Huron County council is joining the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority's Carbon Footprint Initiative.
Huron Stewardship Coordinator Rachel White says the initiative involves public organizations and private businesses working together to encourage the reduction of carbon footprints. They do it through the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and by undertaking stewardship projects to offset their carbon footprints.
White says the county has been tracking energy use in its buildings as required by the province, but they've also recently undertaken a conservation and demand management plan to set goals and reduce energy consumption in county buildings.
White says county council expressed an interest in at least tracking the cost and fuel consumption of the county fleet of vehicles, and voted in favour of joining the Carbon Footprint Initiative.
"They're compensating for their fossil fuel use by either funding projects that are implemented where they generally operate their business or on their own properties, and those projects could be tree planting or naturalizing an area that was previously mowed," she says.
