LocationsRecent Articles
BMO commits $50M to Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
BMO commits $50M to Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
BMO Financial Group has become the first Canadian company to join the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, committing $50 million in investment capital.
Linking ESG performance to executive pay
• GreenBiz
The activist investment firm, Sweden’s Cevian Capital has called on European public companies to start, or accelerate, the development of ESG targets for integration into compensation plans to be put to a shareholder vote at annual general meetings.
The Olympics’ machine-made snow and climate change
Little of the snow at the Bejing Winter Olympics fell from the sky. It is made from water from reservoirs that supply about 400 snowmaking machines and will create approximately 2.5 million cubic metres of machine-made snow for ski and snowboarding venues.
NHL Climate Pledge Arena raises bar for sports facilities
• GreenBiz
When the renovated home of the brand-new Seattle Kraken NHL team referred to as the Climate Pledge Arena opened in October, it did so as the first sports venue to earn “net-zero carbon” certification from the International Living Future Institute.
Chalk River Lab to dispose of ‘legacy’ nuclear waste
• Ottawa Business Journal • Construct Connect
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) have announced that their primary priority is disposal of the “legacy” nuclear waste at the Chalk River facility. This waste includes contaminated soil and old buildings on the site.
Report calls for sustainable campus infrastructure
• Strandberg Consulting • Report: Building Social Infrastructure for Canadian Communities
Strandberg Consulting’s report “Unlocking the Potential of Campus Infrastructure Projects to Build Social Infrastructure for Canadian Communities” is a call to action for infrastructure builders to fully mobilize institutional assets and resources to help communities course-correct for a flourishing future.
U.S. asphalt industry plans to reach net-zero by 2050
The U.S. National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) has outlined a plan to improve technology, especially when it comes to recycling materials and to use all renewable energy in its operations as it aims to move toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
$100B investment planned for London green buildings
• Bisnow
As much as $100 billion of overseas capital will be spent in the London office market between now and the end of 2027, a new report predicted, with the number of sustainable buildings in the city a key draw for investors.
Google, Microsoft back long duration energy storage
Google and Microsoft are among companies that see long-duration energy storage (LDES) as a crucial piece of reaching carbon-free operations and have joined Long Duration Energy Storage Council a CEO-led organization that was formed at last year’s COP26.
The complicated carbon footprint of hybrid work
Many companies are settling into the concept of hybrid offices and while totally closing offices could make a big difference in emissions, what is the impact of partial closure. The Carbon Counter at The Financial Times examines this issue.
Corporate sustainability commitments grew in 2021
• Forbes
The second annual EcoVadis Network Impact Report shows an acceleration in “scaling up” business sustainability activities and accomplishments. In 2021 there was a 54 per cent increase in the use of recycling measures and a 30 per cent increase use of renewable energy.
Moving companies, customers toward climate action
• GreenBiz
The private sector falls short in leveraging capital for the climate action we need today. Only one-fifth of the world’s 2,000 largest publicly traded companies have made net-zero commitments far below the pace of change demanded by the climate crisis.
N.S. gov’t to block small-scale solar charge
Nova Scotia Power’s effort to thwart future small-scale solar installations sparked a quick retort from the provincial government which has introduced regulations to block a proposed access charge adding 8.7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity being fed into the grid.
Kingston home energy retrofit plan gets funding
• Daily Commercial News • Kingston Whig Standard
Better Homes Kingston is a local improvement charge (LIC) financing program intended to encourage homeowners to undertake deep-energy retrofits. The program is expected to retrofit 25 to 50 per cent of Kingston’s pre-1991 single-family homes by 2040.
A policy pathway for the 1.5 degree lifestyle
A new study from Institute for Future-Fit Economies (ZOE) titled “Equitable 1.5 Degree Lifestyles: How Socially Fair Policies Can Support the Implementation of the European Green Deal” (PDF here) outlines a policy pathways that encourage low-carbon living and discourage the high-fliers.
CK Earth Index explores decarbonizing agriculture
In 2020, Canadian agriculture and agri-food systems employed 2.1 million people, one in nine jobs. The sector generated about 7.4 per cent of GDP. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, crop and livestock farming was responsible for 10 per cent of Canada’s 2019 GHG emissions.
Illinois will be home to a large biomethane plant
Located in Rockford, Illinois, a new facility will produce biomethane from biogas from a solid waste treatment plant owned Waste Connections Inc. It will have one of the largest per plant production capacities for Air Liquide at 380 GWh per year.
Explainer: the many shades of hydrogen
Hydrogen burns when sparked, making it a promising fuel for power plants. While existing fuels like natural gas produce planet-warming carbon dioxide as a by-product, hydrogen fizzles into harmless steam.
2022, the tipping point for hydrogen policy support
• H2-View
Policy supports that create a viable business case for green hydrogen are predicted to emerge in 2022. That’s according to research for Delta-EE which states that with over 6GW of announced hydrogen projects due to come onstream by the end of 2024.
Spanish hydrogen train trials to begin later this year
• H2 View
A newly formed alliance is looking to support the development of a hydrogen-powered railway sector across Spain by replacing fossil fuel trains with hydrogen alternatives, without any major modifications, to help drive competitiveness in the clean transportation market.
Industry Events
-
Greenbuild 2024: Built to Scale
Nov 12 2024
to Nov 15 2024
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
-
Sustainable Finance Forum 2024
Nov 28 2024
to Nov 29 2024
Shaw Centre, Ottawa
Follow us on Social Media
Follow SBIZ on your favorite social media platform for news delivered to your feed.
Locations
