Energy initiatives in Whistler

Whistler was one of the first communities in BC to develop a community energy and greenhouse gas emissions plan. The Resort Municipality of Whistler set ambitious emissions reductions targets and now has more than 15 years of detailed monitoring and reporting data publicly available on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint.

Official Community Plan

Whistler’s Official Community Plan (OCP) commits Whistler to community-level greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 33 per cent by 2020, 80 per cent by 2050 and 90 per cent by 2060, as compared to 2007 levels.

Regarding this commitment, the plan includes more than 30 specific policies across the following four goals:

Substantially reduce GHG emissions from stationary sources
Substantially reduce GHG emissions from mobile sources
Substantially reduce GHG emissions associated with solid waste management
Ensure municipal decision making is structured to achieve energy goal and GHG reduction targets.

In addition to the GHG reduction target, the OCP also includes a commitment to lead a community-wide effort to reduce total energy consumption to a level 10 per cent below 2007 levels by the year 2020.

Learn more about the Climate Action Chapter in Whistler's OCP.

Whistler2020

Through Whistler2020, Whistler’s vision and integrated community sustainability plan, Whistler has committed to the following sustainability objectives:

Reduce and eventually eliminate the RMOW’s contributions to systematic increases in concentrations of substances from the Earth’s crust (e.g. by increasing energy efficiency)
Reduce and eventually eliminate the RMOW’s contributions to systematic increases in concentrations of substances produced by society (e.g. through 100 per cent recycling)
Reduce and eventually eliminate the RMOW’s contribution to systematic physical degradations of nature (e.g. by purchasing certified wood)
Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to systematically undermining the ability of others to meet their basic human needs (e.g. by purchasing FairTrade)

Learn more about Whistler2020.

Carbon Neutral Operations Plan

Carbon neutral: BC Climate Action Community 2015 The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) Carbon Neutral Operations Plan commits the RMOW to GHG educations through a three-step process:

Measuring and reporting annual corporate GHG emissions;
Aggressively reducing carbon emissions across the organization according to the following target schedule: 10 per cent by 2010, 20 per cent by 2013, and 30 per cent by 2015; and,
Responsibly offsetting all remaining emissions such that total emissions net to zero.

Download the RMOW Carbon Neutral Operations Plan.

Learn more about Corporate Energy and GHG Performance.

Green Building Policy

RMOW adopted a Green Building Policy in 2008 to encourage the efficient use of energy and resources in building. In 2005, Whistler also developed the Whistler Green Building Rating System and associated builder checklists.

View the Green Building Policy Whistler Green Checklist.

Learn more about building and development in Whistler.

Other initiatives

Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System
Lost Lake PassivHaus: First certified passivhaus in Canada
Seven publicly available electric vehicle charge stations in Whistler
Heat recovery from the Whistler Compost Facility
Meadow Park Sports Centre: Solar hot water for domestic hot water and geoexchange retrofit for pool heating
Fleet Vehicle right-sizing across each department
Whistler Public Library: LEED Gold certified
Spruce Grove Field House: First geoexchange building in the RMOW’s corporate building inventory
Spring Creek Fire Hall: First LEED certified building in the RMOW’s corporate building inventory
Corporate building energy efficiency upgrade studies were undertaken in 2010 for Municipal Hall, Public Safety Building and Public Works Yard
The RMOW was one of the first signatories of the BC Climate Action Charter and is a designated SolarBC community.
The RMOW was the first community in Canada to complete an Integrated Energy, Air Quality and GHG Management Plan in 2003.