imagineCALGARY Welcomes Green Calgary to Partnership
Green Calgary became the 55th member of the imagineCALGARY Partnership when they joined the initiative earlier this month. Heather Hendrie, Green Calgary’s Community Organizer, recently discussed her group’s decision to join imagineCALGARY – her interview follows below.
Q. What prompted Green Calgary to join the imagineCALGARY Partnership?
Green Calgary’s existing work is very much in line with imagineCALGARY’s environmental targets. Our organization continues to refine and improve upon what we do and we are very interested in collaborating with other organizations in the community who are working to achieve similar goals. We believe that working with others and under a shared umbrella can help us to multiply the positive environmental impact of the work we do within our organization. We have also recently developed a new staff position here at Green Calgary- that of Community Organizer – to help us collaborate and network more effectively with other groups whose work is in line with ours.
Q. How do Green Calgary's goals/mandate/principles align with the imagineCALGARY vision?
Green Calgary’s mission and vision feed almost directly into imagineCALGARY’s vision for the future. Our mission statement:
Green Calgary empowers Calgarians to create healthy homes and communities through environmental education, products and services.
and our vision:
Green Calgary will play a significant role in bringing this vision to fruition in five to seven years.... 'Calgarians are world leaders in urban environmental sustainability.'
are both working to build some of the foundation for imagineCALGARY’s 100-year vision, particularly as it relates to a healthy environment and urban sustainability in Calgary.
Q. How does Green Calgary anticipate using the imagineCALGARY Plan?
Green Calgary will continue to deliver great environmental education, and we plan to incorporate the larger context of the imagineCALGARY vision into relevant presentations. imagineCALGARY’s Plan will also operate as a guideline by which we can both measure the direction of our progress toward our goal of urban environmental sustainability. The Plan will also help us to relate to and understand our key role in the larger picture of action towards Calgary’s sustainable future.
Q. Are there any particular targets within the imagineCALGARY Plan that Green Calgary will work to achieve?
Green Calgary’s work is in line with many of imagineCALGARY’s environmentally related targets. A few specific targets that Green Calgary is currently working towards and will continue to work to achieve include:
Food
T1 By 2036, Calgarians support local food production. |
T2 By 2036, Calgary maintains access to reliable and quality food sources. |
T3 By 2036, 100 per cent of Calgary’s food supply derives from sources that practice sustainable food production. |
Goods and Services
T3 By 2036, all Calgarians consume more responsibly. |
Transportation
T4 By 2036, there is a 50 per cent reduction from 1990 levels in the pollution (greenhouse gases) associated with automobiles. |
Waste Management
T1 By 2036, 85 per cent of the waste generated within Calgary is diverted from landfills. |
T2 By 2036, 75 per cent of construction industry waste materials are recovered for reuse and/or recycling. |
T3 By 2036, 85 per cent of waste materials are converted to other useful products. |
Economic Well-being
T2 By 2036, the number of environmentally sustainable and commercially viable value-added products and technologies produced in Calgary increases by 100 per cent. |
Air
T1 By 2036, energy consumption is reduced by 30 per cent based on 1999 use. |
T4 By 2036, indoor air contaminants are reduced to zero per cent. |
T5 By 2036, Calgary’s ecological footprint decreases to below the 2001 Canadian average of 7.25 hectares per capita. |
Land and Soil
T1 By 2036, land use efficiency increases by at least 30 per cent, as measured by public transit threshold and increased density. |
T2 By 2036, sustainable urban food production increases to five per cent. |
T3 By 2036, the consumption of urban and regionally produced food by Calgarians increases to 30 per cent. |
T6 By 2036, Calgary’s ecological footprint decreases to below the 2001 Canadian average of 7.25 hectares per capita. |
Water
T1 By 2036, per capita water consumption is reduced by 40 per cent. |
Health and Fitness
T1 By 2036, all Calgarians live in a safe and clean natural environment, as measured by the quality of its air, water, soil and food sources, plus by the lack of exposure to toxic waste. |
Sense of Community
T3 By 2010, at least 75 per cent of Calgarians report that they volunteer for the benefit of others who are outside their circles of family and friends. |
Q. What benefits does imagineCALGARY offer the Calgary community?
imagineCALGARY offers the Calgary community a number of benefits. Perhaps one of the most powerful benefits provided by imagineCALGARY is the shared, long-term vision of a sustainable future for Calgary. It is also of great benefit to the community that imagineCALGARY is able to bring together numerous organizations across sectors to work together and foster relationships and collaborations for a healthy and sustainable future.
