The Halifax Regional Municipality continues to move towards a sustainable future, and has made considerable inroads on this agenda. In January 2009, Halifax Regional Council reaffirmed its endorsement of environmental sustainability by requiring all approved 2009-2010 Council Focus Areas to give continued emphasis to sustainability practices.

Sustainability is about living within our limits, understanding the connections between the natural environment, society, economy, and distributing resources and opportunities equitably. Over the past two decades several definitions of sustainability have evolved; the Brundtland Commission’s “Our Common Future” definition (1987), is amongst the most popular: 

“…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

Sustainability is an all-encompassing concept: it is relevant to everything we do as an organization, and to what everyone does, and doesn’t do, in the community. One model for thinking about sustainability is a four-legged stool, where the legs (i.e., pillars) are Environment, Economy, Society, and Culture. We need all four pillars to be strong to achieve a vibrant, healthy, and sustainable community.

What is HRM doing about Sustainability?

In 2004, HRM adopted The Natural Step framework for sustainability as a means of building a common understanding of sustainability throughout the organization. A Corporate Sustainability Analysis was conducted that same year, yielding 12 high-level corporate-wide recommendations, including a need to link initiatives. Staff identified three immediate priorities from this list, including green buildings, green procurement, and green corporate culture.

In November 2004, HRM created a self-directed division, the Sustainable Environment Management Office (SEMO), to realign and consolidate HRM’s corporate strategy and policy to achieve a clean, healthy, sustainable environment. It is the corporate lead for Sustainability and Environmental Policy, Strategy, Reporting and Performance Monitoring. SEMO has adopted an integrated systems approach to the environment, including air, land, water, energy and smart growth.

In 2006, Regional Council adopted the Regional Plan. This is the over-riding policy document that will guide HRM activities for the next 25 years. The Plan was developed as a “… framework that outlines how future sustainable growth should take place within the HRM, in a way that preserves the environment while at the same time maintaining a strong economy.”