Insurance giant Axa dumps investments in tar sands pipelines

Insurance giant Axa dumps investments in tar sands pipelines

One of the world’s biggest financial services companies is both dumping investments and ending insurance for controversial US oil pipelines, taking fossil fuel divestment to a new level. Axa is also quadrupling its divestment from coal businesses and increasing its green investments fivefold by 2020.

The Guardian – GreenBiz – Financial Post

Alberta expands airborne monitoring of oilsands greenhouse gases

Alberta’s environmental monitoring agency is using airborne sensing equipment to measure the release of greenhouse gases and other chemicals for oilsands mines north of Fort McMurray as well as Alberta’s heavy oil and bitumen production. Airborne monitoring recently revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from some parts of the oilpatch have been badly underestimated.

Financial Post

Quest honours London’s sustainable West5 development

The unique and innovative West5 mixed-use development in London, Ontario is billed as the first-large scale, privately developed sustainable smart community in the world. And recently, s2e Technologies and Sifton Properties Ltd., developers of the project, were recognized with the 2017 Smart Energy Communities Award by Quest – Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Meaningful internal carbon pricing: CDP’s Nicolette Bartlett

Putting a price on carbon is becoming the norm for multinationals. This fall the nonprofit global environmental disclosure platform CDP published a new report revealing the extent of this shift. Over the past four years, the number of global companies that factor or are planning to factor an internal carbon price into their business plans jumped from 150 to 1,400.

Environmental Leader

Advice for breaking down sustainability silos in 2018

As the walls between sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other corporate functions start to crumble, leaders are better able to extend their influence and catalyze the integration of sustainable business practices across their company. As Charlene Lake, chief sustainability officer at AT&T, put it to me recently, this is a welcome change.

GreenBiz

Can companies measure employee engagement?

As sustainability executives, we think there must be a positive correlation between investing in communications and engaging employees on sustainability and corporate responsibility, and employees’ overall job satisfaction. A new report by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) presents a novel way to measure the impact of sustainability efforts on employee engagement, and the data are encouraging.

Green Biz

More companies set 100% renewable energy goals in 2017

This year, 100 was the magic number as a slew of influential companies made commitments to use 100% renewable electricity in the future. The RE100 global initiative, which was created by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP in 2014, reached a major milestone over the summer.

Energy Manager Today

	Forget Bitcoins, invest in WePower tokens
	The bones behind the Bitcoin speculative orgy is the blockchain which has tremendous promise. It is being used for green renewable energy by WePower. The new company claims blockchain driven WePower Ethereum smart energy contract Token is a key to raising funds for renewable energy projects.
	TreeHugger, December 17, 2017

 

How Canadians are constructing NA’s biggest green buildings

In January, tenants will move into a six-storey Vancouver apartment building designed to be so energy efficient, you could heat each bedroom with a 100-watt light bulb. Boasting a total of 85 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, The Heights at 388 Skeena St. will be the largest “passive house” building in Canada.

CBC – GreenBiz

The future of architecture is lumbering toward us

The future smells like spruce. I’m on the third floor of T3, an innovative office building that will soon be home to an Amazon, but the familiar whiff of wood is everywhere. This 220,000-square-foot structure in Minneapolis, its design led by British Columbia’s Michael Green Architecture and StructureCraft, will house tenants seeking the latest in office space.

Globe and Mail

High-tech, energy-efficient homes in Eden Park, east of Toronto

Fourteen Estates’ Eden Park subdivision in Newtonville, Ont. will be comprised of 28 energy-efficient homes built with BONE Structure’s patented steel structure construction system. “We’re definitely pushing the envelope on the modern design side and with the technology and efficiency of these homes,” said Mark Wadden, president and chief executive officer of Blue Elephant Group Inc., which is overseeing marketing and sales for Eden Park.

Property Biz Canada

In praise of invisible sustainability

In 1977, a team of clever architects and engineers built Saskatchewan Conservation House which had a compact design, continuous super-insulation, high-efficiency mechanical ventilation and summer shading. They had been asked to design a solar-powered house but Harold Orr wrote that they “came to the conclusion that solar heating of a home in Saskatchewan was not appropriate” — so instead, they came up with the simpler, passive approach.

TreeHugger

	Has road salt run its course?
	Marshes, streams and lakes lie alongside many of the roads and highways that zigzag across North America. Rock salt helps keep roads safe when winter storms hit, reducing winter road accidents. It can also have serious, negative effects on aquatic ecosystems.
	Water Canada, December 18, 2017

 

Ontario may expand Greenbelt to protect water supply

The Ontario government is looking at expanding the 810,000-hectare environmentally protected Greenbelt around the Toronto region in a bid to protect clean water supplies from encroaching urbanization and climate change. The government is studying seven areas totaling about 345,000 hectares, from Simcoe County to Niagara.

Toronto Star

Bus lanes are the new parking lanes

For a long time, American cities didn’t put much thought into what to do with the space along the curb. On streets in commercial areas, curb access was for metered parking. In residential areas, it was for free parking. In a new white paper, the National Association of City Transportation Officials lays out strategies to get the most out of this precious space.

Corporate Knights – National Association of City Transportation Report

Funicular makes Edmonton’s largest green space more accessible

The 100 Street Funicular and Frederick G. Todd Lookout, the first funicular in Canada, opened in downtown Edmonton in early December. The $24 million cable-mechanized incline elevator can transport mobility aids, bikes, and strollers to make Edmonton’s river valley more accessible.

BDC Network

Fiera Infrastructure purchases UK-based rooftop solar assets

Fiera Infrastructure Inc. (FSZ-T), has acquired 100% of Macquarie Principal Finance’s interest in a portfolio of residential and commercial rooftop and ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across the United Kingdom. The renewable energy assets will be added to Fiera Infrastructure’s fund, EagleCrest Infrastructure Canada LP.

Canada Newswire

Products, Technology and Design

Research at Québec university prioritizes sustainable wood materials

Last month, Québec City’s Université Laval announced research infrastructure plans to develop more environmentally friendly densification and finishing solutions for interior wood products. The research aims to position Canada as a global leader in ecological interior wood solutions through use of next generation interior wood products.

Construct Canada

Market Trends and Research

Optimal indoor environments boost student performance

Schools that provide optimal indoor environments see improved student performance and, if designed well, can also boost energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint. According to a report by the World Green Building Council, providing ample daylighting and energy efficient LED lighting can reduce emissions while improving achievement.

BDC Network

Renewable Energy

EU approves Poland’s program to develop clean energy

The European Union has approved Poland’s 9.4 billion euro ($11 billion) plan for developing renewable energy sources, the EU’s executive body said Wednesday. Heavily dependent on its own coal for energy, Poland is among Europe’s top carbon gas emitters and is facing pressure and receiving incentives to shift toward clean energy sources that are friendly to the environment.

Financial Post

Solar-energy dreams became a nightmare for Blind River

Sitting on the northern shores of Lake Huron is a small, sun-soaked town called Blind River. There isn’t anything particularly remarkable about the town.  Its long sandy shoreline looks like dozens of others found in communities across the province. It has a gas station, a hospital and a grocery store.

The Star Phoenix

Residential Real Estate

Ontario offering rebates for energy-efficient home renos

The province will offer thousands of dollars in rebates for homeowners who opt for energy-efficient renovations, including windows and insulation, the Ontario government in a well-timed announcement, happening on a day that the temperature dipped well below zero.

CBC

Government Programs and Incentives

Canadian ambassador for climate change resigns

Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change Jennifer MacIntyre says she is stepping down because of the sudden death of her husband. “My husband was always my greatest champion. He was so excited for me when I took on this exciting and meaningful job. But it’s a job that requires a lot of travel, and I need to be with my children now more than ever,” MacIntyre tweeted late Tuesday evening.

iPolitics

Federal bills on carbon pricing, coal, clean fuels expected in 2018

One year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got eight provinces and all three territories to agree to put a price on pollution as part of a national climate change plan. The Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change  is a mouthful to say but it was considered by many to be the first time Canada had, an actual strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

CBC

No Paris climate accord? No problem, bloc of states says

Since President Donald Trump vowed this summer to pull the United States out of an international climate accord, states looking to tackle carbon pollution have been forced to go it alone. More than a dozen formed an alliance committed to reducing emissions in line with the Paris accord, an international agreement that aims to halt the rise in global temperatures.

Financial Post

Water Management

Montreal’s plastic bag ban goes into effect Jan. 1

The Montreal bylaw banning plastic shopping bags goes into effect as of Jan. 1, 2018. And while the city is reportedly ready to give local businesses until June 5 to adapt to the change (and use up whatever inventories of bags they may possess), the ban is backed up by a schedule of fines targeting individuals and companies.

Montreal Gazette

Recyclable plastics could soon end up in Nova Scotia landfill

A change in policy halfway around the world means plastic bags that are supposed to be recycled — according to Nova Scotia law — could end up in a landfill. Film plastics — such as plastic wrap, shopping bags and bread bags — are piling up at Halifax’s material recovery facility in Bayers Lake Business Park because China is no longer importing the material and city officials can’t find anybody else to recycle it.

CBC

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