County of Haliburton Council has identified achieving appropriate climate change mitigation as a priority. The Corporate Climate Change Mitigation Plan sets a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the county and its four local municipalities by 30% below 2018 levels by 2030.

Chapter 3 of the County of Haliburton's Corporate Climate Change Mitigation Plan addresses recommended actions for Dysart et al regarding buildings, fleet, waste, and leadership.

Buildings

  • Continue to conduct energy audits on municipal facilities to identify retrofit opportunities, prioritizing those with the highest energy intensity or consumption. Ensure that energy audits consider renewable energy opportunities
  • Create a schedule and implement the recommendations from the energy audits for actions that are deemed to have a reasonable payback period. Each building will have its own recommendations, including improving building envelopes, lighting retrofits, HVAC replacement, automation, renewables, etc.
  • Implement a green building policy requiring higher construction standards for new municipal buildings. New builds should go beyond building code and consider lifecycle carbon emissions
  • Continue staff education on reducing energy consumption

Fleet

  • Install electric vehicle charging stations in municipal parking lots with prioritized use for municipal fleet
  • Develop and implement a green fleet policy (purchase the lowest emission vehicle where cost effective, right-sizing, anti-idling, etc.)
  • Implement fleet operator training for reducing fuel consumption (anti-idling, optimal driving behavior, etc.)
  • Monitor the feasibility of alternative fuel sources (ex. biodiesel and hydrogen)

Waste

  • Continue communication to residents and businesses on how to reduce and divert waste using recommendations from the Waste & Litter Reduction Education Report
  • Continue to support and promote backyard composting
  • Complete a waste composition study at landfill sites
  • Conduct a waste audit of our corporate waste and implement strategies to reduce waste that is generated from municipal facilities
  • Explore the use of a bag tag system and a bag limit policy upon review of the Integrated Waste Management Strategy
  • Invest in scales to provide more accurate data on tonnage
  • Expand options for re-use, including re-use centers
  • Explore the potential of organics diversion for yard waste and food waste at landfill and/or community sites
  • Increase source separation of waste in public areas (downtown, parks etc.) with clear signage and appropriate lids to encourage proper sorting

Leadership

  • Integrate comprehensive GHG and climate change considerations into municipal plans and policies (asset management plan, energy conservation and demand management plan, official plan, procurement policy)
  • Incorporate a climate change lens into municipal decision making (staff reports, RFPs, RFTs)

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