By Dale Carruthers, The Observer
May 29, 2009
The Bluewater Sustainability Initiative set the record straight on Thursday: sustainability isn’t the responsibility of only big business and the city — it’s up to everyone.
Which is why, at its fourth annual meeting, the BSI invited representatives from 22 different sectors from the Sarnia-Lambton region.
“Initially Bluewater Sustainability was driven by industry. But we recognized pretty quickly we wanted to be more broad based. We are trying to get the entire community involved with sustainability rather then just one sector,” said Bluewater Sustainability cochair Archie Kerr.
A crowd of nearly 100 were on hand at the Dante Club, where CEOs and engineers sat at tables with professors and principals to discuss sustainability.
Ed Whittingham, director of the Pembina Institute’s consulting services was the event’s keynote speaker. The Pembina Institute, a Canadian think tank, declared Sarnia the most livable city in Ontario in a 2007 report.
“What are the characteristics of a sustainable Sarnia?” Whittingham asked the audience. “If we are going to solve this, we need creativity and innovation.”
Mayor Mike Bradley attended the BSI and was optimistic about Sarnia’s future.
“We’re not taking the same approach as other communities. I’m confident that as we move forward as a community we are on our way to a different Sarnia,” Bradley said. “I’m out there selling this community and it’s a lot easier job than it was 10 to 15 years ago.”
The Bluewater Sustainability Initiative is a virtual organization, in the sense it doesn’t have offices, dedicated to making Sarnia-Lambton a world-recognized green community.
“Sustainability is financial, environmental and social responsibility,” Kerr said. “We are reaching out to more and more people to try and get them involved in projects that make a difference in the community.”
Projects to improve sustainability include everything from building homeless shelters to energy conservation campaigns.
The same 2007 Pembina report ranked Sarnia 14th on community sustainability, with Toronto ranked number one, followed by Ottawa.
“One of the things we want to do is see what they are doing so we can bring it back here and do better,” Kerr said.
Observer Article ID# 1589408
Posted in: Headlines