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A Greyter way: Bathwater recycled to flush toilets

3 years ago

An award-winning Canadian company is collecting shower and bathwater — also known as grey water – along with rainwater and other sources to recycle for flushing toilets, all in the name of preserving a precious resource.

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Shopify is the first organization to commit to purchasing carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere on its behalf using a Direct Air Capture (DAC) solution operated by Carbon Engineering (CE) at a yet-to-be-constructed facility.

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Circle K owner, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, is bringing its electric car strategy to North America after learning from consumer habits in northern Europe. Long term, Couche-Tarde, with more than 14,350 locations worldwide, also wants to expand into at-home vehicle charging.

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For years, David Lloyd has been intrigued by hydrogen-powered cars. Living in Burnaby, B.C., he regularly passes by Ballard Power Systems — the hydrogen fuel cell company. Then last month, he spotted a hydrogen car in a Toyota dealership showroom.

Building Lasting Change

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Property assessed clean energy (PACE) is an innovative tool that provides access to long-term financing for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy, and resiliency measures for owners and developers of residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and multifamily properties.

Sponsored by

Expense management is one of the main concerns for owners attempting a return to the office post COVID-19. Utilities are among the largest controllable expenses for business owners . . .

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As leaders of the organizations that represent the breadth of Canada’s electricity sector, we believe this country can seize a similar opportunity as it seeks to recover from the steep economic slump precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Supported by its 70 Green Building Councils and more than 36,000 members, the WorldGBC network has launched Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere. The new two-year strategy is designed to accelerate and mainstream the transformation of built environments around the world.

Energy Profiles

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There are now 700 green roofs in the City of Toronto according to the planning department, and the largest is on the recently completed $181-million McNicoll Bus Garage at Kennedy Road and McNicoll Avenue in Scarborough.

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Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores, plans $930 million in sustainability-related investments in renewables, innovation, and its stores over the next 12 months as the world’s biggest furniture brand aims to be climate positive by 2030.

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Ontario builders are on the brink of having their first local source for cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber for the burgeoning mass timber industry. Element5 Co. is nearing completion of a $50-million manufacturing plant in St. Thomas.

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Kalesnikoff Lumber, which opened a cross-laminated timber manufacturing plant in Castlegar, B.C. last year, has been awarded three contracts to provide products to Bayview Elementary in Vancouver, Humber College in Toronto, and the University of Victoria.

Smart Density

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A solar panel array installed by Kitchener in 2011, has provided more than $100,000 in revenue for the city in the first six months of 2020. Documents for a Kitchener finance committee meeting Monday show $113,588 was added to the city budget, $44,575 more than was anticipated.

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The CleanBC Communities Fund, a joint federal-provincial funding program, announced financing for 11 green infrastructure projects including a  sewage heat recovery expansion for the district energy facility that heats buildings in Vancouver’s False Creek area.

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General Motors Canada is completing a $28 million cogeneration investment at its St. Catharines Propulsion Plant to reduce greenhouse gases, lower future energy and carbon costs and enhance the competitiveness of the plant, which makes engines and transmissions.

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Just days after Big Moon Power was awarded a berth at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy near Parrsboro, the federal government announced a $9.4-million investment in four tidal projects that will bring clean energy technologies to the Atlantic region.

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Fairmont Le Château Frontenac and Université Laval have agreed to a program to ensure the ongoing carbon neutrality of the Château Frontenac by investing in the carbon capture capacity of the Montmorency Forest, the world’s largest research and teaching forest.

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Airtightness testing on buildings has moved beyond the realm of sole technicians conducting blower tests in houses and into the commercial sector due to legislative changes, notably in Vancouver and Toronto, and developers who recognize the benefits of the tests.

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Solar windows have frequently been dismissed as yet another hare-brained attempt by overreaching clean energy buffs to promote renewables at the expense of fossil fuels. Yet, this technology might soon play a significant role in our fight against climate change.

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Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a tiny new battery-free sensor that uses nanotechnology to power itself and can detect water leaks in buildings and automatically send an alert to smartphones.

Industry Events