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Lafarge supplies 1st ECOPact concrete in E. Canada

2 years ago

Lafarge’s Kingston plant has produced and delivered the first ECOPact Zero concrete in Eastern Canada. It was also the first time that the company used ECOPlanet cement in the mix.

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Real estate and infrastructure entities participating in GRESB’s benchmark coverage have risen by 26 per cent this year to 2,227. The benchmark, which measures the ESG performance of real estate and infrastructure funds, companies and assets, covered $6.4 trillion in assets in 2021.

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While real estate operators such as Nuveen and CBRE have reported they are well on their way to reaching net-zero, other companies — including many with large real estate portfolios — are beginning to feel the pressure from business leaders, including shareholders.

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Consumers must change their behavior to speed up the fight against climate change, in particular by abandoning gasoline vehicles in favor of zero-emission vehicles. The transport sector alone is responsible for about 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

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Bill Gates is spending $1.5 billion on clean technologies, including hydrogen, through a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. Gates explained that while clean fuel is promising, the price must be right for the whole world.

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Quantum Fuel Systems’ virtual pipeline trailers will soon be transporting hydrogen across the U.S. and Canada. The company has inked an agreement with Certarus, through which it will supply its customers with the zero emission fuel starting in December.

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British Columbia could become home to a hydrogen electric locomotive. This will be achieved as part of an agreement between Loop Energy and Hydrogen in Motion (H2M), which announced a project to convert a diesel electric locomotive to hydrogen.

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Toyota is launching its hydrogen-powered Prius and Corolla in 2023 as it looks to enhance its zero-emission vehicle range. The electric hybrid versions will mark the first time Toyota has blended its signature technologies in plug-in hybrids and hydrogen power.

Canadian Apartment Investment Conference

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Certainly the biggest EV story this month is the Chevrolet Bolt battery recall saga.  Is this a Bolt-only issue, a one-off or is this a bigger problem with potentially far-reaching impacts that could present itself in other EVs?

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As part of its goal to expand the electrification of its fleet, Penske Truck Leasing is piloting software in conjunction with artificial intelligence energy storage provider Stem, Inc. to help drive off-peak electricity savings and minimize utility peak demand charges.

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Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. is now a member of the Global Battery Alliance (“GBA”), a World Economic Forum initiative dedicated to establishing a sustainable battery value chain. The GBA advances climate action via the sustainable development of the battery ecosystem.

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Sudbury, the largest city in Northern Ontario, transformed itself after decades of environmental devastation brought on by the mining industry. Other communities and industries, like oil and gas, can replicate the city’s efforts to fight climate change.

Canada Green Building Council

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Canadian energy workers know fossil-fuel-dependent jobs are vanishing. Iron & Earth was founded by and for fossil fuel workers. The organization released a poll revealing 61 per cent of fossil fuel workers believe Canada needs to pivot to a net-zero economy.

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The U.S. oil and gas industry wants to lay steel in the ground using pipes that carry the carbon dioxide produced from burnt fossil fuels; however, climate campaigners oppose pipeline projects as infrastructure that locks in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

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McKinsey reports half of U.S. consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of packaging. Food CPGs including PepsiCo and Unilever have responded by announcing sustainable packaging goals. Most of these goals include reaching 100 per cent recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.

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Local public acceptance is critically important for siting and developing energy infrastructure. Strong opposition can sink projects altogether. When communities oppose projects, some people are quick to point to NIMBY, or not-in-my-backyard, sentiments as a formidable obstacle.

Sustainable Biz Canada

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Scientists are more certain than ever that manmade climate change will make the Mediterranean more prone to disastrous blazes. Even if we manage to cut greenhouse gas emissions sharply, temperatures will keep rising for the next few decades.

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Hurricane Ida is now the strongest storm to have hit Louisiana. It took 164 years for Laura to tie the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 and only one year to tie the record again compared to last year’s Hurricane Laura.

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Climate change gripped North America’s Pacific Coast this summer, setting new heat records by staggering margins across the region’s cities and towns. Hundreds of people died, and cities built to withstand 20th-century heat will now face far worse.

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More than a decade ago, Manitoba fields were filled with cold-weather crops, such as wheat, peas and canola. The view is very different now. More than 5,300 square kilometres have been sown with soya and around 1,500 with maize.

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Investors who participated in the cleantech movement observe one big thing that makes the current spending spree different: the participation of traditional investors who have become interested in the economic opportunity linked to addressing climate change.

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