The City of Hamilton has a strong focus on providing a Clean and Green, Healthy and Safe Community for residents. As a municipality, the City has the responsibility to corporately manage sustainability. The City uses the Corporate Energy Policy as a guideline to achieve energy intensity reduction targets of 20% by 2020, 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, and GHG Emission Reduction targets of 20% by 2020, 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

The declaration of a climate emergency by City Council in 2019 has initiated a further focus on Greenhouse Gas emission reductions and resiliency for all of Hamilton, and how corporately, the groundwork will be laid for the City to meet those targets.

Various City departments promote sustainability to the public. The Waste Management group educates the public and diverts more than 138,000 Metric Tonnes of waste from landfills annually through its Recycling and Compost programs. The City installs bike lanes and improves infrastructure to make active and sustainable transportation safer and more accessible. The Transportation and Public Health groups promote and fund sustainable and active transportation for residents of all ages. Hamilton Renewable Power Inc., which is wholly owned by the City of Hamilton has renewable generating assets that provide an estimated $1.2M annual net benefit to the City.