CITIES & ENVIRONMENT, CREATING SUSTAINABLE WEALTH - ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: MAINSPRING OF ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND SOCIAL BENEFIT
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Cities & Environment,
creating sustainable wealth
Environmental Sustainability:
Mainspring of Economic Resilience
and Social Benefit
case studies
© Photothèque Veolia - Stéphane Lavoué
A publication of The FMDV, founded in 2010 on the initiative of Metropolis, United Cities and Local Governments and 34 founder members (cities and city networks), is a political organisation promoting solidarity between local authorities. It supports contracting authorities by providing local governments with technical expertise and financial engineering to help them access financial resources that match the needs they themselves have defined, and on the best possible terms. Its operating and coordination methods promote a multi-partner culture based on dynamic cooperation and exchanges between local authorities, notably South-South or through South-South-North triangular partnerships. The FMDV’s financial engineering expertise focuses on reviewing local authorities’ technical and financial skills and capacities and providing concerted support to staffs (capacity building, training, skills transfers and strategy and tool management). It also supports the design and development of project strategies and financial vehicles that give programmes access to long-term financing. This dual concerted approach through technical assistance to rethink urban planning and financial engineering tailored to ensure it, bene- fits from sustainable financing, empowers local authorities, elected officials and technical staffs to design, develop and evaluate their own resilient development projects, depending on the coherence and potential of their territories. The FMDV develops local stakeholders’ interconnectivity, among themselves and with their national and international partners, as well as community participation, ownership and responsible well-being (solidarity, inclusion and cohesion). It acts as a technical spokesperson for local authorities towards their partners, international fora and financial institutions, by leading the debate on endogenous urban development financing via the publication of reference works on the topic, thematic case studies and the organisa- tion of seminars, based on the policy directions of its members and on partnership opportunities. www.fmdv.net
editorial
Cities & Environment,
creating sustainable wealth
Environmental Sustainability:
Mainspring of Economic Resilience and Social Benefit
O
ur societies and economies are experiencing a complex and slow transition, which local authorities need to address without
delay. In view of the upheavals ahead, this economic, social and environmental transition requires them to take on new
unprecedented responsibilities. And today we need to collectively devise and implement a sustainable development model
that is fully in line with this aim.
•
To this end, the integration of the ecological and social dimensions into our planning and development policies is an arduous Jean-Paul Huchon
President of the Global Fund
process. It is already underway, but over the long haul. And each and every one of us needs to support it and stimulate it, at for Cities’Development (FMDV)
our level and by using our own competences and skills. The fight against environmental, economic and social insecurity is, in this President of Metropolis
President of the Ile-de-France
respect, our overriding priority and our number one challenge. Region
For several years now, local and regional authorities have been taking stock of the political, economic and social challenges posed
by this transition: support job creation and social innovation, increase business attractiveness and synergies between the econo-
mic world and academic worlds; adapt vocational training pathways; invest in research and development programmes; transform
our public administrations, their organisation and tools; increase transparency and the participation of all to ensure that citizens
take full ownership of the challenges and the responses to them.
These are all ways for local authorities to speed up the ecological changes in their administrations and territories.
This publication provides us with a first collection of examples of the political innovation that we are all called upon to take up
together. And I would first like to thank the authorities of Vancouver (Canada), Monteria (Colombia), Grand Lyon (France),
Semarang (Indonesia), Tubigon (the Philippines), Cape Town (South Africa) and Växjö (Sweden), as well as their partners, for having
allowed us to study their initiatives and report back on them here for the benefit of all.
We still have a long road ahead of us, but we can be proud of these experiences and the convictions on which they are based,
and draw inspiration from them in order to scale up their implementation worldwide.
And we need to do this in a cross-cutting manner and over the long term by proposing new governance models. This publication was
We also need to devise this transition and its implementation with all stakeholders: governments, local authorities, civil society produced and distributed
and the economic and social world. in partnership with
This is indeed the prerequisite for its success, an ambition that I wish, as President of the Global Fund for Cities’Development Veolia Environnement
(FMDV), to share with you through this publication. l
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 3
Foreword
Building a sustainable
5 million
Each, in its own way and depending on the
urban future: Cities take context, its level of competence and its capa-
cities, has grasped the reality of its social and
the driver’s seat ecological environment in order to initiate chan- Every month,
ges in local cultures of producing, consuming Southern cities
and living together. have to absorb
I
t is recognised that the world today is more While the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro For each case study, we have not sought to be 5 million additional
complex than ever before. This is indeed had celebrated the territorial level as being the exhaustive, but to introduce the specificity of inhabitants, i.e.
what local authorities experience every day relevant scale for integrating and interlinking the differentiated approach by which the local 95% of population
when discharging their regular responsibili- the four dimensions of sustainable development authority has decided to address the challenge growth in the
ties. They are at the forefront of wealth crea- (environment, social, economy and culture), the posed by the sustainability of its territorial pro- world’s cities.
tion and production, and yet are invariably the Rio+20 Summit embodied political divisions and ject, faced with the reality of political will, the
first to carry responsible commitments made other thematic and cultural points of divergen- mobilisation of local stakeholders, its financial
at the international level. They unite hopes and ce. It was held against a backdrop of a crisis of resources, the organisation of its administra-
dreams, attract skills and provide recognised civilisation but also in a geopolitical world which tion and the availability of the corresponding
momentum for social progress – as best they was recomposed, in the mid-2000s, by the emer- skill requirements.
can and against all odds –, which testifies to gence of the so-called “Southern” countries in Each example illustrates a specific approach
their daily involvement in the communities who the global diplomatic and financial arena. chosen by these local authorities to implement
govern them. Yet in june 2012, during this latest multilateral – either systematically or on a programmatic
summit, stakeholders were reminded of the ur- basis – the combination between the day-to-day
Increasing pressure gent need to jointly, and as a priority, address management of its territory and changing the
Faced with the need for a sound and balan- the root causes of poverty at the global and ways of thinking, dialoguing and taking action.
ced management of their local public service local levels and the related problems, for they Like other local authorities which have set out
missions, local authorities still do not, however, constitute major obstacles to the environmental on the same sustainable path, their approaches
benefit from sufficient transfers of power, skills sustainability of our activities and impacts on converge towards the objective of creating new
and resources from their supervisory authori- the planet and its resources. mechanisms and tools for decision-making, fi-
ties. They are the first to experience changes, nancing, information and the participation of ter-
and for several years, have been absorbing Mobilisation and action: ritorial stakeholders, united around the same
repeated and violent societal shocks that the inspiring examples common vision of the challenges, emergencies
projected explosion in global urbanisation is In this respect, the FMDV, with support from and needs to be taken into account.
expected to exacerbate. Even more frequently, Veolia Environnement, wished to highlight local
as globalised economic and financial distortions authorities which have, beyond “green contro- Common and unifying areas
increase and fuel health, food, social, political versies”, made the resolute choice to engage Beyond their cultural differences and the di-
and ecological crises. This increases inequali- in processes and programmes combining envi- versity of contexts and resources, we have ob-
ties and competition to the detriment of solida- ronmental sustainability, economic efficiency and served the existence of pivotal areas that are
rity between citizens, territories and cultures. social responsibility. common to each initiative.
Page 4 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth
These elements provide an outline of an inte- more than being “simply” sustainable – multi- dictable cost of inaction – each experience
grated and operational approach, which other dimensional development of the territory. This we have selected has initiated a sustainable
local stakeholders may draw on for their own echoes the increasing shift from the concept transformation in its positioning and practices.
projects: launched in the late 1980s by the Brundtland By integrating natural resources and the inhe-
• Sustained efforts for the regulatory, budgeta- Commission towards practices and positions rent constraints posed by the need to preserve
ry, institutional and systemic integration of the at the international level turned resolutely to- them as direct factors and catalysts of wealth
environmental dimension into their public admi- wards measurable, accessible and replicable creation, the local authorities presented here
nistration. The aim is to implement cross-cutting action. are initiating, at their level, a resolutely contem-
strategies and programmes that take account porary transformation in the ways of unders-
of both the duty to preserve natural resources pushing back the limits tanding and taking action.
– a priceless capital – and that of access for all Each case has also allowed us to identify a This key point of access to sustainable funding
to basic services and the local economy, number of limitations and obstacles. The most for local authorities constitutes the rationale of
• Strategic links and alliances with all territorial serious, which constitutes the challenge for the FMDV. Consequently, this publication paves
stakeholders (universities, companies, develop- each of the initiatives we studied, remains the the way for an in-depth analysis of the oppor-
ment agencies, NGOs, and particularly the most search for alternative and complementary fun- tunities offered by the environmental sustaina-
remote communities). The aim is to pool ener- ding able to foster a hybridisation of resources bility of territorial projects as a cornerstone for
gies and expertise, strengthen ties of coopera- and ensure that the action taken for the tran- economic resilience and social benefit for all.
tion, solidarity, skills and help build a long-term sition of territories, practices and awareness is We hope that you find this reading inspiring and
territorial social contract by and for all, sustainable. invite you to visit our website www.fmdv.net to
• (Re-)enhancement of wealth and reaffirmation However, by modifying the usual economic and continue the forward-looking analysis of these
of local potential by effective and efficient rein- financial reference frameworks – notably by territories which, by being fundamentally res-
vestment in the image it gives of the territory comparing the contribution made by the pro- ponsible, are necessarily innovative. l
– an engine of revitalisation and mobilisation grammes that are implemented with the pre-
– both towards its external partners and its
internal leaders. This is achieved through green
territorial marketing with high added value for
the attractiveness, dynamism and productivity of
“Urbanization is inevitable (...) a positive force to be
the local authority, harnessed in support of social equality, cultural vitality,
• Technological and technical monitoring by economic prosperity and ecological security. (...)
drawing on integrated environmental manage-
ment consultancy and tools, to create clear and The battle for a more sustainable future will be won
operational dashboards for policy decision-ma- or lost in cities.”
king, and to conduct a sustainable mapping of
the territory and its desirable developments, Excerpt from Manifesto For Cities - June 2012 - World Urban Campaign
• Finally, proactive investment in a construction
policy that is truly combined with a resilient –
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 5
case
studIES
sUm- 02
mary
01 02
page 8 page 16
Moving mountains: the Green Profusion
Cape Town Vancouver (Canada)
changes course Or when a political proactive
cape town (south africa) approach and territorial
Cape Town has decided to marketing unite stakeholders 04
tackle the challenge of change and investments around
by sustainably and collectively the “green challenge”.
integrating the environment
at the core of policy making.
An example of inclusive
institutionalisation, with strong 03 04
impacts and added value for page 26
the city development plan.
Towards a low footprint
for a more resilient
and attractive territory
Grand Lyon (France)
Monteria (ColombiA)
With the environmental
footprint, innovating to embody
the sustainability challenge
and guide decision-making
to secure the future of
the territory.
Page 6 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth
05 06
page 34
EcoBUDGET: recounting
the environment
differently
Tubigon (Philippines)
Växjö (Sweden)
Two cities, on opposite sides
of the world, use the same
environmental management
system to “recount” the history
of their territories, which they
05 hope will “count” for the future.
07
07
page 44
resilience for & by all
Semarang (Indonésie)
Exploring the stages leading
to collectively build resilience
to climate change.
01
06 to find other
case studies, visit
03 www.fmdv.net
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 7
01 - Cape Town in all its diversity
case
study
Moving mountains : 1
Cape Town changes course
cape town (south africa)
Cape Town is endowed with both ocean and mountains. It covers an area of 2,500 km²
and is home to 3.8 million people. The city enjoys an internationally recognised
01
environmental wealth of exceptional biodiversity, which would appear to be impossible to
reconcile with its many social and economic challenges.
Rapid urban sprawl, a disproportionately high carbon footprint and the difficulties of
poor communities in accessing energy are combined with a low level of energy security,
natural resources under threat and increased vulnerability to climate change.
The municipality has taken action by deciding to continuously integrate the environment
into its policy. Its proactive approach seeks synergies between sustained economic
growth and providing high-level, equitable services for its community. A commitment for
the long haul.
1
Cf. Moving Mountains, Cape Town’s Action Plan for Energy and Climate Change, november 2011.
Page 8 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth
“It is a question of finding a ‘win-win’ compromise
between a benefit of environmental integration, which
can only be felt over the long-term, and immediate needs
for the economic and social development of the city.”
© City of Cape Town
Sarah Ward, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Unit – City of Cape Town
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 901
cape town (south africa)
02 - Wind resources
Seeking a compromise between development
and regional resilience
Cape Town is South Africa’s second largest in electricity prices by 2016 – 2006 baseline)
economic centre with 10.6% of national GDP and between communities and their environ-
© Sustainable Energy Africa
(after Johannesburg, 16%) and has a municipal ment (carbon footprint of 7.82 tonnes per ca-
budget of about EUR 2.58bn for the fiscal year pita per year)3.
2011/122. One of its main challenges is to era- The city is seeking to address the twofold need
dicate economic and social inequalities which for economic and social development on the one
put a strain on local relationships between ci- hand, and environmental preservation on the
tizens (21% unemployment rate, 400% increase other hand. It has thus been working for over
ten years to integrate an environmental stra-
tegy into its development policy. Consequently, 03 - Mobility and development, connected issues
“Cape Town acknowledges several documents have been produced, which
aim to implement and promote the sustainability
climate change as one of its territory (Integrated Metropolitan Environ-
of the greatest challenges mental Policy in 2001, Energy and Climate Change
Strategy in 2006).
of our generation but In 2011, an Energy and Climate Change Action
seeks to use it as an
© City of Cape Town, Bruce Sutherland
Plan set out a series of environmental targets.
This action plan will form the backbone of the
opportunity to build a decision-making process for developing urban
better future for all.” projects that have a social and economic impact
at the local level. Under the umbrella of climate
Excerpt from Moving Mountains, change mitigation, this Action Plan constitutes
Cape Town’s Action Plan for Energy the optimal phase in building regional resilience
and Climate Change, nov. 2011. for all.
Page 10 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth© City of Cape Town, Bruce Sutherland
Action through 03
influence: placing
the environmental
strategy at the highest
level of governance
across all sectors
01 In order to come up with a series of 40 pro-
Heading:
Cape Peninsula, rapid grammes comprising 120 projects combining
urbanisation faces an economic, social and environmental issues, the
uncertain climate future.
city first and foremost defined a political and
02
The city strongly supports administrative framework. This framework es-
local power generation tablishes environmental issues as a guide for
by establishing contracts
with wind farms and invests the political and administrative decision-making
more in renewable energies
than in traditional energy process. The Environmental Resource Mana-
sources. gement Department, a central entity, dissemi- 04 - Balances threatened
03 nates the environmental strategy across all
The improvement in transport
networks (accounting for
the sectoral departments. It is made up of a
roughly 50% of Cape Town’s qualified technical team able to spread strong
energy consumption) will
greatly contribute to reducing messages to decision-making arenas.
CO2 emissions. executive directors of the departments. These Environmental Management Frameworks defi-
04 Efficient institutional committees make it possible for the City to inte- ned for each of the city’s 8 District Plans.
Cape Town is home
to both some of the richest architecture, dedicated grate environmental considerations into the po- A pilot phase for this initiative has been laun-
biodiversity in the world and
the greatest number
instruments litical definition of urban strategies and encou- ched in the most sensitive townships of Mit-
of endangered species. Several instruments are used for this purpose, rages cross-sectoral implementation in each of chells Plain and Khayelitsha in order to de-
including discussion forums between technical the relevant departments and programmes. fine which areas to urbanise as a priority and
departments and a series of committees which Thanks to this enhanced process, a chapter which ones to preserve.
meet to discuss issues related to sustainable devoted to climate change adaptation has now This process to integrate the environment into
urban development. been included in the Integrated Development the urban planning system would not be pos-
A dedicated political body, the Energy and Cli- Plan, a document setting guidelines for munici- sible without the presence of political leaders
mate Change Committee, was set up in 2009. pal budget priorities. who are responsive to technical expertise and
2
y comparison: Johannesburg has
B
a budget of EUR 2.9bn in 2012 for It gathers together the Deputy Mayor and the Along the same lines, the Spatial Development proactive in local innovation. Indeed, the imple-
1,644km2 and 4 million inhabitants.
City Councillors of each relevant department Framework, an urban development instrument mentation of sustainable urban projects can
3
T he ideal (equitable) value of the
carbon footprint (1.3 teqCO2/per cap./ about 6 times a year to discuss the priorities par excellence, restores balance to a city pre- only be made legal, and thus binding, following
year) is the result of the research of the city’s political agenda. It is completed by viously prone to segregation, promotes a den- the City Council’s approval of these integrated
of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). an administrative subcommittee made up of the ser urban fabric, and will now be supported by environmental strategies.
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 1105 - IRT project
© City of Cape Town, Bruce Sutherland
Taking action: projects which permanently
combine environmental policy and social and
economic benefits
The strength of this sustainability strategy also ved adding 310 buses (8, 12 and 18 m) linking up
lies in continuously negotiated compromises for the airport and other key satellite nodes in the
urban projects between the long-term impacts north with the city centre, and phase II plans to
on the environmental sustainability of the area, serve outlying neighbourhoods in the south of
and the direct benefits for the city’s immediate the city.
social and economic development needs. In addition to a decrease in CO2 emissions from
Two programmes, the Integrated Rapid Transit a reduction in the massive use of private cars,
(IRT) system and Solar Water Heater (SWH) pro- this project will reduce the spatial inequality
gramme, are good examples of how communi- suffered by township residents by bringing
ties’ resilience is gradually being strengthened poor residential areas (notably Cape Flats)
© City of Cape Town, Bruce Sutherland
over the long term, along with an improvement closer to dynamic economic centres. Moreover,
in their living conditions in the short term. Fol- the strengthening of transport axes will boost
lowing a resolute but long process of institutio- the economy by creating new economic clusters
nally rooting environmental sustainability, they along the lines.
symbolise the municipality’s desire to activate This densification policy, combined with the crea-
the hinge pin of its resilience for all policy. tion of a more efficient transport system, is ex- 06 - Kuyasa SWH project
pected to generate savings of nearly EUR 1bn by
IRT and SWH: the “initials” 2030 (roughly 40% of the municipal budget). EUR
of change 175m of investments have already been planned
In a first case, in its drive to promote a compact, for this project for 2013 (phase II).
energy-efficient and accessible city, the muni- In the second example, the Action Plan for to eventually equip all medium-to-high income
cipality has designed a sustainable transport Energy and Climate Change intends to reduce households and thus create 10,200 year-round
system combined with a policy increasing the the city’s energy consumption by 10% by 2015, jobs (related to the installation of the water
density of the urban fabric focussed on trans- including 6% of savings from scaling up the heaters and the development of the solar sec-
port axes and nodes. The IRT project, which was Solar Water Heater (SWH) system technology tor) over the next 10 years. The cost of the pro-
launched in 2010, was initiated for the Football in 400,000 medium-to-high income households gramme is estimated at EUR 298m.
World Cup. Phase I of the MyCiTi network invol- which have an electric water heater. The aim is Several initiatives have been launched to provi-
Page 12 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth3
questions to
de this technology to the most vulnerable com- Belinda Walker
munities. A first project was launched in Kuyasa City Councillor for Economic, Environment
in 2006 (a neighbourhood in the township of and Spatial Planning – City of Cape Town
Khayelitsha southeast of Cape Town) thanks
to a partnership between the NGO SouthSouth-
North, the City of Cape Town’s Department of What consequences that are in a comparable
Environmental Affairs, the Provincial Housing did the integration of the situation, not necessarily
Department, the National Department of Public environment have on the of the same size, but similar.
Works, and the South African Export Develop- decision-making process I would ask for their advice:
ment Fund. What kind of social for urban planning? what has been done,
The objectives were to reduce economic and and economic impacts The main success is and imagine, using this
energy poverty in the community by decreasing do you think Cape to have managed to place shared experience, what
fossil fuel consumption, and therefore CO 2 Town’s environmental sustainability in the they can implement without
emissions, thanks to the improvement in ther- programmes will have? mainstream and in the minds having to go down
mal performance in low-cost housing and the What we are planning for of officials and my political the same road again.
promotion of energy-saving lighting, and so- the future must make colleagues, and which The process must also
lar water heating for low-income households. economic sense and they even apply when they be led by a politician, a mayor
The equipment of 2,309 houses has made water sustainability, on this point, carry out their respective for example, so that it is not
and electricity savings estimated at EUR 62 per certainly does so. Environ- duties: they now think and an exotic project, but really
household per year (for an average monthly mental resources are act “sustainable”, beyond a programme that needs
income of between EUR 95 and EUR 285); there particularly important for “simply” the question of to be applied rapidly.
has been a reduction in respiratory illnesses Cape Town, given our local the environment. I would advise them to identify
in 81% of households and local professionals wealth and its exposure They no longer only take the the available resources in
have been trained in these new technologies to the impacts of climate impacts on the environment the vicinity: universities or
(65,000 work days have been created in the change. Not taking them into account, they also organisations such as ICLEI,
community for the project). seriously, or planning without examine the repercussions or any other stakeholder
While each new housing construction for the recognising their importance, on the sustainability of in knowledge-sharing.
medium-to-high income categories today inte- means opening the door urban projects. They will need individuals
grates the SWH technology, the Kuyasa project to expenditure for which we and organisations that know
05 is an encouraging start to eventually replicating do not have the necessary What advice would you give how to access knowledge,
The IRT project will support
equal access to mobility this integration in 3 million low-cost houses, to funds and for results to other local authorities? then to convert this
and the economy and
promote a sustainable,
be built by 2025: given the figures that have that will probably have no The first message is that knowledge into a significant
high-density city. been provided, this scale-up will have signifi- effect, given the upheavals they do not have to start programme. You do not have
06 cant macroeconomic effects. However, the SWH ahead of us. Our policies from scratch. A lot of work to do everything yourself
The project to install project is difficult to implement on a widespread must therefore integrate has already been done and by yourself! What is
solar water heaters in
Kuyasa will contribute to scale due to the long process required to in- this dimension and give it and people are really willing more, there is already a lot
the resilience of poor
communities who used to tegrate this technology (cost and legal amend- its full economic to collaborate. I would look of knowledge online!
spend up to 25% of ment) into the policies of the national govern- and social translation. towards municipalities
their income for their
energy needs. ment, which subsidises these low-cost houses.
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 13Working towards applied environmental integration: creating opportunities for partnerships, investments and visibility The implementation of the City of Cape Town’s the Cape Town Municipality and the Western strategy requires significant institutional chan- Cape province in order to remove the existing ges, strong technical expertise, a substantial barriers to the potential of developing a green investment capacity, effective management, and energy economy and creating the related em- an alignment with high spheres of government. ployment opportunities (for example, by esta- It is by developing new instruments that the blishing a competitiveness hub based on green municipality has managed to integrate environ- technologies located in Atlantis, a town north of mental considerations into its institutional sys- Cape Town, and promoting the development of tem, beyond changes in government. Practical the SWH technology on a larger scale). mechanisms to establish a position on the en- This partnership culture provides essential vironment (forums, strategy, training of techni- technical expertise to meet environmental chal- cians), measure these resources (environmental lenges and attracts a committed network of sta- report, environmental management system) and keholders from beyond the municipal sector. include the environment in urban planning tools Projects which include the environmental dimen- (environmental management frameworks) have sion require heavy public investment by local brought technical teams together for a common authorities. The multiplier effect of these pro- project. The city’s aim is to fully integrate these tools into the daily practices of sectoral techni- cal teams in order to bring multi-faceted urban “The most important thing for a city to know is that to projects to fruition. The municipality’s capacity building also relies be taken seriously, the issue of energy and climate change on a number of partnerships with NGOs (Sus- deserves to be placed at the highest level of governance, tainable Energy Africa, ICLEI), academic institu- tions (universities, research institutes), the pu- centrally, and led by a strong department, with the use of all blic electricity company, and the Climate Change the required capacity.” Think Tank. The sectoral development agency Green Cape Sarah Ward, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Unit – City of Cape Town was set up in 2010 via a partnership between Page 14 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth
07 - More energy efficient public buildings
07 ket able to make the municipality’s investments velopment banks and from sustainable invest-
The improvement in energy
efficiency in buildings will in the environment viable. Along the same lines, ment funds.
make a 22% energy saving the reduction in CO2 emissions (stabilisation at Moreover, these projects point to the ques-
over 7 years.
20M tonnes in 2025 instead of 28 in 2010) will tion of the need to amend the legal framework
increase the green attractiveness to investors. concerning the municipality’s powers and its
capacity to control its urban planning. The ambi-
Challenges ahead tious projects, which today allow the municipality
Although projects combining the reduction of (which has been in the opposition since 2006) to
environmental impacts and the social and eco- build its resilience, all too often come up against
nomic benefit for communities have today pro- the power of upper regional levels. Conse-
ved their value, access to funding continues to quently, all projects are at one point dependent
be a major challenge for their implementation. on funding or legal empowerment from central
Consequently, the municipality has strongly en- government, which seriously hinders environ-
gaged in a search for funding. mental integration at the local level. Be it for
The Kuyasa project, for example, has started the more sustainable construction of low-cost
trading on the carbon market via the United Na- housing (national subsidies and mechanisms) or
tions’ Clean Development Mechanism, an oppor- incentives to produce renewable energy locally
tunity which should be replicated for phase 2 of (national competence), the municipality conti-
the IRT project. nues, meanwhile, to hold to a vision of a more
Other sources of financing may in the future long-term operation addressing vulnerable hou-
© Sustainable Energy Africa
come from the UN Green Climate Fund, as well seholds, which will ensure it stays the course
as from identified national and international de- for its new sustainable directions. l
Key Figures
jects on economic and social development must Population Unemployment Carbon Electricity Action plan
be visible. In the future, environmental projects footprint demand for Energy & climate change:
may offer new opportunities for the creation 40 programmes, 120 projects
of a market for green technology production
and other related services, such as photovol- Gain for the Direct contribution
taic solar panels (today imported), which meet urban economy of resources to
the need to both integrate the environmental 7.8 2 400 MW
1-2 times
the local economy
dimension into the building sector and develop
3.8 21 % tonnes of
carbon equivalent
6% of a total
installed national the investment EUR 380,000
million per person per year grid capacity of in the natural
new manufacturing methods. If a “green eco- (réf. 2007) 40,000 MW resource
nomy” emerges, it will create an economic mar-
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 1501 - False Creek – Vancouver case study the Green Profusion vancouver (canada) In 2009, the Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, gave new impetus to the city’s environmental policy by launching the “Greenest City 2020” initiative: environmental issues are now not only seen as a challenge, but also as sources of sustainable opportunities. A challenge due to the urgent need to implement programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Opportunities because the rapidly growing green economy sector is now seen as the main engine for economic growth, well-being and wealth creation at the local level. The municipality’s approach is thus clearly based on a rationale for healthy competition with other cities and it uses the “green” argument as a way of making the city attractive and raising its international profile. And it has done an excellent job. Page 16 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth
02
© City of Vancouver
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 1702 - False Creek
02
vancouver (canada)
Green territorial marketing:
a driver for the city’s attractiveness
Uniting for progress: representing different sectors (private, civil so-
joint definition of a 10-year ciety and universities). A total of some 70 city
integrated action plan staff and 170 institutions are involved in defining
In February 2009, the Greenest City 2020 pro- the action plan.
gramme was launched on the initiative of the The GCAP was adopted by the City Council in July
Mayor. This planning tool aims to give the muni- 2011 and dozens of priority projects are today in
cipality the means to become the “greenest city the implementation phase. The first annual re-
in the world” by 2020. port will be published at the end of 2012 and will
A coordination team (Greenest City Action Team present the progress made in implementation
– GCAT), comprising 18 experts representing and the progression of the results.
different stakeholders (city staff and elected The community’s approval is essential to the
officials, civil society, private sector and univer- success of a project of this magnitude. Conse-
sities), was then tasked with defining ten goals, quently, the definition of the action plan invol-
with quantified and measurable targets and the ved an intensive consultation process with the
corresponding activities to be implemented. community via a far-reaching communication
It subsequently defined an integrated action campaign. According to the municipality, between
plan (Greenest City Action Plan – GCAP), which 2010 and 2011, 35,000 people (almost 6% of the
takes up the activities to be implemented in the population) took part in the different activities
short term (priority projects for 3 years) and in (conferences, Talk Green to us Internet platform,
© City of Vancouver
the medium term (strategies for the period until workshops…) and 9,500 are estimated to have
2020) via ten working groups comprising a team been actively involved. Andrea Reimer, the City
of city staff (from different departments) and a Councillor in charge of the project, says that in
Committee of External Experts, all volunteers 2009, 50% of the community supported the pro-
Page 18 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth01
Heading:
ject and 10% were strongly opposed to it, while “The program has grown deeper in the City every week.
the City of Vancouver
combines skyscrapers
3 years later the approval rate had reached
85%. The re-election of the mayor in December
At first we needed a face, a good brand, a momen-
and extensive nature,
which illustrates the 2011 also shows the widespread support for the tum, an inspiration, but now this is just the way we
synchronisation between
healthy economic growth
and effective environmental
initiative.
Partnerships have been established between
do business, how we deal with waste management,
enhancement, the hallmark
of the “green economy”. the municipality and local NGOs, companies, tra- how we deal with water. It would be very difficult to go
02
The Olympic Village
ders, universities and research institutes in
order to scale up the involvement of local sta-
backwards as the Greenest City Initiative has deeply
located in the False Creek
Neighbourhood is the keholders. In addition to pooling the expertise changed the way the city operates.”
greenest village in North of these different stakeholders, they also dis-
America. In particular, Andrea Reimer, City Councillor – City of Vancouver
it is a model in terms of seminate information to specific networks and
green buildings, renewable
energy and green roofs. thereby promote project ownership. According
to Andrea Reimer, “The local actors own the plan
as much as we own it and it makes it really alive should be counterbalanced with the lack of in- ficient use of resources.” The project’s financial
in the community”. Jennie Moore, a researcher at vestment in additional human resources. This sustainability is guaranteed by working closely
the British Columbia Institute of Technology, says has led to a large overload of work and to for- with the Financial Department to ensure the
that the programme has helped strengthen the mer activities being neglected (notably in the feasibility of each activity, combined with these
social dialogue, which is estimated to have in- Social Department). efficiency targets. There is already a visible
creased by 50%, and notes that the activities return on investment from the initiative, since
related to environmental sustainability imple- Financing the transition the municipality estimates that investments ear-
mented in the city by the different stakeholders While a large part of the programme has been marked for the green sector will reach close to
are estimated to have risen by 20%. financed by the city’s existing resources (Sus- EUR 320m at the end of 2012.
At the same time, the Greenest City 2020 pro- tainability group’s operating budget) and has
gramme has prompted a reorganisation of the benefitted from in-kind support from various “The green economy”: an engine
administration by giving greater importance to local stakeholders, the public engagement pro- for Vancouver’s growth
the Sustainability Group, which has directly re- cess and the extensive communication work The City’s Economic Development Strategy de-
ported to the Deputy City Manager since 2009. have come at a substantial cost. This has requi- fined in 2011 gives a central role to the green
The cross-sectoral interaction required for the red external financing, via a EUR 207,000 Federal economy (3 to 6% growth per year). The action
implementation of the planned activities has Government subsidy through the Federation of plan aims at securing Vancouver’s internatio-
mobilised and channelled all the municipality’s Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund. nal reputation as a “Mecca of green entrepre-
departments towards common objectives and As for the operations set out in the action plan, neurship” by setting the quantified targets of
improved communication between them. Howe- they are to be financed by the operating bud- doubling the number of green jobs by 2020
ver, the enthusiasm of the staff, generated by gets of each department in charge of them, fol- (2010 baseline) and doubling the number of com-
the Mayor and City Council’s leadership, and the lowing the approval of the City Council. panies actively engaged in a greening process
pursuit of efficiency in resource management According to Andrea Reimer, “Green is about ef- for their activities (2011 baseline).
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 1903 - Neighbourhood Energy Utility
3
questions TO
ANDREA REIMER
Chair of Vancouver’s planning and
Environment Committee and lead councillor
on the Greenest City Action Team
What are the impacts of
03 the Greenest City Initiative?
The Neighbourhood Energy
Utility (NEU) is the city’s first First, a real culture and dynamic
renewable district heating of innovation have swept through
system that recovers heat
© City of Vancouver
from untreated wastewater. all the city departments. In the
Finalised in January 2010, it
provides heat and hot water administrative organisation, we have
to all buildings in Southeast seen a complete decompart-mentalisa-
False Creek, including
the Olympic Village. tion thanks to closer collaboration,
not only between officials, but also
between departments.
The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC), the High-potential green sectors The external consultants teams have
municipal agency in charge of the city’s eco- According to the VEC, five green industrial sec- established a dialogue between several
nomic development, has integrated these two tors have the greatest growth potential: clean departments and sectors: the entire
objectives into its internal action strategy and technologies, green buildings, materials ma- city has benefitted from this – we
is responsible for defining and overseeing the nagement and recycling, local food production, now know where to find each other
implementation of the activities related to it. sustainable services and education (70% of to share information, to innovate more.
To do so, it has established partnerships with growth comes from the clean technologies and In addition, thanks to the tools
universities, which are tasked with reviewing green buildings sectors). involving the public and developed
existing initiatives, presenting the good practi- Among the VEC’s strategic activities, substantial by each programme, the overall
ces of other cities and establishing recommen- support is given to green tech companies sec- dialogue between stakeholders has
dations on the strategy and priority activities to tor: the VEC not only guides local businesses by visibly increased and reached a level
be implemented by 2020. providing advice for international development, that the city had never seen before.
Page 20 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealthIn terms of social impacts, the bicycle and public transport that would mean that other cities
initiative will create several thousand users, more local food produced, are doing better than us: we would
green jobs, almost 50% of them less waste produced overall, less all stand to benefit if all cities got
will be for low-barrier jobs (urban water used, we have more electric greener. We see our green it also supports international companies see-
farms, green energy…), which will vehicles, car-sharing, etc. plan as a collaborative goal and king to establish themselves in Vancouver (2
allow the jobholders to gain skills We are well ahead from where we would be really happy if other large companies set up an activity there in 2011
and social stability. we thought we would be by now cities reached and even exceeded generating some EUR 20m in employment and
Also, the local food objective in every single area. But it doesn’t the ambitions that we have set direct investment for the city, and between 5
and actions will create amazing mean there aren’t still some ourselves. and 8 companies are expected in 2012).
communities, will bring people significant challenges ahead, so Other activities aim at supporting the develop-
together across generations, let’s just not loose sailing What are the strengths of ment of local green businesses and promoting
cultures and social background, until the end! the programme that can ensure innovation: the creation of incubator program-
which is very important to the city its success? mes (technical and financial support) and the
of Vancouver where you have so How do you situate Vancouver I would say there are four development of showcasing activities give these
different profiles and backgrounds. with respect to other cities: elements. The first is leadership: companies the opportunity to have priority in
The economic impacts are based competitiveness or solidarity? we needed a face, a leader supplying green products to the city through a
on opportunities offered to The idea was never to become to push the project forward, pre-procurement system.
existing businesses to develop, so literally “the greenest city and the Mayor, Gregor Robertson, Moreover, two Green Enterprise Zones (GEZ),
international companies have come in the world”. It was more a call fully played this role. which are a kind of sectoral “green hub” gathe-
to the city, and there has been for action for our own citizens: “Hey, The second is a plan: you need ring innovative green companies and research
a lot of new investment in open your mind, imagine what the an integrated plan with institutes, have been created by the VEC. The
the green industry since 2009. greenest city could look like, and measurable targets. aim is to build an environment conducive to
And we expect that at the end of now imagine that Vancouver could The third is partnership: the city growth and to attract local and international
2012 we will be close to 400 million be that!” And it really was a very must work with the different green companies, as well as skilled labour. A
dollars (almost EUR 320 m), inspiring dynamic, a focal point local stakeholders. first GEZ is located in the Southeast False Creek
which is way more than around which residents could rally. The fourth is action: while it neighbourhood, the Olympic village from the 2010
we expected! Finally, the initiative The “greenest city” can mean several was developing the plan, the city games, which is a model neighbourhood for en-
has had an impact at the legislative different things depending on the also began to implement activities, vironmental sustainability; a second is located in
level because we have adopted person, but what we can all see is otherwise we would have had the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, which is
about a dozen new laws the change that this brings about. to wait forever before the plan a hub of urban problems (poverty, social exclu-
since 2009. Maybe other cities see it as a was finished. sion, criminality, etc.). According to James Ray-
And of course, there are all much harder hedge challenge than mond, a researcher at the VEC, “The aim is to
the environmental impacts: a much we see it… We would love to lose make GEZs the greenest place to work in the
higher recycling rate, more this healthy competition, because world.”
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 21Figure 1 - distribution of additional green jobs
generated by 2020, through greenest city
action plan (total 10,000)
1%
4% 1%
Green Building (50%)
the dynamics 4%
1%
1%
of green integration 9%
Clean Tech & Green Building
Green Building
Products (22%) (50%)
Clean
Local Tech
Food & Green Building
(13%)
Green jobs for all job market. 15% of the jobs created will be low 9% Products (22%)
13%
Following the implementation of some 40 priority barrier jobs; 15% will require high school studies Infrastructure & Planning (9%)
projects between 2011 and 2014, green jobs (in- and 15% technical studies or training in trades. Local Food (13%)
13% 50% Waste (4%)
tegrating a social sustainability criterion) will be In 2009, the VEC set up the Campus City Colla- Infrastructure & Planning (9%)
created either through existing jobs, but which borative (C3) Programme as part of its strategy Sustainability Services
50% Waste (4%)
have greenified, or through jobs created in new to develop local talent and attract and retain 22% & Education (1%)
sectors. Another 10,425 green jobs are expected human capital. The aim is also to fill green job Sustainability
Land Services (1%)
& Water Remediation
to be created (against 14,900 jobs in 2010, i.e. 4% vacancies that will be created by the develop- 22% & Education (1%)
of total employment in Vancouver) in 7 sectors ment of the green economy (according to the Land & Water Remediation (1%)
(see figure 1). Roughly 45% of the jobs crea- NGO Globe Foundation, Vancouver will experien-
ted will be destined for unskilled people who ce a shortage of 60,000 skilled workers over
face the most barriers to employment on the the next decade). This partnership between
the City of Vancouver and six academic insti- Figure
30,000 2 - forecast green
With Greenest City jobs growth
Action Plan
tutes is designed to promote research on the Business as usual 28,000
“The leadership of means required to achieve the targets set by 30,000
25,000
With Greenest City Action Plan
the Greenest City Initiative, train a skilled and Business as usual
the Mayor and the City specialized workforce and increase dialogue
28,000
Projected Number of Green Jobs
22,200
Council were essential between universities and the private sector in
25,000
20,000 21,100
to motivate the city order to tailor training to demand.
20,000
18,200
21,100
22,200
staff because we had Incentives to greening local
15,000
14,900 18,200
the opportunity companies: private stakeholders
take ownership of the objective
15,000
10,000
to get things done.” The VEC promotes clean growth by implemen-
14,900
ting activities that give incentives to busines- 10,000
Mary Clare Zak, Social Policy Director 5,000
ses greening their operations. Between 10 and
– City of Vancouver
15% of local companies are actively engaged
5,000
in a greening process and publicly pledge to 0
measure and improve their carbon footprint and 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
performance relating to energy (fuel, buildings 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Page 22 l l l Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth04 - Green rooftops
04
Green Rooftops of the
Olympic Village (False Creek)
is an important part of the
green building goals. The
targets for 2020 are: require
all buildings constructed
from 2020 onward to be
carbon neutral in operations;
and reduce energy use and
greenhouse gas emissions
in existing buildings by 20%
compared to 2007 levels.
05
The Greenest City initiative
has implemented several
actions regarding green
transportation. The targets
set in the action plan are:
make the majority (over 50%)
of trips by foot, bicycle, and
public transit by 2020 and
© City of Vancouver
reduce the average distance
driven per resident by 20%
compared to 2007 levels. 05 - Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson
To set the example, the city
has included electric cars
in its fleet.
and travel), water, use of paper and waste. “A key part of the success of the Greenest City initiative was to make
The City is expecting 2,700 more companies to
engage in a greening process by 2020 and is the appropriate department manager for goal area accountable to
setting the example by targeting carbon neu- those targets and to have them lead the development of the actions
trality for municipal activities by the same dea-
dline (travel, energy, waste management and
and strategies to reach the targets. Having a clear mandate
food supply). and adopted targets to meet has been really empowering for staff.”
The Corporate Climate Leader Programme, in
partnership with the Climate Smart organisa- Amy Fournier, Project Officer, Sustainability Group – City of Vancouver
tion, allocates subsidies to companies which are
earmarked for technical advice to green their
practices and, thus, improve their marketing and
increase their market share. In addition, the VEC Vancouver Green Capital, and position Vancouver as the world capital of
offers free energy audits to local companies the city’s flagship brand ecology, a green Silicon Valley and a regional
(consumption measurement and identification of Taking advantage of the opportunity provided hub for excellence in research and innovation
ways to reduce consumption) and guides them by the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which turned on green technology and the green economy.
in their search for subsidies. In order to firmly Vancouver into a “green showcase” and attrac- The VEC aims to strengthen green territorial
establish the process in stakeholders’ direct ted over EUR 93m of direct investments, and marketing in the city by supporting and recogni-
environment, the VEC focuses at local level by thanks to the leadership of the Mayor, Gregor sing local green companies’ development efforts
approaching local businesses and traders’ as- Robertson, the Vancouver Green Capital brand (e.g. restaurants using local food could display
sociations. was registered in 2009. It aims to promote the Vancouver Green Capital logo), helping the
Cities & Environment, creating sustainable wealth l l l Page 2306 - The Burrard Bridge
“Becoming the greenest city is more than an
environmental objective: it’s also a savvy economic
strategy, for it will offer a competitive advantage
in attracting highly mobile investment dollars,
businesses, entrepreneurs, and talented workers.”
Excerpt from Vancouver 2020, a bright green future – City of Vancouver
city’s Tourism Department develop its communi- will strengthen social ties by increasing interac-
cation strategy to increase green tourism and tion between generations and different social
conducting trade missions abroad (notably in classes.
Asia) in order to support the development of The actions of the social enterprise EMBERS
local companies and attract foreign firms. (Eastside Movement for Business and Econo-
The fact that Vancouver was ranked as the third mic Renewal Society) and its Green Renovations
greenest city in the world by The Economist in Programme launched in September 2010, show
2011, along with requests for advice from large how local stakeholders have integrated the
cities abroad, show that the city is firmly on the green action plan into their activities. Thanks
green map and that its territorial marketing has to EUR 120,000 of financial support from the
been a complete success, thus ensuring its at- city, EMBERS Green Renovations plans to train
tractiveness. unskilled workers from Downtown Eastside and
refurbish 5,000 housing units from now until 07 - Kitsilano Beach
Social sustainability… 2020 by offering building weatherisation servi-
still an issue ces (energy efficiency reducing air leakage by
While economic growth and environmental sus- between 15 and 20%).
tainability are the focus of the action plan, this However, according to Mary Clare Zak, Director
does not prevent the social dimension from of the city’s Social Affairs Department and Jen-
being taken into account. Although 45% of the nie Moore from the British Columbia Institute of
green jobs created will be destined for people Technology, it is still difficult to take the social
facing employment barriers, a number of other dimension fully into account in the development
activities plan, for example, to contribute to the of green programmes defined like the Greenest
integration of Downtown Eastside, a sensitive City Action Plan was at the outset. In the future,
neighbourhood of the city. more in-depth examination of the social aspects
© City of Vancouver
Socially oriented activities, such as local food should include issues such as access to hou-
production (via community gardens, hanging gar- sing or the integration into the city of vulnera-
dens, neighbourhood coalitions, etc.) will create ble populations other than those in Downtown
green jobs which require little qualification and Eastside.
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