Go Green
CLBC’s Commitment
A Go Green Committee has developed and monitors a climate action strategic plan to help CLBC reduce its carbon footprint. The primary focus of CLBC’s emission reduction activities is through the use of Go Green office leads who conduct “Go Green” audits in each office and coordinate environmentally friendly work practices. CLBC also offers a GoodLife program for its staff who can earn redeemable points. A component of this program encourages staff to promote carbon neutrality. Examples include recycling and taking the stairs. Participation has increased by 30% since 2010.
CLBC remains committed to being carbon neutral; this is in keeping with its vision of enabling adults with developmental disabilities to lead “good lives in welcoming communities”. During the next three years, CLBC will continue to focus its climate action strategies on reducing staff travel, improving the use of communication technologies and supporting its network of “go green” office leads to promote environmentally friendly work practices.
Climate Action
The provincial government has legislated that BC will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent below current levels by 2020. Government also committed to ensuring that ministries, crown corporations, and other public sector organizations, including school boards and health authorities would be carbon neutral by 2010.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to support an organization’s activities and is usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Initial research indicates government’s carbon footprint is made up of the following:
- 50 per cent: facilities
- 35 per cent: vehicles
- 15 per cent: travel/IT and other procurement activities
Each of us also produces carbon in our personal lives; the activities below add 1 kg of CO2 to our personal carbon footprint:
- Travelling by public transportation (train or bus) a distance of 10 – 12 km
- Driving your car a distance of 6 km (assuming 7.3 litres of gas per 100 km)
- Flying in a plane a distance of 2.2 km
- Operating your computer for 32 hours (60 Watt consumption assumed)
- Producing five plastic bags or two plastic bottles
- Producing one third of a cheeseburger (production of each burger emits 3.1 kg of CO2)
Tips & Tricks
We need to think about different ways to reduce our carbon footprint – both at work and in our personal lives. Being carbon neutral means finding and maintaining a balance between producing and using carbon! The document below contains practical tips and tricks.
Go Green Tips & Tricks (60KB pdf)
Do you have any interesting Go Green tips? Please send your contributions to Tess.Letailleur@gov.bc.ca
Links of Interest
TreeHugger – A Discovery Company
TreeHugger strives to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information.
What is a transition town, village, city, forest or island?
It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change?
Bullfrog Power – An alternative clean, green energy source
Buying renewable electricity is an easy, powerful and affordable way to reduce your environmental impact, cause new renewable generation to be built locally, and create a cleaner world for today and tomorrow. Bullfrog Power provides Ontario, Alberta and BC with a 100% green electricity choice that comes exclusively from certified low impact wind and hydro facilities.
Getting to Carbon Neutral Government
More than 150 public sector organizations (PSOs) have planned and implemented a wide range of programs and initiatives to conserve energy and save money. Getting to Carbon Neutral, the first public report on actions PSOs have taken to achieve carbon neutral for 2010, is now available at the above link.
The Green Guide
An online magazine featuring green living tips, product reviews, and environmental health news that is owned and operated by the National Geographic Society.
The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.
Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes.
80 PLUS
80 PLUS is an innovative, electric utility-funded incentive program to integrate more energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers. Participating utilities and energy efficiency organizations across North America have contributed over $5 million of incentives to help the computer industry transition to 80 PLUS certified power supplies.
LiveSmartBC
A website to help British Columbians make better energy choices and explain how the province of BC plans to handle climate change issues. The new LiveSmartBC website provides up-to-date information to help British Columbians save on energy costs and explain the new revenue-neutral carbon tax.
The David Suzuki Foundation
Simple changes in our everyday lives can help slow climate change. Together, we can make a difference. Also available is a new publication titled Doing Business in a New Climate: A Guide to Measuring, Reducing and Offsetting Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Carbon Free TV
The aim of Carbon Free TV is to assist in educating people in the United Kingdom on global warming, and to address the challenges it poses. The channel provides regular, easy to understand content on reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. All programming is free to view and immediately accessible.
Running the Numbers
Running the Numbers looks at American culture through the lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.
The BC Sustainable Energy Association
The BCSEA is a non-profit society of citizens, professionals and practitioners committed to promoting the understanding, development and adoption of sustainable energy, energy efficiency and conservation in British Columbia.
Going Green – Executive’s Kit Available Now
Find out how going green is good for business. In this eKit, discover how to save on energy costs, maintain precious floor space and operate within growing government regulations. Contents include 2 white papers about green data centers, 3 case studies of successful green transitions, an IDC report and an IBM guide to server energy analysis.
Go Green Committee
Aman Gill – Co-chair
Brian Salisbury – Co-chair
Susan Ko
Tess Letailleur
Bryan Oulton
Queenie Nainaar
