We’ve heard a lot about the City of Guelph’s intention to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. That is the corporate goal of the City of Guelph, and while it’s a laudible, City Hall doesn’t generate power. So isn’t there a key partner they need to bring on board to reach net zero by 2050? Like the company that provides all our electricity? Well, there was recently some good news on that account.

Last month, the largest municipally-owned energy company in Canada, who just so happens to be co-owned by the City of Guelph, announced their intention to cut their own emissions to net zero by 2050. Alectra joins countries like South Korea, Japan and Canada, and companies like BP, Ford, American Airlines, and Facebook in drawing that red line to go net zero by 2050. Of course, setting lofty goals is easy, actually achieving them is the hard part.

Not only is Alectra working to get to net zero by 2050, and they’re aiming to reduce corporate emissions by 38 per cent of their 2016 baseline by 2025. That translates to an annual reduction of greenhouse gases by just 4.2 per cent every year, which sounds easy, but most of that is Alectra’s vehicle use. If you want to replace your family vehicle with an electric car, it’s no big deal, but can you buy an electric version of one of those big work trucks with the cherry picker?

That’s one of the challenges we explore on this week’s podcast with Caroline Karvonen, the Manager of Sustainability at Alectra Utilities. She will talk about how Alectra’s efforts intersect with Guelph’s, and how they’re also co-ordinating with other electricity-providers in Ontario. She will also take us through the process to reach net zero, how Alectra came up with their targets, and what they have to do in order to reach them. And finally, she will discuss how all these changes might affect your energy bill.

Let’s talk about the work to go greener on this week’s edition of the Guelph Politicast!

To learn more about Alectra Utilities and their sustainability efforts, you can visit their website. You can also stay on top of the City of Guelph’s own efforts to get to 100 per cent renewable and net zero emissions by 2050 at the City’s website.

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