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Edmonton’s sustainable Blatchford site underway
Edmonton’s sustainable Blatchford site underway
Townhouses are rising and a shared district geothermal heating and cooling system is commissioned and ready to go for the City of Edmonton’s long-awaited Blatchford project. The sustainable community is being built on 536 acres of former municipal airport land.
LEED v4 surpassing 1,000 projects in Canada
• Canada Green Building Council
Green Building Certification Inc. Canada and Canada Green Building Council are celebrating a milestone as Canadian LEED v4 project registrations surpass the 1,000 mark. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is globally the most widely-used green building rating system.
Vancouver pledged to be the greenest city by 2020
Vancouver reached its goals in several sectors according to a 2018 progress report, however green economy watchers identify a significant challenge eliminating GHG emissions from buildings. The city reduced these emissions 12 per cent from 2007 levels, missing its 20 per cent target.
A whole new way to love McDonald’s: its climate goals
• GreenBiz • Environmental Leader • CP Executive
Last week, McDonald’s made headlines when the fast-food giant inked its first major renewables procurement deal that includes two virtual power purchase agreements — 220 MW of wind and 160 MW of solar — enough energy to account for 2,500 McDonald’s restaurants’ worth of electricity.
Freedom Cannabis claims biggest rooftop solar in Canada
Edmonton-area Freedom Cannabis will energize a rooftop solar installation in the next few weeks that will have a total of 4,574 solar modules that will produce a maximum capacity of 1,830 kW for the company’s 126,000 square foot facility. It cost $2.6 million.
Biofuel heating company fired up about wood chips
Biothermic Wood Energy Systems, a Thunder Bay biofuel heating company, established a processing and storage facility they bill as the first of its kind in Ontario using wood fuel instead of relying on propane, natural gas, and oil.
Contractors need to adapt to Passive House
Project designs that focus on energy efficiency and reductions of GHG emissions in both new and existing buildings are a reality that contractors coast-to-coast will face in the near future. In fact, some would suggest that the future is already here.
Curtain wall gets Passive House certification
GlasCurtain Inc. has been awarded certification from the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Darmstadt, Germany. It is the first curtain wall system certified by PHI for cold-climate applications, a global breakthrough for the Canadian company.
Former coal-mining exec has Ottawa’s ear on cleantech
Annette Verschuren, the founder and CEO of energy-storage company NRStor, was named the new chair of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) in June. Verschuren is tasked with leading the organization in identifying, fostering and funding cleantech startups.
Paying oil executives to address the climate crisis
December 2018, Royal Dutch Shell announced plans to link executive pay to carbon pollution reduction targets. By October 2019, four of the other seven supermajors had formally linked remuneration for senior executives to climate change performance according to the Transition Pathway Initiative.
Carbon pricing and who makes big polluters pay
Carbon pricing systems for heavy emitters as a tool to cost-effectively trigger innovation and emissions reductions in Canada’s industrial sector are examined in this report. Policies that effectively address emissions are critical for Canada to meet its emission reduction target.
Concordia will divest from oil, gas, coal by 2025
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Concordia University will divest from all investments in oil, gas and coal, a decision that reflects increasing attention to climate change and highlights a political divide between Quebec and Western Canada on the future of resource industries.
Biodiversity and sustainability reporting made easy
• CSR Wire
The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) makes it easy to understand your organisation’s biodiversity risks and opportunities. IBAT is web-based map and reporting tool that provides fast, efficient access to three of the world’s most authoritative, global biodiversity datasets.
Embodied carbon not a trivial contributor to emissions
Most architects have insisted that the environmental impact of embodied carbon was near-trivial compared to operational emissions. Chris Magwood’s calculations show how far off those assumptions could be indicating a building’s carbon footprints can double accounting for embodied carbon.
REI’s Opt-to-Act plan will lower your carbon footprint
Outdoor gear retailer REI closes its doors on Black Friday to encourage people to go outside instead of shopping. This year the campaign has been expanded to include a 52-week action program – the Opt-to-Act plan – for year-round environmental activism.
Montreal to charge more for parking bigger vehicles
Montreal’s Plateau district is incredibly dense with over 11,000 people per square kilometer and street parking is in short supply. To help fight carbon emissions, the new Mayor wants to raise the parking permit price for cars with bigger engines.
The great EV infrastructure challenge
• GreenBiz • GreenBiz • Microgrid Knowledge
Building EV infrastructure, chargers, grid gear, software and communication networks is a massive business opportunity and also a colossal challenge. Transportation leaders at GreenBiz Commercial ZEV Summit identified a lack of resilient charging infrastructure as commercial EV’s biggest bottleneck.
BrainBox AI to scale up building automation product
BrainBox AI has joined the MaRS Discovery District, the largest urban innovation hub in North America. MaRS will enable BrainBox AI to access key support networks and mentorship opportunities needed to succeed on the world stage.
Hyatt Hotels to remove small bottles from bathrooms
Hyatt Hotels Corp. says it is shifting to large, multi-use bottles for shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion at its 875 hotels worldwide. The Chicago-based company says the transition will be completed by June 2021.
Indian power company plans 10,000 microgrids
India’s largest integrated power company, Tata Power, plans to set up 10,000 renewable microgrids by 2026, more than double the number of microgrid projects identified in the world today making it the largest microgrid developer and operator in the world.
Industry Events
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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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