An Environmental Plan for the New City of Toronto: How to Make It ...

Agenda 21 process and what is a result of other initiatives such as the new National
environmental policy (Mullaney, pers.com.). The Audit has influenced the "greenup" of
the Structure Plan of the County (similar to an official plan) and local plans, and the
sustainability concept is a the heart of the new corporate plan for the county. Lancashire
County Council has adopted a 'Charter for Sustainable Development’ which states:
“Lancashire County Council is committed to delivering environmental, social and
economic services to all people in the County in ways which will enhance their quality of
life whilst protecting the local and global environment. ” (www.lancashire )
As in the case of Hamilton-Wentworth, the major change has been the increased
awareness of the issue of sustainability.
Staff report that they have experienced some small measures of success in
implementing "sustainable" projects - a recent example is a project involving the
recycling and refurbishing of old computers - bringing together environmental, social and
economic successes in one small project (Mullaney, pers.com.).
What were the barriers to preparing / implementing this plan
Barriers to preparing the Audit included engaging the "wider world" in the process -
although staff noted more success with the second audit as it incorporated social and
economic aspects. Another impediment is the on-going cuts to local government
resources, with increasing pressure to show the relevance of new initiatives such as
those involving audits and actions for sustainability. Yet another barrier to
implementation has been the integration of the sustainability concept throughout the
corporate structure. This is barrier shared by many other cities and is of concern to the
recently formed, incredibly large organizational structure in Toronto. Ownership of the
plans rests largely with the Local Agenda 21 group which is housed within the Planning
Department. Efforts to break down the barriers include 'training sessions' for service
managers - approximately 200 have been trained so far (Mullaney, pers.com.). Another
barrier, shared by other jurisdictions including Toronto, is the lack of statutory backing for
the action plan.
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