MARKING 10 YEARS OF PROGRESS
Partners in Project Green
2018 Annual Report
QUICK LINKS
Letter From Our Chairs | Collective Impact | 10-Year Anniversary Highlights | Refreshing Our Guiding Strategy
OUR PERFORMANCE AREAS:
Communications & Engagement | Energy Performance & Low Carbon Transportation
Waste Management | Water Stewardship
A Letter From Our Chairs
This year, Partners in Project Green (PPG) marked a significant milestone: we celebrated 10 years of successfully building a community of practice known as the Pearson Eco-business Zone.
Since it was first contemplated by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) in partnership with Toronto Pearson more than a decade ago, developing an eco-business zone model was seen as an important platform and approach to engage local businesses and municipalities to support the protection of watersheds in and around Toronto Pearson, as well as to address complex environmental issues affecting TRCA-managed watersheds, such as climate change.
Today, we are proud of the accomplishments of our business community, municipalities, and our academic and not-for-profit partners.
Since 2008, Toronto Pearson has implemented advanced stormwater management systems, has completed habitat restoration activities to protect the Etobicoke and Mimico creeks, has developed a honeybee apiary along a trail on airport property and has installed more 30 electric vehicle charging stations.Toronto Pearson has also sponsored PPG’s annual tree planting events, which have resulted in the planting of thousands of native trees and shrubs by local students, businesses, and their family and friends.
Additionally, PPG members have implemented more than 2,500 projects that, collectively, have conserved 1.8 billion litres of water, diverted nearly 20,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, and, over the last six years, have avoided 121,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Along with these accomplishments, we would like to recognize the contributions of our 22 Legacy Leaders for their sustained engagement and collective action over the last decade in our annual report. We look forward to the continued participation of our Legacy Leaders and our 56 other members to maintain momentum and advance our mission.
In 2018, we embarked on a strategic refresh, seeking guidance from our staff, members, and municipal partners to examine the policy landscape and revitalize our 2013-2017 strategy. We were pleased to learn that our past strategy and performance areas continue to resonate with our members, even as we identified significant opportunities to improve our service and delivery model.
Highlights of our new strategy are included in this annual report, and the full strategy can be downloaded from our website.
We are proud of the community of practice that we have built, and excited about the next decade of action as we roll out our strategic refresh to support our common goal of advancing sustainability.
With best wishes,
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JOHN COYNE Vice President, External Affairs & Sustainability Unilever Canada |
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TODD ERNST Director, Aviation Infrastructure, Energy & Environment Toronto Pearson |
Co-Chairs, Partners in Project Green Executive Management Committee
Partners in Project Green 2013-2018 Collective Impact
 27,372 Tonnes eCO2 reduced annually |
 1.83 Billion litres of water offset annually |
 392 Circular economy exchanges |
 19,932 Tonnes of waste diverted |
 132 EV Charging stations installed |
 90 Members annually on average |
 8,547 Event participants |
 2,500 Projects implemented |
10-Year Anniversary Highlights
To mark the 10-year anniversary of Partners in Project Green, we delivered a series of events in 2018 to demonstrate the change-making impact of collaboration, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and collective action.
The year-long celebration featured five flagship events, and recognized the innovative achievements of our members and stakeholder community over the last decade.
- Executive Leadership Networking Breakfast (February 2018) – A VIP event to engage our founding partners, ambassadors, and advisory committee stakeholders with presentations from Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) CEO John MacKenzie and our co-chairs.
- Spring Networking – The Future of Clean Transportation (April 2018) – A networking event highlighting low carbon transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, featuring a panel of experts from Toronto Pearson, Region of Peel, and the Pembina Institute, and moderated by Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe.
- Corporate Tree Planting (May 2018) – A Toronto Pearson-sponsored tree planting event with Credit Valley Conservation, employees, and their families to educate and engage the community.
- Bus Tour (July 2018) – Showcased green infrastructure installations at Calstone Inc., Tom Longboat Junior Public School, and the Toronto Zoo.
- 10-Year Conference and Awards Ceremony (November 2018) – Titled “Powering the Clean Economy: Leveraging 10 Years of Sustainability Leadership for a Prosperous Tomorrow,” this event was a thought leadership conference focused on innovation and implementation across four areas of focus: water, waste, energy, and transportation. It also included the Clean Economy Challenge, a showcase of innovative solutions and technologies, the acknowledgement of our 10-year anniversary Legacy Leaders, and awards presentations. READ MORE.
Refreshing Our Guiding StrategyIn 2018, Partners in Project Green completed a refresh of its strategy that provides a road map for the program over the next five years. In our Strategic Refresh: 2019-2023, we have made important updates that will guide us as we continue to support our members and partners in the design and implementation of environmentally sustainable projects and business practices. We are pleased to report that our refresh was approved by the TRCA Board of Directors in spring, 2019. Highlights include:
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Our Performance Areas
Partners in Project Green’s refreshed strategy engages municipal councillors and staff, as well as representatives from the business sector, universities, and not-for-profit organizations, while focusing on these four key performance areas:
Performance Area: COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT
The Communications & Engagement performance area supports businesses in their efforts to engage employees and build excitement around sustainability efforts.
2018 RESULTS
Number of Active Members: 79
Number of Event Attendees: 1,903
COMMUNITY OF LEADERS
Over the last decade, Partners in Project Green has engaged with hundreds of community leaders, including both corporate and non-profit executives, elected officials, public servants, and academics. We have accomplished what we have today with their support and leadership.
These Legacy Leaders include:
Performance Area: ENERGY PERFORMANCE & LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION
The Energy Performance area supports businesses to realize efficiencies and reap cost savings by reducing their energy use. Programs include the Electric Vehicle Network, the Energy Leaders Consortium, and the Eco-Efficiency Program.
2018 RESULTS
GHG Reduction: 3,554 tonnes eCO2
COLLECTIVE IMPACT
The Energy Leaders Consortium provides a forum for energy management personnel of large industrial and commercial businesses to convene and learn from each other’s initiatives, share resources and expertise, and strategize solutions to shared challenges.
In 2018, 12 Energy Leaders Consortium member businesses implemented 46 conservation projects. Annual savings:
- 30,700 eMWh of energy
- 82,700 m³ of water
- 3,554 tonnes of carbon dioxide
- $10.3 million in utility costs
Performance Area: WASTE MANAGEMENT
The Waste Management performance area supports businesses in their efforts to divert waste from landfill, support local communities, and move towards a circular economy. Programs include the Material Exchange and Recycling Collection Drive.
2018 RESULTS
Materials Diverted from Landfill: 3,094 tonnes
Successful Materials Exchanges: 90
COLLECTIVE IMPACT
Partners in Project Green hosts the annual Recycling Collection Drive, an employee engagement campaign, during Waste Reduction Week in Canada. Participating organizations collect and recycle clothing and household textiles and engage their employees on sustainability.
In 2018, 22 organizations participated across 65 facilities. The collection drive engaged 30,000 employees to divert 9.7 tonnes of clothing and textiles. 18 municipal facilities across the City of Mississauga, City of Brampton, City of Vaughan, Region of Peel, Town of Caledon, and York Region took part in the campaign.
Partners in Project Green also supported a region-wide Municipal Recycling Collection Drive during Earth Week in 2018 for the Region of Peel, City of Mississauga, City of Brampton, and Town of Caledon. 24 locations hosted collection drives, open to both city staff and residents, diverting 7.5 tonnes of e-waste and textiles.
Performance Area: WATER STEWARDSHIP
The Water Stewardship performance area supports businesses in their efforts to find solutions for reducing their water footprint, through programs focused on stormwater management and processing water efficiency.
Programs include Stormwater Infrastructure Projects, the Water Audit Program and Innovative Water Technologies.
RESULTS
Water Footprint Reduction: 478.9 million litres per year
COLLECTIVE IMPACT
Partners in Project Green partnered with Toronto Public Health to facilitate the City of Toronto’s ChemTRAC pollution prevention program for the autobody refinishing sector.
Partners in Project Green provided essential, hands-on engagement and program recruitment to facilitate and support the program. In total, 52 autobody refinishing shops participated in the pollution prevention reporting initiative.
Partners in Project Green assisted Calstone Inc. in sponsoring a water stewardship goodwill project at Tom Longboat Junior Public School, in partnership with Toronto District School Board (TDSB), in the Malvern area of Scarborough.
The project, completed in October 2018, transformed the outdoor play area, designated for more than 300 K-Grade 6 children, to include features such as a 400-square-metre pollinator garden, 2,300 native plants, and an armour-stone outdoor classroom teaching circle.
Partners in Project Green wrapped up the two-year Municipal Eco-Cluster with five participating municipalities: Region of Peel, City of Toronto, York Region, City of Guelph and Region of Waterloo.
The Municipal Eco-Cluster, which focused on water efficiency for the IC&I sector, was developed to showcase best practices, projects, and case studies of water-energy nexus implementation excellence.
In 2018, Partners in Project Green aligned with the GTA municipalities’ water efficiency programs to facilitate participation in 81 on-site audits, resulting in the offset of 478.9 million litres of process water and wastewater through capital implementation projects.
Looking Ahead to 2019Partners in Project Green is ready to embark on our next 10 years of leading the transition to more sustainable business practices, guided by our new five-year strategy. Throughout 2019 and into the next several years, we look forward to working towards the following goals:
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A Shared Governance Model
Sound governance is an important element in the success of Partners in Project Green. Our co-management partnership model has resulted in clear strategic direction, project implementation, relationship building, environmental improvements, and the building of bridges between governments and private enterprise.
Partners in Project Green is governed by an Executive Management Committee (EMC) comprising representatives from the corporate sector, municipal government, institutions and utilities. The PPG Executive Management Committee is a sub-committee of the TRCA Board of Directors and oversees the direction and strategy of Partners in Project Green.
We wish to thank the following 2016-2018 EMC members for their leadership and contributions:
We also welcome our incoming 2019-2023 EMC members — some returning, some just joining us:
John Coyne (Co-Chair), Unilever |
Todd Ernst (Co-Chair), Toronto Pearson |
Erica Brabon, Black & McDonald |
 Michelle Brown, BentallGreenOak |
Brad Chittick, Hydrogen Business Council of Canada |
Tim Faveri, Maple Leaf Foods |
Councillor Chris Fonseca, City of Mississauga |
Councillor Jack Heath, City of Markham |
Scott Hendershot, Pratt & Whitney Canada |
Councillor Jim Karygiannis, City of Toronto |
Maxx Kochar, Silver Dart Group |
John MacKenzie, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) |
 Learie Miller, Region of Peel |
Scott Pegg, Ernst and Young |
Teresa Schoonings, Bimbo Canada |
Councillor Paul Vicente, City of Brampton |
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Councillor Doug Whillans |
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
PARTNERS IN PROJECT GREEN
A program of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Unaudited Statement of Operations and Accumulated Deficit
Year ended December 31, 2018
All amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars
| REVENUE | 2018 |
| Municipal | 529 |
| Self-Generated | 528 |
| Federal | 3 |
| TOTAL | 1,060 |
| EXPENSES | |
| Stakeholder Engagement Programming | 338 |
| Waste Management | 187 |
| Water Stewardship Programming | 138 |
| Energy Performance Programming | 131 |
| Special Projects | 127 |
| Program Administration | 107 |
| Program Marketing | 3 |
| TOTAL | 1,031 |
| Net Surplus | 29 |
| Accumulated Deficit, Beginning of Year | (123) |
| Accumulated Deficit, End of Year | (94) |