LocationsRecent Articles
DC-linked microgrid planned in Ontario
DC-linked microgrid planned in Ontario
Canadian company ARDA Power and Austria-based Gildemeister energy storage GmbH are collaborating on a DC-linked microgrid in Burlington, Ontario. The DC-linked microgrid will include multiple energy sources (among them solar and gas generation), energy storage, and direct current and alternating current loads.
Sustainable buildings need to be smarter buildings
In most cases today, even the greenest, most sustainable buildings are still effectively “dumb” infrastructure. Internal systems are stand-alone, siloed. Data is not captured, integrated, persisted and used dynamically with real intelligence. Where systems claim intelligence, they are invariably hard-wired and rules-based.
San Francisco requires solar panels on new buildings
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation to require buildings with less than 10 floors to install solar panels or solar water heaters on top of new residential and commercial buildings.The new San Francisco law makes it the first major US city to mandate solar panels on new construction.
BDC Network – Business Insider
Paris climate agreement signed by over 150 countries
Leaders from more than 150 countries are set to gather in New York City on Earth Day, April 22 to sign the landmark climate change deal struck in Paris last year. The event will be the latest in a series of steps to transform the global accord into an actual tool for combating greenhouse gas emissions and boosting the use of cleaner energy.
Chubb broadens availability of its environmental products
Chubb has broadened the availability of its premises pollution liability and other environmental insurance coverages and risk management solutions through its newly expanded distribution network. Chubb’s Environmental products distribution network has grown from nine to 48 branch offices.
Canadian LEED buildings save 1-million tonnes CO2e
Green building in Canada has reached a significant milestone, as the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) announced today that Canadian LEED certified projects have now led to a cumulative reduction of over one million tonnes of CO2e in greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking 238,377 cars off the road for a year.
WorldGBC & EBRD collaborate to drive sustainable buildings
The World Green Building Council’s Europe Regional Network and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of sustainable property development.The agreement provides a framework to cooperate on a number of areas of sustainable building practices.
AccorHotels to grow vegetables at 1,000 properties
Talk about being in it for the long haul. We’ve been tracking Accor Hotels‘ sustainability efforts since their impressive “Earth Guest” initiative in 2007. In 2011, the hotel company, which includes Sofitel, Novotel and Motel 6, announced plans to roll out a green business plan across their 42,000 properties.
VIDEO: Bee-keeping company in Montreal rents out hives
The usual summer buzz in cities, amplified by warm weather, backyard barbecues and busy patios, is somewhat louder this year as urban bee-keeping gains popularity. A Montreal-based company is renting out beehives to people who are interested in making their own honey and to learn more about bee-keeping.
Vancouver’s building boasts $60 a year heating bill
The builder of an under-construction rental building in Vancouver says it is so efficient, heating bills could be $60 or less… a year. The 77-unit, six-storey building at 1568 East King Edward Ave. was touted as the perfect model for a low-carbon future on Wednesday as the Pembina Institute, Performance Construction and City of Vancouver staff.
Behind the scenes at GE’s future-forward factory
I’m standing in the lobby of a brand-new research facility where video screens set in large circular stands beam the company’s achievements from their high-res flat screens. This is GE’s brand-new Advanced Manufacturing Works (AMW) in Greenville, South Carolina. Behind glass panels, engineers in slacks and button-down shirts are busy working.
How to simplify building energy benchmarking laws
The upcoming deadlines for local building energy benchmarking and transparency laws makes this a busy time of year for building owners. The laws aim to reduce energy consumption (and environmental and financial costs as a result) in the building sector. These are local laws, so they differ from one city to the next, but they are typically built around three core tenets
What is a Smart Thermostat? Algorithms
There is no clear definition of a smart thermostat. In fact, as more offerings have entered the market, the definition of a smart thermostat has become more misunderstood. Some consider a thermostat “smart” if it has two-way communications (i.e., you can view and change settings on your smartphone). However, this is simply inaccurate.
Alaska SeaLife Center replaces fossil fuels with sea water power
Located in Seward, Alaska about 125 miles south of Anchorage, the Alaska SeaLife Center does important work researching and promoting awareness of the wildlife that resides along the coast of Alaska. The center serves as an aquarium, but also operates as a marine research center and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.
Cogeneration platform saves money, adds reliability
On the picturesque Brooklyn, NY, waterfront, an increasingly common alternative to traditional powering — cogeneration — is working, and working well. In fact, the only time it stopped was when the equipment was partially submerged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
 |
Sustainable Biz is on Twitter |
| SustainableBiz.ca opened February 2016 to provide news, information and commentary about environmental, social and governance issues as it pertains to sustainability. | |
| Follow BizSustainably, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian business concerned about sustainability. |
Market trends and research
Redefining value for green buildings to go farther
The story of the green building movement begins over 20 years ago. The movement shows no sign of slowing, with a recently released report by Dodge Data & Analytics indicating that the rate of global green building continues to double every three years.
Sub-metering moving into non-residential buildings
The individual metering of building tenants – sub-metering — is an important trend to which energy managers must pay attention. It is a tool which, along with energy management systems and building management systems, will drive efficiency by enabling increasingly granular and creative control of building resources.
Asia’s rising star in the smart facilities management industry
The SMART Facilities Management Solutions Expo 2016 opens this week from 26 to 28 April at Singapore’s Sands Expo and Convention Centre, with a focus on helping practitioners in the Southeast Asian region learn about the latest trends and technologies in the industry.
Analyzing buildings for energy efficient retrofits
Want to know which buildings will get the biggest bang for the buck when it comes to retrofitting for energy efficiencies? Some MIT professors think they have the right tool, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will report their findings to the journal Interface, published by the Royal Society in the U.K.
Commercial real estate
Green fuzz on buildings is an admission of defeat
Hurrah for Edwin Heathcote, the architectural critic for the Financial Times, for writing about The curse of green fuzz on buildings that you see everywhere these days. He raises the question I did about Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale: whether it will ever actually look anything like the rendering.
TreeHugger.com – Financial Times
Residential Real Estate
This ‘green’ home renovation cost $300,000
When it came to renovating the family’s 100-year-old house in Parkdale, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner put his money where his mouth is. After spending $300,000 on the massive makeover, Schreiner and his wife Sandy Welsh saved 66 per cent on their natural gas bill in February over the same month last year.
Sustainable products & materials
New Cree LED light fixtures powered over the ethernet
In a traditional office there are layers and layers of different wiring hierarchies; you will have your power wiring, in either 120 or 227 or even 600 volts. In the control room the lighting controls will be separate from the HVAC and the power will be in another electrical closet altogether.
Can TWIN elevators make buildings more energy efficient?
Every morning you get to work and impatiently wait for the elevator to reach the lobby. We’ve all been there. ThyssenKrupp’s TWIN elevators hope to reduce your wait time along with your building’s footprint. With two cabs and one shaft, this new technology handles higher crowds with less space and energy.
Government Programs and Incentives
Alberta’s environmental performance forcast to improve
The Conference Board of Canada released a report ranking the environmental performance of Canadian provinces. Alberta’s failing grade (D-) is in line with the approach that previous Alberta governments have taken with environmental management. Nevertheless, Alberta’s new government has moved quickly to address a number of the environmental issues evaluated in the report.
Corporate Sustainability
Take part in the 2016 GRESB real asset assessment
GRESB, the global standard for environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarking for real assets, invites you to participate in the 2016 GRESB assessments. Assessment results are used by investors and fund managers to understand the risk and return profile of real estate and infrastructure investments.
Why business is the new Earth Day activist
The health of our air and water in the U.S. has come a long way since Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970. So has corporate sustainability. From the beginning, Earth Day has had a mix of grassroots fervor and corporate/government support.
IKEA Canada one of country’s greenest employers
For the eighth consecutive year, IKEA Canada has been recognized by Mediacorp as one of Canada’s greenest employers, according to a press release. The designation is awarded to employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness and attract people because of this leadership.
How manufacturers can maximize environmental sustainability
Private corporations can — and should — take the lead in helping the US achieve its emissions reductions goals under the Paris climate agreement, writes Tensie Whelan, director of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern School of Business, in a Fortune column.
Cities and Towns
2030 Districts expanding with two new cities
Two new cities, San Antonio and Grand Rapids, recently joined the 2030 Districts movement, bringing to twelve the number of 2030 Districts across North America. The established 2030 Districts now include a total of 269 million square feet of buildings, showing the strength of this grassroots movement of urban sustainability.
Are cities doing enough on climate change?
“So, climate change is happening and that is the city’s official position?” The question came at the end of an interview I did in 2011 on Chicago’s premier evening news program shortly after I had been appointed the city’s first chief sustainability officer.
Transit, bikes and transportation
Ontario investing $10 million for green transit initiative
The Ontario government is investing $10 million over four years to make transit in the province greener. As part of the province’s Climate Change Strategy, the money will be allocated to the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium to develop “next-generation transportation technologies” – in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.
Waste Management
Cities finding smarter ways to collect our waste
Four years ago, the World Bank issued a warning about waste management in our rapidly growing cities. Its Urban Development department projected that the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) would increase from 1.3 billion tonnes per year to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025.
Sustainable Biz News
 |
Sustainable Biz advertising opportunity! |
| Modelled after RENX, Sustainable Biz Canada (SBC) will publish email newsletter summaries of online news, original SBC content and articles from guest columnists. Sustainable Biz advertisers will be provided website exposure on RENX.ca (10%) and ads in the Green Real Estate Newsletter (3,400 subscribers) | |
| To receive a Sustainable Biz Canada Media Kit email awhite@SustainableBiz.ca or call 1-855-569-6300 |
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
