Let City Council know they need to act now on their Climate Emergency Declaration. Staff have drafted a 4 year budget, accompanied with 25 business cases for City Council to deliberate over, and we need your help in supporting the environment in this budget cycle.

Now that Council has indicated that they want London transition to a greener future in this budget cycle, Londoners should consider how they can support this transition as well. London has set a new target of net-zero by 2050 and it requires that all Londoners work together towards achieving that goal.

An Overview of Environmental Engagement in the Budget Process
Over the past two months, staff at the London Environmental Network have engaged hundreds of Londoners in the City's Multi-Year budget. We reached out to the environmental community to get feedback through our budget info session on January 13th which had over 80 attendees, by promoting a City survey and by encouraging Londoners to connect to their Councillors directly and speaking at Public Participation Meetings. The Councillors discussed the budget in depth over 6 days and determined what they wanted to fund from the base budget, provincial downloads and new spending (which they call business cases). 

The work that the environmental community did to reach out to Councillors was extraordinary. Both Public Participation Meetings were jam packed (including 2 overflow rooms!) and a large majority of speakers talked about their desire to see climate action in our city. City Councillors spoke about how their constituents have repeatedly asked them for green bins and action on climate change.  Thank you for speaking to your Councillors about prioritizing the environment in this budget cycle! 

Ever since Macklemore came around rapping about the joys of thrifting, it feels like it’s become more of a “trendy” activity. Good news is, though, he’s really onto something. Thrifting is not only cool but also a much more sustainable way of getting new clothes than buying new every time. Plus, it’s way better for your wallet. 

Some companies put a huge focus on the materials they use and the processes involved, others do not. Unfortunately, we often see that the better the quality, the higher the price. So, what are some tips for supporting sustainable clothing while keeping costs affordable?