Being a One Planet Living® community is more than adding a logo to our website and calling it a day; it comes with a set of commitments that are measurable and must be reported on each year. The One Planet Living endorsement must be reviewed annually by Bioregional based on the previous year’s results and planned actions for the future. One Planet Living is an ongoing commitment. One that Zibi takes very seriously.
When we look back at 2023 and the progress made on each of the 10 OPL principles, Zibi has a lot to be proud of.
Here are some highlights:
- In 2023, we saw a 10% increase in the number of residents who rate their level of Happiness at 4 out of 5 or better!
- Our residents are actively involved in the governance of Zibi, in line with the principle of Equity and Local Economy, and we have seen increased resident engagement on sustainability issues.
- On the Culture and Community front, three existing historic industrial buildings have been retrofitted, and 100% of the art installed at Zibi is by Indigenous and/or local artists.
- Last year, more residents than in 2022 reported spending more time in Nature since living at Zibi.
- In terms of Sustainable Water, Zibi continues to be successful in not using potable water for permanent irrigation.
- At the end of the 2023 growing season, residents came together for a Harvest Fest to share vegetables and support a local food centre. Many of them also signed up for free delivery of boxed vegetables from local farmers. This bodes well for Zibi’s principle of Local and Sustainable Food.
- An improvement in Travel and Transportation in 2023 was the opening of the Chaudière Bridge to all modes of transportation, making connections to the pathway networks more accessible and improving Zibi’s walk score.
- Zibi continues to exceed targets for the retention and reuse of Materials and Products from existing buildings on site, including the installation of reused trusses in Head Street Square.
- In our condo buildings, the amount of Waste destined for landfill was lower than the regional average.
- The Zibi Community Utility district energy system saved 665 tonnes of carbon emissions by producing clean heating and cooling energy for the entire site.
But while we’re proud of the progress we’ve made in 2023, achieving our aggressive OPL targets will take some time.
For example, there is more work to be done to ensure that all Zibi community members remain engaged on sustainability issues and that we are accurately tracking products and materials.
The OPL team is looking forward to hosting more Repair Cafes, which helped divert over 120 broken items from landfill in 2023. They will continue to work towards better waste diversion with strong signage and education campaigns in buildings, and better analysis of construction waste management.
Gardening workshops and committees will support the principle of health and happiness as well as local and sustainable food goals.
Zibi will work with the Algonquin community to establish a cultural committee that will continue to bring cultural integrity to the project.
Finally, the district energy system will be fully operational this year, meaning that domestic hot water, the final piece of the puzzle, will be heated by the plant, making Zibi a truly zero-carbon community.
We remain committed to making Zibi a wonderful community, one that is committed to transparency as well as environmental and social responsibility.