City of Burlington Awarded High Marks for Carbon Disclosure & Climate Change Efforts

*Please see below a news release issued by the City of Burlington.Burlington, Ont. — Dec. 16, 2021 — The City of Burlington is pleased to announce it has received a B grade for climate action efforts from the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP). This is the first time the City has received a grade. CDP is a non-profit charity and provides a global disclosure climate action reporting platform for businesses and all levels of government.The City reported its progress on the implementation of the community-based Climate Action Plan, the community emissions inventory and carbon reduction target. CDP awarded the City a B for its reporting, recognizing its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change.Reporting through the CDP platform helps the City to meet its reporting requirements for the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), the largest global alliance for city climate leadership across the globe. The City joined GCoM in 2020 and was one of 25 Canadian municipalities to participate in Showcase Cities, a program hosted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection program and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. The program was designed to support municipalities in their actions to meet the requirements of GCoM.About the Climate Disclosure ProjectCDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 590 investors with over US$110 trillion in assets under management, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions, representing a combined population of over 2.6 billion. Fully Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure-aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions toward a net-zero, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.For more information on the City’s climate change efforts, visit burlington.ca/environmentQuick Facts:

• Burlington City Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and directed staff to apply a climate lens to operations, plans and strategies, including the budget.
• In 2019, Burlington City Council approved the Corporate Energy and Emissions Management Plan to provide a pathway for City operations to become net carbon neutral by 2040.
• In 2020, Burlington City Council approved the Climate Action Plan and set a target to become a net carbon neutral community by 2050.
• Earlier this year staff presented the Climate Projections Report to City Council illustrating how the community can expect to be impacted by a changing climate under different scenarios.
• The City is working in collaboration with a number of staff and community stakeholders to develop Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adapting to Warmer, Wetter and Wilder Weather, expected to be completed and presented to City Council in 2022.
• Prior to COP26 in Glasgow, the City also signed on to participate in the Race to Reduce campaign recognizing the City’s target to become a net carbon zero community by 2050.

"It’s important for the City of Burlington to show leadership by taking action on climate change by reducing our carbon footprint as well as developing a plan to adapt to the impacts of climate change. It’s also important that we join other cities around the world by reporting through the Climate Disclosure Project to share data and the progress on our climate action commitments and hope that encourages other communities to sign on." -- Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward"Staff have been working hard to create and implement our climate change programs and it is great to see this early success and recognition of our efforts. Since this was the first year of our participation and our Climate Resilience Burlington project has not yet been finalized, we expect to see even better results next year when it is complete. I encourage residents and businesses to look at what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, offset emissions and to prepare for the effects of climate change. Cities are the front-line of climate change action." -- Allan Magi, Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services, City of Burlington"One of the goals of the climate emergency declaration was to track progress for achieving major milestones on climate action and to report back publicly on progress. Reporting through CDP is a positive step in ensuring our accountability/commitment to climate action." -- Ward 3 Counc. Rory Nisan, City of Burlington"By 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities, meaning their role in curbing climate change cannot be overstated. As extreme weather events – like this summer’s wildfires or the unprecedented ice storms that trampled the South this winter – become more frequent and severe, city governments must protect their communities. Transparency around environmental impact is an important first step. It is heartening to see the City of Burlington disclosing their climate impact and risks to ensure a resilient, equitable and just future for individuals and businesses in their community." -- Katie Walsh, Head of Cities, States & Regions, CDP North America

Links and Resources:

• Environment: burlington.ca/environment
• Take Action Burlington: TakeActionBurlington.ca
• Climate Disclosure Project: cdp.net

--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist