Deadline: 10-Jul-23
The Community Energy Association is seeking nominations for the Climate & Energy Action Award to recognize climate action on the ground and celebrate high-impact, bold, replicable, and collaborative actions taken by municipalities, regional districts, and Indigenous communities in all regions of BC.
Community Energy Association heard that “local governments are on the front lines of climate action” (CleanBC Roadmap to 2030) and that “cities are on the leading edge of climate action” (C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group), but sometimes local governments are challenged to balance climate action with myriad other responsibilities. Further, knowing what needs to be done to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions can be very different from actually implementing solutions. In these cases, sharing and amplifying the practical experiences of other local governments is invaluable.
The Community Energy Association (CEA) has been running the Climate & Energy Action Awards program in British Columbia for over 25 years. It has recognized a wide variety of local government climate action initiatives across all four of BC’s distinct climatic zones. This unique awards program recognizes climate leadership by communities large, small, and everything in between. Winners have included the City of Vancouver, the Village of Granisle with only about 300 residents, the Town of Ucluelet in the wild Pacific Coast, and the City of Dawson Creek in the prairie landscape of the Province’s northeastern corner. Along with the diversity of the award winners is the projects communities have implemented, ranging from OCP initiatives and other strategic plans to district energy systems, the energy efficiency of civic facilities, transportation projects, retrofit initiatives, etc.
Action Types
- Each application should be for one specific action. Actions are defined by both type and sector.
- Plans and Targets
- Regulations and Policies (enforceable rules and rules that guide process)
- Programs (distinct long-term actions, i.e.,ongoing initiatives, such as retrofit incentives, standing committees, engagement, etc.)
- Projects and Infrastructure (distinct short-term actions and distinct actions related to objects, i.e., buildings, roads, EV chargers).
Action Sectors
- Adaptation and Low Carbon Resilience (climate adaptation or actions that combine adaptation and mitigation)
- Transportation
- Buildings
- Land Use (community planning)
- Emissions from Government (corporate and community leadership. Actions taken within a local government or Indigenous community’soperations, i.e., municipally-owned infrastructure, fleets, policy)
- Renewable Energy
- Waste.
Benefits
- Each winner will also benefit from the following:
- Their project or program will be featured in an article in the December edition of Municipal World Magazine.
- Recognition in promotional materials celebrating the Award Winners that will be distributed during the Union of BC Municipalities Convention.
- A complimentary one-year membership at CEA.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Climate & Energy Action Awards are open to all municipalities, regional districts, and Indigenous communities in British Columbia. Applicants can submit more than one application peryear, and more than one community can apply together. Each application should be for one specific action. Actions are defined by both type and sector.
- To be eligible for consideration, actions:
- Cannot be subject of an application that was previously awarded a Climate & Energy Action Award.
- Must be at a stage where CEA can publicly talk about the action through Awards communications. All submitted applications may be posted in whole or in part on the CEA website to highlight best practices.
- Should focus on implementation and should have measurable results.
- Must have had some stage of the action completed sometime from January 1,2022, to the present.
Details
- All communities nominated will be recognized through CEA’s communication channels and networks and will be invited to the Climate & Energy Action Awards ceremony at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention. The 2023 ceremony will take place on Wednesday, September 20, from 4:15 to 5 pm PDT.
For more information, visit Climate & Energy Action Award.