Mississauga-headquartered construction company EllisDon has launched EKO, a data-driven framework to boost energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings.

EKO, EllisDon said in a release, will utilize infrastructure data through analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to offer a “holistic analysis of system performance for a diverse range of systems and assets.”

Some of its features include:

• enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions;
• enabling planning, tracking and reporting on decarbonization; and
• alerting clients when equipment is not meeting the expected performance.

"EKO exemplifies EllisDon's commitment to innovation and sustainability. The advancements in building technology and analytics that are enabled through EKO will be essential in driving our industry toward a net-zero future," Jody Becker, chief strategy officer and executive vice-president of infrastructure services and technology at EllisDon, said in a release.

EKO at Mohawk College

EKO is being used at The Joyce Centre for Partnership and Innovation at Mohawk College, according to EllisDon. The framework contributed to the development of a rooftop photovoltaic system that produces enough clean energy to power the building.

The net-zero energy building is the first in Canada to earn a Zero Carbon Building Design Certification.

EllisDon’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system also provides real-time data monitoring and control functionality to support the building’s energy efficiency and carbon reductions.

EllisDon’s sustainability efforts

As laid out in its Impact Report 2022, EllisDon has set out to reduce its Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 and by 90 per cent at minimum by 2050.

Its efforts to decarbonize buildings and real estate include:

• building a net-zero, mass timber facility for Centennial College seeking a minimum LEED Gold Standard;
• testing a hybrid timber floor system that reduces embodied carbon emissions by 25 per cent compared to standard steel and concrete methods; and
• balancing sustainability and reliability in healthcare facilities.

To reduce its direct on-site greenhouse gas emissions, EllisDon explored initiatives such as electrifying its processes, equipment and fleet, using low-carbon fuels and finding opportunities for renewable energy generation.

EllisDon has also created Centralized Management Platform to monitor energy consumption in a building and a service named DecarbonizED to support clients in planning, executing and maintaining the performance of retrofits.