Guiding Principles

During the Sustainability Summit, participants identified values that were important to them in the development of the Sustainable Kingston Plan. These values form the basis of guiding principles that will help lead the community towards its vision: Kingston – Canada’s Most Sustainable City.

Value	Guiding Principle
Community Well-being	Ensure well-being – Our vision will create a sustainable community where all members of the community are able to meet their needs, advance their potential, and improve well being through healthy, safe, and fulfilling work and play.
Community Ownership and Participation	Facilitate Community Ownership and Participation – Our plan will build on the actions of Community Partners and citizens and align them with the themes and goals. Alignment is a key aspect of community ownership. Our planning process will enable participation for all interested parties; our implementation process will create and promote opportunities for organizations, institutions, businesses, citizens, and visitors to participate; and, our governance structure will provide opportunities for Community Partners and citizens to take responsibility for sustainability in Kingston.
Integration and Collaboration	Encourage Integration and Collaboration – Our decision making processes will encourage integration by considering aspects from all four pillars of sustainability. Our actions and targets will be supported and implemented through collaboration with local and regional partners Community Partners and citizens.
Strategy and Efficiency	Be Strategic and Efficient – Our plan will be strategically and efficiently built on the current strengths and assets of individuals and organizations. We will position ourselves to seize future opportunities.
Resiliency and Self sufficiency	Be Resilient and Self-sufficient – A sense of enduring resiliency and self-sufficiency will help us maximize security and minimize risk.
Respectful, Accessible, and Inclusiveness	Be Respectful, Accessible, and Inclusive – Our goals and actions will respect, include and consider the diversity of people and places in Kingston. Our actions and implementation plan will promote accessibility and equity in order to address the diversity of needs based on age, gender, cultural backgrounds and abilities.
Learning from Others and Leading by Example	Learn from Others and Lead by Example – Our actions and targets will reflect and build on lessons learned and best practices in other communities. Where best practices do not exist or can be improved, we will seek to develop innovative and systemic solutions. Our Community Partners will lead by example, share lessons learned, and engage others in sustainability on an ongoing basis.
Transparency and Accountability	Monitor Progress – Our indicators will track positive and negative changes in community sustainability. Technically sound and measurable results will be communicated with partners, individuals, and organizations. They will be used to ensure transparency and accountability while enabling us to continuously improve our plan.