Tommy Thompson Park Restoration with Coca-Cola

Working with Coca-Cola and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) teams, Chris developed a proposal to assist Coca-Cola in reaching its water neutrality goal by creating a nine-hectare coastal wetland at Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street Spit.

Chris' role in the project was to engage Coca-Cola and work with TRCA's technical staff to apply Coca-Cola's water neutrality methodology to restoration projects within the Greater Toronto Area. With projects identified and potential water savings calculated, Chris pitched potential projects to the Coca-Cola team.

Ultimately, Coca-Cola decided to invest $500,000 in the restoration of the Tommy Thompson Park coastal wetland.

Pearson Eco-Business Zone District Energy System Feasibility Study

As a result of the Partners in Project Green Strategy, Chris project managed the development of the Pearson Eco-Business Zone District Energy System Feasibility Study.  

The goal of the study was to identify the business potential for district energy around Toronto Pearson International Airport (Toronto Pearson) - focusing on leveraging the Greater Toronto Airports Authority's (GTAA) existing co-generation facility for heating and cooling, as well as identifying the potential to start a new system with its own energy generation system.

The feasibility study included engaging a range of land owners and businesses in the vicinity of Toronto Pearson to identify their interest in centralized heating and cooling, while developing potential system solutions and a business model for a potential district energy system.

To view the feasibility study visit here.

Energy Leaders Consortium

Chris initiated the development of the Partners in Project Green Energy Leaders Consortium - a group of businesses from around Toronto Pearson with a commitment to working together to reduce their energy consumption.

Levering funding from various funding partners, Chris worked with his team and a consultant to develop the Energy Leaders Consortium.  The program provided a work plan for participating companies to identify, target and reduce their energy consumption.  Leveraging ongoing mentoring, regular training sessions and the use of various energy monitoring technologies, participants developed their reduction plans and worked with each other to drive savings in their respective businesses.

The Energy Leaders Consortium included the following companies:

• Bayer
• Broan-NuTone
• Cott Beverages
• CKF
• Greater Toronto Airports Authority
• Husky Injection Molding
• Janes Family Foods
• Lincoln Electric
• Orbis
• Magellan Aerospace
• Pratt and Whitney
• Weston Bakeries

In just its first year, the participating companies were able to collectively reduce energy consumption by 11.1 eGWh for a total savings of 1.15 million dollars.

Region of Peel Spill Decision Support System

Working within a public-private partnership, Chris project managed the development of the Region of Peel Spill Decision Support System - a web-based spill response system for managing chemical and oil spills within the Region of Peel.

The project's purpose was to provide spill responders a tool for storing historical spill information, tracing spills from their origination to their entry point into watercourses, and identifying potential spill sources by including  a database of chemical storage within the Region.

The project required converging various databases and storm sewer datasets into a comprehensive tool that could be deployed in the field to help improve spill response, while protecting the environment.  

From project initiation to completion, Chris pulled together the four municipal partners to develop the web-based spill system, identifying funding sources, developing a public-private partnership to develop the tool, and managing the consulting team through the technical development of the web-based system.

Partners in Project Green Policy Toolkit

As a result of the Partners in Project Green Strategy, Chris project managed the development of the Partners in Project Green Policy Toolkit - a number of planning policy tools to encourage green business through the development process.

Working with the municipalities of Toronto, Peel, Mississauga and Brampton, Chris worked with his team to develop 11 policy tools for municipal use.  These included communications tools, primers and policy templates that each municipality could use to encourage green business development and a more consistent approach to eco-economic development across the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.

The communications tools were meant to help municipal staff learn and communicate about Partners in Project Green and green business. The tools included text that could be ‘cut-and-paste’ or edited as needed to help staff communicate to different audiences, such as other staff, council, businesses, or developers, the benefits of green business.

The primers provided brief overviews of key land-use issues in relation to encouraging green business. The primers were there to assist staff from different municipal departments develop a common, albeit high-level, understanding of the policy, regulatory, and incentive framework that is shaping eco-business zone activity in the area.

The policy template tools provided specific examples of best practises, current policy wording, advice and other practical, hands-on guidance from creating eco-business policies, such as official plan statements, policy language and subdivision guidelines in municipalities touching on the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.

To view the Pearson Eco-Business Zone Policy Toolkit visit: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/policytoolkit.

Barriers & Opportunities with Rooftop Solar in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone

To support the adoption of rooftop solar in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone as part of the Ontario Government's Green Energy Act, Chris project managed a study on the barriers to rooftop solar and potential solutions for the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.

Based on research and consultation with market participants, the study identified challenges that fell into four broad categories: 1) Economic Hurdles; 2) Legal and Policy Hurdles; 3) Institutional Knowledge / Capacity Hurdles; and, 4) Technical Hurdles.  

With these identified, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority developed a range of tools and resources to help organizations overcome these hurdles and implement rooftop solar installations in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.

To view the study visit here.

Partners in Project Green - Eco-Efficiency Program

Working with his team at TRCA, Chris developed the Partners in Project Green Eco-Efficiency Program - a program aimed at identifying resource and cost reduction opportunities for business around Toronto Pearson.

Supported by the local distribution companies servicing the airport area (Toronto Hydro, Enersource Hydro and Brampton Hydro One), along with Enbridge Gas, the Eco-Efficiency Program provided companies with a no-cost high-level audit of their facilities to identify energy, waste and water reduction opportunities.

Chris oversaw the management of consultants and staff hired to provide the high-level audits and their implementation, while also marketing the program to perspective companies.  The program continues to operate around Toronto Pearson and can be found here - http://www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/programs/energy-performance/eco-efficiency-program.

Partners in Project Green: A Pearson Eco-Business Zone Strategy

Chris spearheaded the development of Partners in Project Green: A Pearson Eco-Business Zone - an ambitious strategy to transform the business community around Toronto Pearson International Airport into an internationally recognized community known for its competitive, high performance and eco-friendly business climate.

The Partners in Project Green Strategy was developed in 2008 over eight months with the input of businesses in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone and municipal, provincial and federal governments. 

The Strategy provided background on the Pearson Eco-Business Zone, a baseline of resource use, as well as programming initiatives identified by the business community that should be developed and delivered to assist in reducing resource consumption and promoting green economic development.

As a result of the Strategy, Partners in Project Green was launched thanks to a seven year funding agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

To read the Strategy visit: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/about-us?id=4:our-strategy&catid=1.

To learn more about Partners in Project Green visit: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com.

Greater Toronto Airports Authority Living City Project

As a Watershed Planner with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Chris project managed the completion of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) Living City Project - a series of three strategies aimed at improving the environment around Toronto Pearson International Airport (Toronto Pearson).

The GTAA Living City Project utilized an interdisciplinary approach to watershed management within the Etobicoke Creek around Toronto Pearson. Working in collaboration with the GTAA, the project involved four main components:

1. The Terrestrial System - an inventory of the terrestrial system around Toronto Pearson to identify potential natural cover and priority restoration and enhancement sites to meet TRCA's targets for the Etobicoke watershed.
2. The Aquatic Ecosystem - the completion of a fish management plan to identify restoration opportunities for priority aquatic habitat in the areas around Toronto Pearson.
3. Stormwater Management - an assessment of storm water management around Toronto Pearson and the identification of priority improvements to improve water quality.
4. Integration and Priority Implementation Priorities - the integration of the recommendations from the above strategies in a spatial form to identify priorities for implementation.

Ultimately, the GTAA Living City Project provided the groundwork for developing Partners in Project Green: A Pearson Eco-Business Zone and engaging the business community around Toronto Pearson in watershed restoration initiatives.

To view a copy of the above reports please find them below:

1. The Terrestrial System
2. The Aquatic Ecosystem
3. Stormwater Management
4. Integration and Priority Implementation Priorities

Greater Toronto Area Spills Assessment

The Greater Toronto Area Spills Assessment was study project managed by Chris to develop a spatial interpretation of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's spills database.  The purpose of the study was to identify areas of frequent spill activity and to develop a predictive model that could be utilized to determine risk, target outreach efforts and develop spill response strategies.

The development of the study led to a number of recommendations for improving the management of spill data, as well as the development of Region of Peel Spill Decision Support System - a web-based tool for responding to spills.