Vancouver’s near-zero plan sets Canadian standard

Vancouver’s near-zero plan sets Canadian standard

In less than 10 years, near-zero emissions homes and buildings will be the new normal in Vancouver. The three industry experts and co-authors think the city’s Zero Emissions Building Plan serves as a blueprint for the rest of B.C. and beyond.

Huffington Post – Zero Emissions Building Plan

Minding the gap between insurance and flood risk

According to climate scientists, natural disasters will just get worse as the planet warms. Economist Michael Greenstone, who runs the Energy Policy Institute, argued last month in the New York Times that if insurance prices reflected risk, they could incentivize homeowners to undertake retrofits needed to protect their homes.

Green Biz – How Markets Can Help Us Adapt to Climate Change

Building retrofits vital to tackling climate change

Canada can meet and even exceed its 2030 climate targets if the proper investments and changes are made to commercial, institutional and high-rise residential buildings over 25,000 sq. ft. according to a new report.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Ottawa’s Minto Group new net-zero townhomes

Ottawa home builder, The Minto Group recently launched Ontario’s first four net-zero townhouses in Kanata’s Acadia community. The townhouses range from 1500 sq. ft. to 1900 sq. ft. and begin at $352,900. The net-zero technology adds some $45,000 to $50,000 to the cost of the homes.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Oshawa Centre reno comes with sustainable features

After a three-year renovation, an aging mall in Ontario has re-emerged as a sustainable showcase. Originally built in 1956, Oshawa Centre reopened at the end of September with LEED Canada Core and Shell certification.

Sustainable Biz Canada

A wood-clad arena is rising in Copenhagen

The new Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, scheduled to open early in 2017, aspires to integrate seamlessly into the largely residential neighborhood of Ørestad (which sits between City Hall and Copenhagen Airport) through design refinements that bring this massive multipurpose building to a human scale.

BDC Network

Clean50 awards highlight Canada’s best sustainable builders

EllisDon Corporation, and  Cadillac Fairview have landed on the 2017 Clean50 list, which is designed to identify and recognize the 50 individuals or small teams who have made the greatest contribution to sustainable development or clean capitalism in Canada.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Want sharper workers? Try a green-certified office

New research suggests, underscoring the ROI for green certifications — not just for optimizing the usual factors such as energy and water use, but for elevating workforce productivity. It’s clear at Greenbuild 2016 this week that the health and wellness of workers indoors is becoming a high-level concern.

Green Biz

The Bloc is first US BREEAM development

The Bloc in Los Angeles has already achieved LEED Silver,  it’s working on a  WELL Building Standard certification and now the huge redevelopment project is the first US building to participate in the BREEAM In-Use green building assessment and the first development in the US to participate in all three green building programs.

Environmental Leader

U.S. cities with the most green office buildings

San Francisco has the most green office buildings in the US, with 73.7 percent of its office space holding either an EPA Energy Star label, US Green Building Council LEED certification, or both. Placing second on the Green Building Adoption Index study by CBRE Group and Maastricht University for the past two years was Chicago at 72.3 percent.

Environmental Leader

A report from Greenbuild 2016 held Oct. 3-7

Considering the built environment accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, the building industry will have a major role to play in limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius per the Paris agreement. Here a summary of news stories from Greenbuild.

Environmental Leader

	Cities count the ROI of trees
	Cities and companies have found that a happy and healthy community has measurable and positive impacts on a region and the quality of life. One way this is coming to fruition is with trees.
	GreenBiz, October 10, 2012

 

Architects release progress report on energy efficiency

The architecture industry is increasingly having an impact on the built environment’s energy efficiency and carbon emissions. The main vehicle: the AIA 2030 Commitment program.  Participants have reported the performance of their firm portfolios for each calendar year since the program launched in 2009.

American Institute of Architects

New technology compares green building performance

During the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) International Summit held at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) announced a new technology organization called arc. 

U.S. Green Building Council

New software calculates value of LEED building points

A new software program that’s been more than five years in the making addresses one of the missing pieces in LEED certification—quantifying the value of going through the process.

Building Design + Construction

World Green Building Week packed with events

Wow! What a week. From last Monday until yesterday, Green Building Councils, their members and many more organisations and individuals around the globe participated in World Green Building Week 2016!

World Green Building Council

Products, Technology and Design

How green and smart tech intersect in buildings

“Although they are not taking it for granted, forward-thinking developers, owners, and tenants have started treating sustainability as a given — they simply assume that maximizing sustainability is part of their brief.”

Memoori

Residential solar interconnection progresses slowly in the U.S.

As distributed solar gains popularity across the U.S., utilities are struggling to keep up with interconnection requests for small systems, according to a new study from EQ Research.

Green Tech Media

	Sustainable Biz followers on Twitter
	Follower The Buildings Performance Institute EU is a Brussels based think-tank delivering policy analysis, advice and implementation support for buildings energy performance.
	Follow BizSustainably, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian business concerned about sustainability.

 

Market Trends and Research

Build green for a smarter work force

Can a green building make your company smarter? That’s what new research suggests.

Green Biz

Municipal Policy and Urban Issues

Need seen for Canadian “low-impact” communities

Industry proponents of sustainability are looking beyond buildings and thinking more about community scale in order to help impact decarbonization goals.

Remi Network

Habitat III to offer new ideas on urbanism

In October, the world will come together for the third time at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development (Habitat III) to study, plan, and dream about achieving the universal human right of an adequate place to live in security, peace, and dignity.

American Institute of Architects

Commercial real estate

Halifax’s new IKEA will be Canada’s most sustainable

A massive two-storey retail outlet with about 328,000 square feet of retail space on what is to be an extension to Countryview Drive​, IKEA Canada’s Dartmouth store is set to open next year.

Chronicle-Herald

Calgary breaks ground on CNG transit facility

The City of Calgary today celebrated a groundbreaking event for the Stoney Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Bus Storage and Transit Facility.

ReNew Canada

Renewable Energy

Alberta calls for solar farm proposals

The Alberta government is aiming to support the province’s first solar farm to help meet its green power needs. A Request for Information (RFI) to provide advice on the potential cost and best approach for procuring solar power for half of government operations has been posted.

ReNew Canada

Commercial Green Buildings

Red Deer building green fitness centre

Red Deer College is going full green in the construction of the new Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

Red Deer Advocate

Green building ratings

Ontario campus targets LEED Gold with new expansion

Seneca’s major expansion at King Campus got a huge boost today with the announcement of a$3-million donation from Magna International, Seneca’s largest-ever philanthropic gift.

Canada Newswire

Government Programs and Incentives

U.S. adds $80-million to Smart Cities initiative

The White House announced Monday the federal government is expanding its efforts by investing an additional $80 million-plus in localized technology-driven initiatives.

State Scoop

Corporate Sustainability

Nike opens sustainable warehouse

At the end of May, Nike opened its new warehouse, which will be used to serve all of Europe from a single location

Jetson Green

Transit, bikes and transportation

Bike lanes bring public health benefits

A new study, The cost-effectiveness of bike lanes in New York City, has determined that New York City’s bike lanes deliver a “quality adjusted life year” for just $1300.

Treehugger

Water Management

Ontario votes to keep fluoride in water

Liberal MPP Bob Delaney got his way this week following a healthy debate about whether to ban municipalities from removing fluoride from their drinking water.

Water Canada

Canadian water management more complex than ever

A study recently released in Ottawa says that water management is becoming increasingly complex, because of “intertwining stresses” like local budgeting, infrastructure planning, environmental considerations and climate change adaption.

Daily Commercial News

Smart water meter technology on the rise

Water infrastructure globally needs major improvements. Replacing US water pipes alone would cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years, according to the American Water Works Association.

Environmental Leader

Wind powered device produces clean water from the air

A new device developed by VICI-Labs, in collaboration with UC Berkeley and the National Peace Corps Association, aims to provide a sustainable source of clean safe water for the millions without a reliable water supply.

Treehugger