Sustainability Services
A liveable, healthy community requires a long-term commitment to economic, social, and environmental well-being, the pillars of a sustainable approach to community living. City Council has recognized the importance of improving Richmond’s sustainability performance by making it one of their term goals for the 2008-2011 term of office.The formation of the Sustainability Unit responds to this goal, and helps the City assume a stronger, more proactive leadership role in sustainability performance with the opportunity to “get significantly out in front” and develop more sophisticated strategies and actions that enable the necessary transitional and ultimately, transformative level changes to occur.
Sustainability
Our City recognizes the importance of creating a sustainable community. It is a core strategy for achieving our corporate vision of "being the most appealing, livable and well-managed community in Canada".
Working towards sustainability means living within limits, understanding the interconnections and interdependence among the economy, society and the environment, and the equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. Our vision of a sustainable Richmond is a healthy, safe and enriched island community with an innovative and prosperous economy and thriving natural systems, sustained for current and future generations.
Environmental Sustainability
The long-term livability of our city depends upon our natural environment – the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land upon which we live and grow our food.
The City practises continual improvement and collaboration with other levels of government, businesses, and the Richmond community to ensure that a healthy environment exists well into the future.
Examples of initiatives and policies include:
- integration of environmental policies into the City’s Official Community Plan;
- integration of community input into decision-making through the City’s Advisory Committee on the Environment (ACE);
- greening our corporate practices, including the environmentally-award winning City Hall;
- greening the built-form of the community and encouraging environmentally friendly lifestyle choices;
- protecting natural resources through City parks and Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA); and
- understanding and monitoring environmental quality through the City’s State of Environment report.
Contacts: Sustainability Unit
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