The Hamilton 350 Committee (frequently referred to as H350) is a grassroots organization made up of dedicated volunteers committed to building an engaged, aware local movement for urgent action and advocacy on the climate emergency. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, we are affiliated with the world-wide 350.org network.

350.org was founded in 2008 by a group of university friends in the United States, along with author Bill McKibben who wrote one of the first books on global warming for the general public. The goal was to build a global climate movement. 350 was named after 350 parts per million (ppm)—the safe concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 350 is now international, with a national chapter in Canada and local chapters throughout the country.

Our story

Hamilton 350 was formed in June 2009 in response to a call issued by 350.org to organize a world day of climate action in October of that year. Numerous local organizations came together at the urging of Environment Hamilton and a substantial event was organized that featured educational workshops in and around Gore Park on Saturday, 24 October, followed by a march to the Federal Building at Bay and York. A canvas banner signed by several hundred people was presented at the rally to three federal MPs who subsequently delivered it to Parliament.

Since then, we’ve organized numerous public actions in Hamilton and the surrounding area. These have included presentations to City Council, rallies and marches, webinars, film showings and speakers, media releases, and co-sponsoring of public events by other groups such as Environment Hamilton, the Council of Canadians, the Hamilton Blue Dot Movement, Democracy Probe International, Dundas in Transition, KAIROS, Fossil Free McMaster, Friends of Red Hill Valley, Ontario Climate Consortium, Extinction Rebellion Hamilton, and others.

Although Hamilton 350 responds to many of 350 Canada’s calls to actions, we are an independent chapter and will not always endorse the same positions in the same way. We also have a strong local and provincial focus.

Code of ethics

We are committed to supporting Indigenous self-determination, incorporating anti-racism and anti-oppression into our work, and continually educating ourselves and each other. Everyone is welcome in Hamilton 350, including marginalized peoples and young people, who are likely to bear more of the brunt of climate change.

We embrace diversity and treat each other with kindness, respect, and integrity. We work with one another to create a lively and caring environment. We operate with the best intentions, fully recognizing that our words and actions might have a different impact and result in misunderstandings. Since we all come with our own identities and experiences, we understand that we might unconsciously make mistakes toward one another.

We commit ourselves to:

  • Listening respectfully to each other.
  • Being open to learning from feedback about our ideas and behaviour.
  • Treating each other well, even when mistakes have been made.
  • Ongoing learning about the oppression that divides our society, impacts Hamilton 350 and our broader community, and hinders environmental and climate justice.
  • Supporting constructive communication among our members when grievances are expressed or violations of the Code of Ethics are observed.

Thank you for strengthening Hamilton 350’s fight for a just future!