Canadian climate expert ‘foolishly optimistic’ about the future of sustainable cities
Yuill Herbert outside his home in Tatamagouche, N.S. Photo by Cloe Logan / Canada's National Observer
By Cloe Logan
Yuill Herbert is an emission reduction adviser to some of Canada’s largest cities, but he does most of his work from Tatamagouche — a tiny village on the eastern edge of Nova Scotia.
Despite his love of country life, Herbert sees potential and beauty in cities and puts his energy into ensuring they are well-designed and adapted for a changing climate. Through Sustainability Solutions Group, the workers’ co-operative he co-founded, he has led over 40 community energy and greenhouse gas reduction plans across Canada. He has collaborated with metropolises like Toronto and smaller communities like Halton Hills, Ont. — the first municipality in Canada to pledge to be net-zero by 2030.
SSG was formed about 18 years ago when Herbert, fresh out of university, couldn’t find a job. He and a group of like-minded students at other Canadian schools had pioneered a model for conducting sustainability assessments for universities. They dreamed of forming a consultancy to continue their work and seized on the idea of forming a workers' co-operative. It was a somewhat unconventional business model that Herbert found “super exciting.”
“Such a fascinating model with such a long history, which really goes back to the Maritimes,” Herbert said.
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