Paris Marshall Smith
Sustainability Planner
Representing Diverse Communities in the Kootenays
Our community is united in caring for our land, water and air, supporting local farmers, and building our resilience to wildfires and drought, all while considering affordability.
Learn about our vision for regional sustainability and see our commitments to sustainability here.
The RDCK supports many sustainability initiatives that address our community’s shared values, including:
The RDCK Board is committed to reducing greenhouse gases, increasing renewable energy, increasing local food production, supporting water conservation and source water protection, increasing active transportation, and increasing affordable housing.
To advance the goals of the RDCK, there is work happening with residents from across the region, within the RDCK’s seven departments, and with the Board of Directors. The RDCK leverages its assets—relationships, information, infrastructure, funds, policy, project, staff time, and administrative function—to identify best practices and support ongoing efforts towards our vision for this region.
The RDCK is advancing sustainability in the region through collaborative processes, common vision and an integration of ecological, social and economic values.
The RDCK has made the following commitments:
Provincial programs supporting RDCK operations
The RDCK’s vision for sustainability has its roots in the Integrated Community Sustainable Planning (ICSP) process. This initiative—SustainABLE Central Kootenay—gathered input and engaged citizens in a dialogue about sustainability in our region in 2009, and was intended to guide discussions on sustainability in our region.
The RDCK’s vision for sustainability emerged from this process:
Read the RDCK’s vision statement and a summary of community input from the ICSP.
The deliverables of the SustainABLE Central Kootenay initiative, which include jurisdiction-specific vision statements and greenhouse gas backgrounders, will promote ongoing dialogue on how the RDCK can orient its services towards the achievement of long-term regional goals. The project reported on seven themes which emerged as priorities for area residents:
SustainABLE Central Kootenay established a baseline of emission targets that have helped inform subsequent action.
The RDCK continues to advance sustainability in the region through collaborative processes, common vision and an integration of ecological, social and economic values.
The content on this page was last updated June 5 2024 at 9:23 AM