Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  March 22, 2021

City of Kitchener saw a 20% emissions drop due to the pandemic

The City of Kitchener, Ontario, announced March 18 that it saw a 20% reduction in its emissions since 2016, due in large part to the closure of many city facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian city’s greenhouse gas emissions over the last ten years were reported in its second annual sustainability report. The city’s Corporate Climate Action plan had aimed to reduce emissions by 8% by 2026, compared to 2016, a goal that was already surpassed in 2020.

“The City has made tremendous progress incorporating sustainable practices into our operations,” Claire Bennett, the city’s corporate sustainability officer, said in a statement. “Now we get to do the fun part – collaborating with our partners in the broader community. We’ve been using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to frame strategic planning and then translate it into the City’s operations; it’s been incredibly rewarding to see progress being made. With the important foundations being established at the City, we’re setting the stage for success in the broader community with core partners ClimateActionWR.”

Other sustainability achieved outlined in the new report include the addition of five hybrid SUVs, four electric cars, an electric zero turn mower, and an electric utility vehicle to the city’s fleet. In 2020 the city also continued to convert over 2,600 ornamental post-top lights to LED, a project that is expected to reduce energy use by 62% and result in annual savings of 887,343 kW and $177,468.