Introduction

One key initial step in creating a Sustainable Pickering is the effort to establish where we want to be, decide how we're going to get there and measure our progress along the way.

There are hundreds of actions that could be measured to assess sustainability in Pickering. Therefore, Benchmarking Sustainability is a living entity that will continue to grow and evolve over time. At the outset, however, we think it is important to limit the scope to manageable first actions that will get us started. With community input, we plan to choose initiatives that are representative of key topics within sustainability, will demonstrate the relationship between economic, environmental and social objectives, and facilitate learning about sustainability. By working with a manageable number of priorities, stakeholders can develop a much greater understanding of what a Sustainable Pickering can really mean in practical terms.

What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a way to measure how far we are from reaching our goals, identify the steps to meeting these goals and measure our progress. Many things are benchmarked such as waste diversion, safety and job creation.

The framework featured in the following link captures areas of interest raised by the public. Five objectives have been developed to group these areas of interest together.   The objectives are:

1. Healthy Environment

2. Healthy Society

3. Healthy Economy

4. Responsible Development

5. Responsible Consumption

These will be used to develop indicators and targets.  

• Framework [PDF]

Example: Waste Diversion
In waste diversion, it has been important for municipalities to benchmark their performance in recycling and other aspects of waste diversion. Pickering and Durham Region have developed methods of tracking waste diversion results by measuring the tonnage diverted each year. Efforts were also made to identify the best practices carried out in other municipalities. Plans are frequently revisited to ensure continual improvement in waste diversion performance. Recently, with the Province's goal of 60% diversion from landfill, it became clear that organics collection and composting were necessary for the City to meet its own goals and those set by the Province. In June 2006, every resident of Pickering will receive a Green Bin to compost their food waste.

How is benchmarking Sustainability different?

Many traditional benchmarks are based on dollars such as household income or the unemployment rate. Traditional measures also tend to show a community as disconnected segments: the economy, the environment and the society. They don't take into account the connections among these three areas. When benchmarking sustainability, it's about doing things efficiently and accounting for economic, environmental and social objectives.

Sustainability is About Balance How does it work? The general process for each benchmarking exercise is: Evaluate the City's current performance Set specific target and plans for future performance Identify best practices Launch work program to reach target Monitor/measure progress
What will be Benchmarked? While some benchmarking efforts are already underway such as the Partners for Climate Protection program which is targeting greenhouse gases, community input will help determine which issues will be benchmarked next. Through various consultation efforts, we will establish what the priorities are for Pickering's residents, businesses and community groups.

www.sustainablepickering.com