The Sustainable Region Initiative is our commitment:
• to consider the future in both our plans and actions,
• to care for community, environment and economy in everything we do, and
• to nurture partnerships that make our region great today and even better tomorrow.

Metro Vancouver launched the Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI) in 2001 to identify public values regarding regional sustainability, the principles that should guide regional development, and the key actions necessary.
Today, the SRI is the overarching framework for all Metro Vancouver activities.

To give some perspective to the SRI and what it means to parks and park volunteers, check out the article below.

SRI: Our chance to make a difference
By Keith Robertson, Former Chair, Regional Parks Forum

The Sustainable Region Initiative (SRI) is one part of a long-term plan for creating and maintaining a more livable and sustainable region. This article provides some background on where this program has come from and will give you a better understanding of why I believe we should be doing everything we can to support the principles of sustainability through the SRI.

Why is the SRI important to park associations and volunteers?
As individual residents of the region we (and our children and grandchildren) will inevitably experience the impacts of poor planning on a very personal level. In our role as volunteers in Metro Vancouver Parks, we have an opportunity and, I would argue, a responsibility, to promote the SRI, not only as participants but as links to other partners. The forum is embracing the Sustainable Region Initiative because we believe we can have an impact on our parks and can also play a role in shaping the future of our entire region. Together, all of us – the forum, park associations and individuals – can have a much greater influence by leveraging our activities through the SRI.

Development of the Sustainable Region Initiative
In October 2001, Metro Vancouver launched the Sustainable Region Initiative, which has as its primary purpose the incorporation of sustainable development practices into the plans, policies and actions of Metro Vancouver and its member municipalities. The SRI arose from a need to review the Livable Region Strategic Plan and the Air Quality Management Plan, which were component parts of the Creating Our Future strategic plan developed and implemented in 1990/91. To ensure the long-term success of the initiative, GVRD partnered with three other organizations: The Business Council of BC, United Way of the Lower Mainland and Smart Growth BC.

There is far more material available on the topic of sustainability in our region than I can possibly touch on here. I recommend that you visit the Metro Vancouver webpage for more. In the meantime, to understand what the Sustainable Region Initiative is about, we must:
a) define sustainability
b) understand the history of the planning process that got us to where we are today
c) explain the role the SRI plays in Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan.

The concept of sustainability
I've seen many definitions of sustainability or sustainable development but I prefer the explanation found in Our Common Future, published by the World Commission on Environment and Development. It states that: "sustainable development . . . meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The intent of the SRI is to integrate economic, social and environmental values not only into major development projects and undertakings but also into the simple activities that each of us performs on a daily basis, in such a way that any one value is not subordinated to the others. The analogy of a simple three-legged stool standing firmly so long as each leg carries equal weight is appropriate here. The three partners mentioned previously represent each of the three key values – and their corresponding stool legs – in the overall process.

The SRI is as applicable at the grassroots level as it is in the corporate boardroom. One of the objectives is to encourage individuals as well as businesses and local governments to determine which activities they already perform in sustainable ways and to focus on expanding these while at the same time finding ways to make other activities more sustainable.

Each of us can make a difference by examining the ways we lead our lives. Those changes which are required will often take place over longer periods of time – more in the form of cultural shifts – rather than as mandated actions by governments at various levels, resulting in less resistance and facilitating higher levels of public understanding and acceptance.

Download a copy of the Sustainable Region Initiative presentation given at the Regional Parks Forum by Metro Vancouver CAO Johnny Carline.