Model Standard of Practice for Climate Change Planning

GPA staff created a Model Standard of Practice for Canada’s national certification body for the planning profession. The Standard serves as a statement of good practice and a guide for planners as they consider and address climate change mitigation and adaptation in their day-to-day practice. The Standard helps raise the profile of climate change as a challenge the planning profession must be prepared to face and pushes climate change considerations squarely onto the agenda of Canadian communities. The Standard was organized and designed to be user-friendly and accessible to anyone, with or without expertise in climate change. It is prefaced by a statement of principles outlining a conception of responsible professional planning practice for addressing climate change. The body of the Standard is organized into three layers, each one expanding on the ideas introduced in previous layers. Layer 1 provides an overview of climate change’s core issues in an effort to help planners understand their differences and similarities from the issues they already address in their day-to-day practice. Layer 1 also provides a summary of the key elements required to develop an approach to climate change. Layer 2 explores these elements in further detail and links to examples of best practice. Layer 3 provides an annotated list of references which include documents and web sites that planners can draw on for further detail. GPA staff presented the Standard at the 2010 Canadian Institute of Planners conference in Montreal.