Project Neutral. Transitioning neighbourhoods to carbon neutrality. One neighbourhood at a time. (Finalist)

Project Neutral is an ambitious initiative that aims to create the first urban carbon neutral neighbourhood in Canada. It was officially launched by volunteer members of CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) in December 2010.

The Rationale

Over 25 million Canadians currently live in urban areas, with over 5 million in the Greater Toronto Area. In Toronto, the residential sector represents the source of approximately 25% of the City’s GHG emissions. In various cities across Canada, the residential sector represents as much as 60% of the City’s GHG emissions. Furthermore, to date, sustainable design initiatives have focused on major redevelopments or new developments. As a result, the City’s established communities are underrepresented in our collective efforts to reduce environmental impact. In these established residential areas, much of the building stock is old and inefficient, representing potential energy savings of up to 75% (average of 22%) for households.  Working at the neighbourhood level, the potential for achieving ghg reductions is significant.

The Project

 Project Neutral is based on the following core elements:

1. Neighbourhoods –neighbourhoods bring people together to act as a catalyst for change, resulting in actions that make sense. In Toronto, people identify with their neighbourhoods as much as they do with their city. So this was the obvious level to work at. 
2. Local leadership – perhaps the most crucial factor.  Project Neutral is based on a partnership with neighbourhoods, with all key decisions being made by the neighbourhoods. For this first pilot we partnered with two neighbourhood groups (Riverdale and Green 13 in the Junction) that have demonstrated local leadership, experience mobilizing neighbourhoods, volunteer capacity, a long term commitment to the project, a typical mix of housing type and tenure, and a passion for the environment. 
3. Establishing a baseline – You need to know where you are starting from in order to set a course of action and measure progress over time.  Project Neutral uses a web based survey (www.projectneutral.org/survey) to measure household carbon footprints. 
4. Identifying realistic options: Once we develop a profile of the neighbourhood’s carbon footprint we will focus on the easy – and obvious – wins, both at a household and neighbourhood level. But we’ll also go beyond that, exploring options that will require creativity and innovative thinking, but that are also feasible, cost-effective, and most importantly, chosen by the neighbourhood. 
5. Replicability: Following the lead of Eden Mills (www.goingcarbonneutral.ca) we plan to share our experiences and lessons learned with other neighbourhoods. Within three years we plan to expand to other neighbourhoods in Ontario and across Canada. The more neighbourhoods that get involved, the greater the potential impact.

 Key activities include:

• Household Survey – Summer/ Fall 2011: - The data collected will be used to define a carbon footprint for households and businesses.  
• Neighbourhood Summit – March 2012: Following the analysis of the surveys, we plan to host a Neighbourhood Summit. The objective will be to seek the best ideas on how to reduce carbon emissions, specifically focusing on the neighbourhood. The Summit will bring together residents and potential partners, as well as local, national and international experts.  At the end of the Summit, we will have identified a list of options that – are feasible, cost effective, and chosen by the neighbourhood
•  GHG Reduction Strategy – Spring 2012. The Reduction Strategy will identify actions for both tenants and home-owners that address behavioural barriers and provide solutions to enable long-term sustainability of the project and successful implementation.
• Annual Progress Updates

We are currently targeting 1,000 households in both Riverdale and the Junction (borders of the neighbourhood are listed at www.projectneutral.org).

The benefits of this project start with the health of the chosen neighbourhood’s individual residents - from additional exercise for those curbing their automobile dependence to the lowering of toxic loading on the body due to a reduction in ghg emissions. Further spin-offs benefiting the individual include economic savings; first through lower energy costs via simple home renovation improvements (eg. programmable thermostats and caulking) and later through more substantial home upgrades such as adding insulative value to their homes. Further savings may also been seen through lower transportation and consumer purchasing habits. Residents’ will benefit from having information provided to them in a reliable, accessible and comprehensive format by Project Neutral team members and partnering agencies, and by leveraging the talent, creativity and motivation of both Project Neutral volunteers and the volunteers of the chosen neighbourhood.

Most substantial in terms of the economic spin-off this project has to offer, is its play on economies of scale. The individual resident and the neighbourhood at large stand to benefit substantially from the savings of community wide retrofitting (some of which may be completed by residents in the building trades from within the neighbourhood) as well as the collective purchasing power for green technologies.  This is something that will become more important as the project evolves over time – this is one of its great assets which projects of other scales cannot offer.

Further neighbourhood benefits will emerge on the social end - having a collective community initiative and with it the sense of camaraderie in sharing an ambitious and necessary goal. It is another reason to get out and meet neighbours; more ‘eyes on the street’ as people are encouraged to bike or walk instead of jump in their car. This project intends to engage the full range of people living in a given neighbourhood (a full spectrum of ages, abilities, and cultures). The neighbourhood also benefits by having concrete tools and a full accounting of their ghg emissions and the progress being made. Many other initiatives start with a plan and end with only a very relative idea of the impact that was made. Project Neutral seeks to quantify results in very real terms starting with the development of a base-line inventory of energy use from which to gauge real progress.

The city benefits of Project Neutral start with a reduction of load on the infrastructural system (water, hydro, gas usage).  Further benefits are having a pilot program tried and tested for replication in more neighbourhoods willing to undertake this transformation. The city is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 80% by 2050 and so our organization’s mandate to develop carbon accounting capabilities on the scale of a neighbourhood is in line with the goals of the city and provides a pilot for a very replicable program without being slowed down through their own bureaucracy in order to help fulfill such a mandate. Further, this project provides a platform for the city and province to roll out test pilots of their own – a place to invest money ear-marked for such things as neighbourhood-wide retrofitting. 

Is carbon neutrality possible? Absolutely, although certainly not overnight. There are several aspects that we emphasize when discussing the objective of carbon neutrality: 

• Start now. Start possible. The first step is always the most challenging. Our model uses a neighbourhood approach to encourage participation, similar to a ‘running group’. For Project Neutral neighbourhoods, the first step is the GHG household survey (www.projectneutral.org) Progress will be tracked on an annual basis using the surveys.
• This is a long-term commitment. On a household basis, our research shows that a 20-50% reduction in GHG emissions can be achieved within five years through zero to low cost retrofits and behavioural change. Greater reductions will require greater resource commitments, deep retrofits and more intensive behavioural change campaigns. Transitioning to carbon neutrality will take time.
• New technologies will evolve. The exact amount of time that it will take to achieve carbon neutrality will depend on a number of factors, including the innovative technologies that emerge within 5, 10 or 15 years – some of which can be piloted in the neighbourhoods.
• Existing technologies will improve.
• Expert advice. We are developing partnerships with innovative individuals and organizations that can help neighbourhoods to achieve this long-term goal. The response to-date has been extremely encouraging.
• Private sector partnerships will be key. In 1998, Canada pledged to reduce GHG emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. As of 2008, emissions were roughly 25% above 1990 levels. At this point, we cannot wait for our government to respond to the climate crisis.

We recognize that transitioning a neighbourhood to carbon neutrality is an ambitious goal. Yet we feel passionately that the most action that a neighbourhood can take is to start on that journey. With the right momentum, support and tools, we are confident great things will happen: innovative technologies and funding mechanisms will be piloted, and neighbourhood cohesiveness and resiliency will grow in the face of the single most daunting challenge currently facing our planet.