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Paved with good intentions: Building greener streets

3 years ago

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To reduce emissions and build greener streets and highways, the focus should be on the materials used to construct the infrastructure rather than what’s driven on them. Highways and roads are constructed from carbon-intensive materials like bitumen, aggregate and cement.

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Volvo plans to manufacture its cars with fossil-free steel by 2026. The carmaker signed a statement of intent with Nordic steelmaker SSAB last month to commercialize a process to produce steel using green hydrogen instead of coal.

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The Alimentation Couche-Tard convenience store chain, which owns the Circle K brand, claims to be the most recognizable charging-station brand in Norway, a country that has been one of the fastest adopters of electric vehicles in the world.

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Halifax Regional Municipality will get 60 battery-powered electric buses as part of a $112-million agreement with the provincial and federal governments. “Our plan is to have a totally electric fleet by 2028,” Halifax mayor Mike Savage told reporters following the announcement.

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Canada is ready to invest up to $440 million (US$349 million) in three aerospace companies in the province of Quebec, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday in a boost to the hard-hit sector ahead of an expected fall federal election.

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Airbus SAS is joining an effort by Quebec aerospace companies and research institutions to bring sustainable aviation fuel to market as the air travel industry plots ways to reduce its emissions amid a persistent environmental backlash.

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Aviation emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s, growing along with the tourism industry. But it wasn’t until teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg popularized the flygskam (flight shaming) movement in 2019 that public sentiment in staying grounded went mainstream.

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Renewable energy’s moment has arrived in Canada, and Alberta is reaping many of the benefits. The Business Renewables Centre launched its inaugural Deal Tracker, Canada’s first public record of corporate procurement of renewable energy. Deals announced in 2021 surpassed previous years.

Energy Profiles

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Canada needs the equivalent of a war-time mobilization to ensure that all buildings are refurbished no later than 2050 as part of our effort to hit net-zero emission goals, a new report from Efficiency Canada concludes.

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Nexii Building Solutions, a green construction technology company, has named Honeywell as the exclusive building technologies supplier for new buildings; the strategic alliance will help Nexii construct buildings with reduced environmental impact, including energy savings and operational efficiencies.

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Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre has become the first retail centre in Canada to achieve GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council. Yorkdale’s certification reflects the health and safety measures it put in place to keep occupants safe.

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A report shows that smart building automation software and systems will reach $20.5 billion in North America by 2027. Buildings are an integral part of a city’s ecosystem, and intelligent buildings lead to the improved safety and wellbeing of its occupants.

Procore

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A new report released by the Smart Surfaces Coalition shows cities can cool down heat waves, reduce severe rainfall and slow climate change by deploying smart surfaces, which are reflective, porous and green surfaces, solar photovoltaics and trees.

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The REALPAC normalized energy-use intensity and normalized water-use intensity methodologies were developed to support benchmarking efforts that the Canadian commercial real estate organization sponsored last decade. These methodologies gauge energy- and water-use and are available for building owners and managers.

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Recently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Anaergia Inc. is a Burlington, Ontario-based company that converts organic waste into clean water, fertilizer and renewable natural gas. It has operations worldwide, including Toronto, new patents, and a variety of proprietary technology.

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Transform to Net-Zero is made up of consumer goods companies – including Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft and Starbucks – that are climate leaders in their industries. This collective experience and reach across sectors and value chains uniquely positions the coalition to drive large-scale change.

Sustainable Biz Canada

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When the world’s largest investment house, BlackRock, unveiled its U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF, investors had already poured US$1.25 billion into it, making it the largest ESG-aligned ETF launch to date and the biggest launch in the ETF industry’s history.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a policy package designed to accelerate decarbonization efforts and invest billions of Euros in green infrastructure. The policies will help the EU achieve its goal of cutting emissions by 55 per cent by 2030.

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Greenland has ended its 50-year ambition to become an oil producing nation after announcing it would suspend a strategy of searching for oil and stop granting exploration licenses. Oil exploration has occurred since the 1970s, involving companies such as Shell.

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The conventional wisdom is that 100 companies are responsible for 71 per cent of carbon emissions. The Guardian article that started this noted that “ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are identified as being among the highest emitting investor-owned companies since 1988.”

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