How can sustainability be measured?

• Trends in citizens’ satisfaction
• Residents’ quality of life
• The impact of City policies and actions

• Overall health of Frenchman’s Bay/Duffins Creek/Altona Forest
• Air quality health index status
• Water quality status of primary surface water systems in Pickering
• Number of trees added under City’s Urban Forest Strategy program
• Tree cover in Pickering as a percentage of overall area
• Aggregate biodiversity index status (biodiversity re: land/water, flora/fauna)

Two: Healthy Economy

• Percentage of population employed locally, or in a home-based business
• Jobs to population ratio (i.e., jobs per capita)
• Percentage of employees in EN3 businesses (energy/environment/engineering)
• Inventory of local job postings
• Number of Eco-Busineses (Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade EcoBusiness, Durham Sustain Ability EcoBusiness)

Three: Healthy Society

• Average household income, percentage spent on housing costs
• Core crime statistics for Pickering and the Region
• Community health and safety index
• Community participation index status
• Community health
• Community perception of crime and safety
• Community perception of sustainability
• Number of kilometres of walking/cycling paths per capita

• Non-residential and residential floor area certified under recognized green building program (i.e., LEED, Green Globes, EnergyStar)
• Percentage of residents commuting by transit, bicycle, walking; average commuting distance per capita
• Number of units (in buildings) that provide live-work opportunity
• Number of existing neighbourhoods that have achieved more than a 50% rating under the City’s Sustainable Neighbourhood Scorecard
• Number of hectares designated or being utilized for agricultural/related production
• Percentage of new buildings that are “solar-ready”

• Per capita and total energy consumption, and per capita and total GHG emissions for corporate operations
• Per capita and total energy consumption, and per capita and total GHG emissions, for City at large
• Volume of water consumed per household
• Volume of wastewater discharged to sewers per household
• Total amount of solid waste sent to disposal: residential, non-residential
• Percentage of household budget spent on locally grown foods
• Total economic value of local agricultural products and services

To learn more about how the monitoring process is being carried out, check out our Monitoring Progress.