KITCHENER -- Kitchener city council approved a recommendation to hire a consultant to help reduce green house gas emissions at a meeting on Monday night.

The contract was awarded to Toronto company Clear Blue Limited and will cost the city around $54,000 for a one-year term.

Kitchener Utilities is obliged to reduced its carbon intensity under Canada's Clean Fuel Standard because it's a natural gas distributor.

"We do know the federal government is planning to introduce draft legislation and guidelines in 2021 that we need to be positioned to respond to," said Denise McGoldrick, infrastructure services general manager for the city. "In terms of the consultant's scope of work, it's to look at the information that's put out."

There is an option to renew the contract for two more one-year terms, based on the city's opinion of the first term.