HomeMy WebLinkAboutADMIN-1-94 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
REPORT
Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File# �
Date: January 3 1994 Res. #
Report#:___ADXIN___L-_Y4e#: By-Law#
Subject:
Municipal Involvement in the Ontario Hydro Strategy For
Sustainable Development
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. That Report ADMIN. 1-94 be received;
2 . That Ontario Hydro be advised that the Municipality of
Clarington wishes to ''participate in the discussions which will
be scheduled for the purposes of reviewing the strategy for
sustainable development;
3. That the Acting Chief Administrative Officer, and/or the
Director of Public Works be authorized to attend the
discussion meetings on behalf of the Municipality of
Clarington; and
4 . That Ontario Hydro be provided a copy of Report ADMIN. 1-94
in, response to Ontario Hydro I s request for feedback on the
proposed strategy.
BACKGROUND:
1. At the Council meeting of November 22, 1993, Council passed a
resolution dealing with an item for direction on the agenda
identified as D-10 (see attachment #1) . The Acting Chief
Administrative Officer was directed to review and report on
the document submitted by Ontario Hydro entitled "A Strategy
for Sustainable Energy Development and Use for Ontario Hydro" .
1. 1 The contact person identified in the submission was asked to
provide comments on what the Municipal role was seen to be in
the overall scope of the discussions . The response was that
Ontario Hydro was reviewing the way in which it does business,
how they consult and communicate with others, and how they are
buying products. Ontario Hydro has identified the impact as
being widespread, and as such is seeking the feedback of
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communities, governments and stakeholders affected by their
operations .
1.2 The discussions are to take the form of a round-table format
and are scheduled for sometime early in the new year with the
intention of bringing a report outlining all the comments,
concerns, and feedback to Ontario Hydro by late February 1994.
2 . Initially, staff felt some concern about the appropriateness
of the Municipality responding to the request by Hydro for
feedback on how they could do business more efficiently in
that the Municipality is not directly knowledgeable about its
business . However, in reviewing the document and recognizing
the great extent to which the Municipality is affected by
Ontario Hydro and the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station,
not only by it's environmental impact but as a large
contributor to the Municipal tax base by way of grants-in-lieu
of taxes, it would appear to be in the Municipality's best
interest to attend.
3 . Ontario Hydro is attempting to make the transition to a more
business-like mode of operation which will involve being
responsive and communicative with the customers it serves.
4 . The key recommendations of the report are outlined in point
form in the report and are provided for Council's information
on attachment #2 .
4 . 1 Although the report and the drive behind the sustainable
development initiative for Ontario Hydro appears to be heavily
weighted to environmental considerations, staff feel it will
be worthwhile to attend the discussion meetings being
scheduled in early 1994 for a number of reasons, including the
need to keep in touch with the environmental initiatives being
considered, gain knowledge of the research opportunities that
might be available through the collaborative efforts of all
parties involved in the process, as well as participating in
a significant change in direction of one of the Municipality's
largest corporate citizens .
4 .2 As the environmental issues are of direct concern to the
Public Works Department, and the strategy is of concern to the
Municipality as a whole, it is recommended that the Director
of Public Works and/or the Acting Chief Administrative Officer
be authorized to attend on behalf of the Municipality of
Clarington.
I
Respect y submitted,
a 'e A. Marano, B. A. , Hons. B.Sc . , A.M.C.T. ,
Treasurer, Acting Chief Administrative Officer
1 r� 2
ATTACHMENT 41 to REPORT ADMIN., 1-94
COUNCIL DIRECTION D-10
A
November 10, 1993
Ontario Hydro is in the final stages of a restructuring, cost-reduction program. We have
reorganized the corporation around lines of business units in order to make it more competitive
and customer-oriented in every phase of our operation. We are also, at the same time,
reshaping the organization to live up to the new corporate goal adopted by our Board of
Directors "to help Ontario become the most energy efficient and competitive economy in the
world and a leading example of sustainable development." Ambitious -yes. But as expressed
by our Chairman and CEO Mr. Maurice Strong, "we deliberately wanted to set a high standard
for our own performance -and perhaps even to throw down a gauntlet to other utilities in
other jurisdictions."
In May of this year, an Ontario Hydro Task Force was established, chaired by Jim MacNeill
and David Runnalls, two world-renowned leaders in the field of sustainable development, to
develop a comprehensive corporate strategy that would enable Ontario Hydro to fully integrate
environmental and economic goals into.energy planning, development, and use. "A Strategy
for Sustainable Energy Development and Use for Ontario Hydro" was the culmination of their
work and a summary of the strategy is attached for your consideration. It represents a major
step forward in the evolution of the new Ontario Hydro. Its recommendations establish the
foundations for giving practical effect to the commitment of Hydro to leadership in respect
to the environment and sustainable development.
One of the fundamental principles of sustainable energy development is the involvement of
new working relationships with stakeholders, communities and governments. In this light, we
are requesting your feedback on the proposed strategy to help us shape sustainable energy
development initiatives at Ontario Hydro. We are also providing this opportunity for our
employees, customers, and other key stakeholders. The results of these discussions will be
considered by management in formulating and implementing Ontario Hydro's future plans.
To let us know if and how you want to be involved in the review of the strategy, please fill
in the attached card and send it back to us. Over the next month, we will be contacting you
to discuss opportunities for your organization to become more involved in the review process.
If you have any questions about the report, please contact Ms. Susan Thurston at (416)'592-
2816. In advance, thank you for taking the time to review the strategy summary and j �ok
forward to discussing it with you.
Yours sincerely,
John C. Fox
Managing Director
Energy Services and Environment Group 03
THE ATTACHMENTS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CLERK ' S
DEPARTMENT.
ATTACHMENT #2 TO REPORT ADMIN„ 1-94
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
TO ADOPT A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, ONTARIO HYDRO WOULD HAVE 70 REALIGN ITS VALUES,
SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS,THE WIDTH AND DEPTH OF THE CHANGE IS UNDERLINED BY THE NUMBER OF
RECOMMENDATIONS - 98 — MADE BY THE TASK FORCE: HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS:
• Introduce new measures of success; such as Extend existing efforts to open up Hydro's
improved eco-efficiency and reduced risk liability decision-making process, and introduce new
forums for stakeholder input.
• Underline the,Chairman's role as the leading
advocate of sustainable development by Darning Enhance in-house efforts to cut Hydro's
him Chief Sustainable Development Officer, energy use.
• Launch a corporation-wide communications o-Steadily increase Hydro's commitment to
program to increase employee awareness of the demand management(programs that reduce
opportunities sustainable development offers. or change the timing of electricity use), and put
more emphasis on efficiency and competitive-
Give employees an opportunity to invest in
ness improvements.
their best ideas and earn a share of'any profits.:
• Go beyond regulatory compliance, particularlyin
• Establish a Green Fund to test and market the
areas where tightened regulations are expected.
best ideas brought forward by managers;
employees and stakeholders. • Develop eco-system solutions to environmen-
tal problems, as opposed to giving separate
•
Aggressively:pursue the growing, billzan-dollar consideration to land air and water pollution: .
market for sustainable�`development technolo-
gies and expertise, Fund environmental improvements by selling
Hydro solutions to other companies.
• Investigate new ways to do business that,by
definition, have minimal environmental impact • Use 14 dro's purchasing power to encourage
and are less costly than traditlanal "tail-pipe" . suppliers to develop and market more green
solutions, products and services.
• Put all demand and supply options on a "level Spend more R&D dollars on marketable.tech-
,playing field",by considering the full economic nologies that improve efficiency and reduce
and environmental costs of any investment; environmental impacts,
under this policy, non-utility generators would
get the same consideration as Ontario Hydro's
generation options.
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