The project revolved around the emerging world of net zero community policy, planning and implementation in an Ontario municipal context. Specifically, the project aimed to:

1. Assess and compare innovative policies and procedures that are being used by Ontario municipalities to integrate growth planning with climate and energy planning.
2. Assess the factors that support and define net zero community building in Ontario.
3. Improve understanding of political, economic, and regulatory barriers and opportunities that municipalities face when trying to integrate growth planning strategies with their climate mitigation and energy management strategies to build net zero communities
4. Facilitate knowledge diffusion to municipalities across the province about the lessons learned, innovative approaches, and ‘best practices’ of municipal innovators that have advanced integration of climate and energy into land use planning.

The project bridged the gap between provincial government commitments made in the proposed Growth Plan Amendments and Climate Change Action Plan with reference to the integration of climate and energy into municipal land use planning policy, and municipal official plan policies and implementation. Funding: MITACS and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) $15,000.

Researcher: Mark Winfield, Kirby Calvert (Guelph), Ian McVey (TRCA), and Scott Harbinson (MES)

Project Theme: Energy and Climate Change