The mandate for the Environmental Task Force was transferred to the Sustainability Roundtable and then to the Roundtable on the Environment. The following material is provided for archival purposes.

Environmental governance

Discussion of the following recommendations for an environmental goverance model will be the main topic of the public meeting on June 28, 1999.
The process of working out a governance model has taken time and much discussion. Background reports are:

"Towards Advanced Environmental Decision Making in the City of Toronto". Feb. 15, 1999.
Feedback from community and staff consultations on "Towards Advanced Environmental Decision Making". Apr. 23/99.

Recommendations:

The proposed governance model for advanced environmental decision making for the City of Toronto
June 1, 1999

Administrative Model

I. CAO as sustainability lead

That the CAO become the Sustainability Lead and appoint a Sustainability Director to carry out the following responsibilities:

1. prepare a plan, in consultation with the Sustainability Roundtable and City Staff, identifying how sustainability can best be promoted, facilitated and supported within the organization of the City of Toronto. And that this plan be presented to Policy and Finance Committee by January 2001
2. work with other members of the Senior Management Team to incorporate sustainability into policies, programs and decision-making processes within the City of Toronto;
3. consider how Health and Safety Committees can be encouraged to bring matters of broad policy interests to the Sustainability Roundtable, where appropriate.

Governance Model

II. Sustainability Roundtable

That a strategic, high level Sustainability Roundtable be established to meet periodically with the following mandate and membership:

Mandate:

1. To promote actions based on sustainability within the City of Toronto;. that is, actions that simultaneously achieve environmental protection, economic vitality and social equity.
2. To report to Council, normally through the Policy and Finance Committee and where appropriate through other Standing Committees.
3. To act as the City of Toronto's key forum to develop and bring together sustainability leaders throughout the city and make recommendations about sustainability to City Council and the administration.
4. To help City Council facilitate consensus on contentious issues through a sustainability approach.
5. To monitor the progress towards sustainability in the corporation and the rest of the City of Toronto with the assistance of the Sustainability Lead
6. To advise in strategic and sectoral planning (eg. the Strategic Plan, Official Plan, Environment Plan, Economic Plan, Social Development Strategy) so that sustainability becomes a key integrative tool for all planning processes and builds on Council's previous motions directing that sustainability be considered a key integrative tool for the Strategic and Official Plans
7. To facilitate public input into sustainability planning by the City.
8. To facilitate education and awareness of sustainability across the entire City
9. To issue an annual "State of Sustainability Report" to Council and report to Council and its Standing Committees on any issues related to sustainability.

Membership:

The Sustainability Roundtable will be composed of:

1. One City Councillor from each of the following Standing Committees: Economic Development and Parks; Policy and Finance; Community Services; Planning and Transportation, and; Works (see Rec. IV) , and the Sustainability Advocate (see Rec. III)
2. Senior Staff including the CAO or his/her representative (the Sustainability Lead), the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services or the Commissioners' designates, and the Medical Officer of Health.
3. One representative from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and one representative from the Board of Health.
4. One representative from CUPE 416 and one representative from CUPE 79;
5. Equal representation from organizations with the environmental community, the social equity community, and the economic development community.
6. That community representation outlined in Recommendation II (n) constitute 50 per cent or more of the Roundtable membership.
7. That a list of organizations to nominate representatives to the Roundtable be developed by the Environmental Task Force for consideration at the November, 1999 meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee.

III. Sustainability Advocate

That a member of Council be appointed as the Sustainability Advocate who has the following responsibilities:

1. will co-Chair the Sustainability Roundtable along with a prominent citizen member;
2. will ensure that sustainability is promoted throughout the City of Toronto;
3. on behalf of the Sustainability Roundtable, the Advocate will monitor the incorporation of sustainability into the policies and activities of the civic government, consult with members of the public promoting sustainable activity;
4. to present to Council, on behalf of the Sustainability Roundtable, the Roundtable's annual report and to report to Council and its Standing Committees on any issues related to sustainability.
5. The Sustainability Advocate shall not be the Chair of a Standing Committee or Community Council

IV. Committee Sustainablity Advocates

That Economic Development and Parks Committee, the Policy and Finance Committee, the Community Services Committee, the Planning and Transportation Committee, and the Works Standing Committee appoint a Committee Sustainability Advocate to sit on the Sustainability Roundtable and carry out the following responsibilities:

1. monitor the policies and activities of the standing committee and promote actions based on sustainability, consult with members of the public promoting sustainable activity, consider suggestions and complaints from the public on the committee's and relevant departments' success in promoting sustainability.

V. Environmental Auditor

That an Environmental Auditor position be established within Audit Services with the following duties:

1. To assess:
   1. how effectively the departments within the City of Toronto have met the environmental goals adopted by the City,
   2. the processes established to achieve these goals and report annually to City Council via the Audit Committee on this assessment;
2. To produce a report that is accessible and available to the public
3. To investigate the City's response to public complaints regarding city operations which cause environmental degradation.
4. To develop methodologies and reporting mechanisms which will allow environmental audits to incorporate social and economic considerations.
5. To liaise with counterparts at the Provincial Government (eg. Environmental Commissioner) and Federal Government (eg. Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development) in order to take advantage of shared methodologies and insights.

VI. City auditor report on sustainability audit

That the City Auditor write a report, in consultation with the Sustainability Roundtable, as to how Audit Services can develop a Sustainability Audit and that this report be submitted to the Policy, Finance and Sustainability Committee within 2 years of the creation of the Sustainability Roundtable.

VII. Standing Committee reports on environmental audit

That Departmental staff submit annual reports to the appropriate Standing Committees responding to the Environmental Auditor's report.

VIII. That each Community Council retain or establish an Environmental Committee to work on local projects and issues which reports to the Community Council and that the mandate and membership of the Environmental Committee be developed by the Community Council in consultation with community stakeholders./council/

IX. CAO report on the future of existing environmental advisory groups

That the CAO to report back in October 1999 on the future of the environmental advisory groups, as part of the forthcoming report on "Existing Environmental Committees and the Environmental Task Force" ensuring the adherence to the following principles:

1. That the environmental advisory committees, as outlined in the "Chamberlain Report," which existed under the former municipalities continue until the adoption of the forthcoming CAO report on "Existing Environmental Committees and the Environmental Task Force."
2. The City of Toronto should continue to support environmental advisory committees and work in partnership with arms-length NGOs, given the important contribution these committees and NGOs have made to maintaining and improving the environment in Toronto;
3. Every environmental advisory committee may report to their designated City Council Standing Committee or Community Council and on matters of broad policy to the Sustainability Roundtable;
4. The City of Toronto should continue to provide staff support to City-sponsored environmental advisory committees.

Decisions associated with the staffing and resource levels of environmental advisory committees should take into consideration the City's staffing and fiscal circumstances as well as the success of individual initiatives; these decisions should be made according to a set of criteria which includes the following:

1. The number of core participants of the committee;
2. The client base of the committee;
3. The importance of the issue(s) in the community;
4. The ability of the committee to solve community problems and complete successful projects;
5. The fit of the committee's mission with existing and planned City services and programs;
6. The availability of matching funds (for the issue(s)) from outside organizations.
5. The City of Toronto should review its approach with respect to the staffing of environmental advisory committees, in consultation with TIE, the Environmental Task Force, NGOs, and the environmental advisory committees, and develop a corporate strategy for providing and allocating staff that maximizes support while also being efficient;
6. That the CAO, in consultation with TIE, the Environmental Task Force, City advisory committees, and NGOs, develop a corporate strategy associated with attracting funds from external organizations for environmental projects undertaken in partnership with community groups.
7. That the CAO report should include a review of any gaps in the mandates of existing environmental advisory committees.
8. That Community Councils are requested to report to the CAO on the ways in which they receive environmental advice from their communities and that as part of this report Community Councils consider the roles they play in environmental governance.