Collaborating on Climate Change

(June 27, 2017) – Mohawk College, the City of Hamilton and the City of Burlington this morning announced plans to work together in making the region a provincial and national leader in the move to a low-carbon economy.

The three organizations will share resources and coordinate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the partnership is to create a Centre for Climate Change Management within the next two years and establish a Campus Carbon Management Office, an Industry Partnerships Office and a Bay Area Climate Change Coordination Office, modelled after the successful Bay Area Restoration Council. The umbrella of the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College would strengthen partnerships and foster collaborations among business, industry, government and community organizations.

The partnership was announced by Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Mohawk President Ron McKerlie during the 2017 Bay Area Economic Summit. Climate change management discussions during the 2016 summit prompted the City of Burlington, the City of Hamilton and Mohawk College to explore a potential partnership.

QUOTES:

BACKGROUND:

• The City of Burlington and the City of Hamilton have Council mandates to address climate change The Centre for Climate Change Management would support implementation of the City of Burlington’s Community Energy Plan, the City of Hamilton’s Climate Change Action Plan and Mohawk College’s Environmental Management Plan 2.0.

• The Centre for Climate Change Management would have three areas of focus:
  • A Campus Carbon Management Office would develop, pilot and launch a model for on-campus climate change mitigation that could be adopted by Ontario’s 24 public colleges.
  • An Industry Partnerships Office would put Mohawk students to work on faculty-supervised projects with small and medium-sized companies to develop emission-reducing strategies.
  • A Bay Area Climate Change Coordinating Office would bring together regional partners to support a collaborative approach to mitigating climate change.

• The Centre for Climate Change Management would be located at the Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation at Mohawk’s Fennell campus. The 96,000 square foot Joyce Centre is the region’s first, and Canada’s largest, net zero institutional building.

• Burlington was recently recognized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as being one of 40 municipalities across Canada that has achieved all five milestones of the Partners for Climate Protection Program by setting carbon reduction targets, implementing action plans and monitoring and reporting on actions.

• The Hamilton community has reduced its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by an estimated 21 per cent in 2015, below the 20 per cent target of 2006 levels by 2020. Energy use by the City of Hamilton was reduced by 24 per cent in 2015, and corporate GHG emissions were reduced by 21 per cent in 2015, which are below the energy and emissions targets of 20 per cent of 2005 levels by 2020. Hamilton’s Community Climate Change Action Plan could result in reductions of local GHG emissions by 283,467 tonnes of CO2, savings of $69.1 million to households, businesses and government, and create the equivalent of more than 1,100 full time jobs.

• Mohawk has been named one of Canada’s greenest employer for four consecutive years and was the first college in Ontario to adopt an environmental management agreement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

City of Hamilton – Amanda Kinnaird, Communications and Media Advisor

Office of Mayor Fred Eisenberger, 905-546-4225, 905-973-3263 (cell), amanda.kinnaird@hamilton.ca

City of Burlington – Lynn Robichaud, Senior Sustainability Coordinator-Staff Representative, 905.335.7600, ext. 7931, lynn.robichaud@burlington.ca

Mohawk College – Jay Robb, Director of Communications, 905.979.8893, jay.robb@mohawkcollege.ca