July 1^st marked the official launch of Environment Hamilton's Greening Our Local Economy (GOLE) Project. The Ontario Trillium Foundation has provided us with three years worth of funding to support our efforts. This project will focus on engaging Hamiltonians in an exploration of the potential for green economic development in Hamilton.

With the continuous decline of the world economy, many countries, including our neighbours to the south, have acknowledged the potential for a Blue to Green Collar Transformation. The idea is to stimulate the economy by taking initiative to improve the environment. Investing in renewable energy, improving transit, and implementing retrofitting programs are just a few of the many ways in which we can accomplish our vision.

Many experts have identified Ontario as an ideal market for environmental innovation and we believe there is huge potential for Hamilton to explore and benefit from local green economic initiatives. In particular, we are proposing to focus our efforts on the potential for promoting green economic development and green collar job creation in the local renewable energy generation and food production sectors. The creation of new green jobs will be crucial to the revitalization of our manufacturing sector here in Hamilton. 

To help us achieve our goals, we have established connections and commitments from several local experts including: Dr. Jack Santa-Barbara, Reid MacWilliam, and Don Fraser. We have also established a connection with Green Enterprise Toronto (GET).  GET has offered to share its experiences to date promoting green enterprise in Toronto. For further information about individuals, organizations, and documents of interest, please visit our Additional Resources page.

The combination of existing networks, with commitments from individuals and organization with expertise in the realm of local green economic development, puts Environment Hamilton in an ideal position to successfully implement the proposed project. We hope that we will serve as a catalyst for the transformative greening of our local economy here in Hamilton.

The GOLE project has been made possible through the generous support of

 www.trilliumfoundation.org