

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