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Concert secures first HSBC green loan for Tapestry at Victoria Harbour
Concert Properties secures first HSBC green loan
Concert Properties has secured the first loan under HSBC Bank Canada’s Green Loan Principles-aligned financing program, for its 15-storey Tapestry at Victoria Harbour development in the B.C. capital. The $71.5-million financing represents a conversion of Concert’s existing construction financing.
WiredScore drafting first global smart buildings cert.
WiredScore has created an international Smart Council, with representatives from some of the largest commercial real estate owners/operators in Canada and the world, to create the first international certification standard for smart buildings.
627-acre solar farm proposed for Edmonton airport
• CBC • Edmonton Journal
European-based Alpin Solar is proposing to build a 120-megawatt solar farm bigger than 300 CFL football fields at Edmonton’s international airport, dubbed Airport City Solar, on what is now a canola field west of the airport lands.
The blind spot of low-carbon buildings
Canadian-born architect Kelly Alvarez Doran had an epiphany about one of the core tenets of energy-efficient construction; new buildings that truly move the needle in reducing heat loss through exterior walls, are designed with multiple layers of insulating material.
Net-zero building commitments are adding up
While COVID-19 lockdowns briefly decreased global carbon emissions by about 17 per cent, this was mostly due to transportation, flights and commuting grinding to halt. But 36 per cent of fossil-fuel carbon emissions come from buildings.
Wpg. launches Building Energy Disclosure Project
The City of Winnipeg has created the Building Energy Disclosure Project, an initiative aimed at helping the city’s commercial and institutional building owners better understand the energy performance of their buildings, while supporting overall reductions in energy consumption.
DIRTT launches people-first interior design initiative
DIRTT Environmental Solutions, a Calgary based company that uses proprietary software to design, manufacture and install fully-customizable environments, has launched an advocacy campaign that demonstrates how pre-fabricated construction meets the needs of organizations seeking greater adaptability for real estate portfolios.
B.C. builder turns to timber for affordable rental
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Thirty-one-year-old developer Zack Ross wants to change how housing gets built in Vancouver. The COO of family-owned Cape Group plans two affordable rental buildings in Mount Pleasant, targeting two usually overlooked groups: artists and parents needing daycare.
New online tool aims to boost tall timber design
Vancouver-based Fast + Epp Structural Engineers has released a free online timber design tool its in-house inventors say has the potential to save architects and developers countless hours in the early stages of project design.
Tree-planting startups monetize land conservation
• GreenBiz • BC Business
Instead of buying a cemetery plot, you can pay toward the preservation of a tree. Cremated ashes are mixed with soil next to a tree along with a memorial marker in what Better Place Forests calls its “conservation memorial forests.”
Hydrogen as part of Canada’s energy transition
As Canada navigates the clean energy transition, cleaner technologies and solutions are attracting attention. Hydrogen has made headlines globally as a vital component of future energy systems as a clean-burning fuel that does not produce carbon emissions on consumption.
Saanich considers requiring EV power in multifamily
Vancouver Island’s Saanich council is seeking community input for its plan to boost support for electric vehicles by requiring charging units in all new multifamily homes built in the municipality, via an update to existing bylaws.
Sustainability minded donors becoming agents of change
In 2018, Swiss billionaire André Hoffmann and wife Rosalie gifted $61 million, one of the largest sustainability donations, to a global business school. While the future of post-pandemic giving is uncertain, philanthropic support for business schools to incorporate sustainability is growing.
Real estate transparency improvement slowing: JLL
Despite a greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility and widespread use of new technologies in the CRE industry, the Global Real Estate Transparency Index published by JLL shows the slowest rate of transparency improvement since the global financial crisis.
COVID not expected to halt the ESG movement
Nathalie Palladitcheff, CEO of Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of Caisse de dépôtet placement du Québec says that fears that the pandemic could cause real assets industries to take a step back in their ESG work appear unfounded.
Pensions launch sustainable investment assessment platform
APG, AustralianSuper, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and PGGM have jointly established the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform. The platform’s standard and artificial-intelligence driven data enable investors to assess companies on their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Calgary hailstorm Canada’s 4th-costliest natural disaster
• CBC • Canada Newswire • Calgary Herald
The hailstorm that hit Calgary on June 13 cost at least $1.2 billion in insured damages to over 70,000 homes, numerous vehicles and destroyed entire crops. It was the fourth-costliest natural disaster in Canada’s history, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Nestle sells its Ontario Pure Life bottled water business
• CBC
Nestle Canada is selling its Pure Life bottled water business to Ice River Springs as Ontario prepares to give its municipalities veto power over new water bottling permits. The sale includes locations in Hope, B.C., Puslinch and Erin, Ont.
Beware of greenwashing, consumers are fed up!
Before affixing allegations, imaginary labels, or images that refer to eco-responsibility on packaging, the company is better to make sure of the veracity of its claims according to Geneviève Dionne, director of eco-design and circular economy at Eco Entreprise Québec.
Why we must protect the world’s quiet places
• Yale 360
It is a frosty March morning in the Hoh Rainforest, deep within Olympic National Park in Washington state. I seek a spot known as the “One Square Inch of Silence” — one of the quietest places in the contiguous United States.
Industry Events
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Microgrid Knowledge (MGK) Conference 2024
Apr 22 2024
to Apr 24 2024
Baltimore, Maryland
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Canada Green Building Council: Building Lasting Change 2024
Jun 05 2024
to Jun 06 2024
Toronto
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Global Conference on Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Aug 16 2024
to Aug 18 2024
Vancouver, Canada
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