Nanaimo is being recognized as a green city and the RDN is a green regional district.

According to separate press releases issued by the City of Nanaimo and the Regional District of Nanaimo, the municipality and region have qualified for B.C. Climate Action Community designation through the joint provincial-UBCM Green Communities Committee.

The recognition puts the city at Level 3 in the climate action recognition program. There are four levels in the program, the release notes; Level 4 is carbon neutrality.

“We’re going to work as we have done so far to boost from 3 to 4, which would be a wonderful achievement for this city, and I commend everyone who has worked for this city to make this happen,” said Mayor Leonard Krog at a council meeting Monday.

The city said in the release that it has made “significant progress” in reducing its corporate emissions by converting streetlights to LEDs and replacing a boiler in Beban Park pool with two high-efficiency condensing boilers, and generating 802 megawatt hours of energy at a reservoir facility.

Meanwhile, the RDN maintained its Level 4 recognition, which it has maintained for its carbon neutrality since 2012.

According to a release, the region says some of the projects that helped it remain carbon neutral include landfill gas collection, a co-generation system at the Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre and the green bin collection program.

“Carbon neutrality is key to economic development, environmental protection and healthy communities,” said Ian Thorpe, RDN chairman, in the release. “Recognition … of carbon neutrality supports the board’s priorities of leading climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives as well as acting as environmental stewards of the region’s land, water, and air for future generations.”

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Nanaimo News Bulletin