ISO releases global standard for carbon metrics for buildings

ISO releases global standard for carbon metrics for buildings

The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) 16745 framework is a new global international standard that will provide a set of methods to calculate, report, communicate and verify carbon metrics for emissions arising from the measured energy use during the activity of an existing building.  ISO hopes that the new standard will provide the foundation for accurate performance baselines of buildings to be drawn, national targets to be set and carbon trading to occur on a level playing field.

Proud Green Buildings – Edie.net

Flawed modeling to blame for green buildings failures

Flawed energy efficiency modeling is the reason many green buildings fail to live up to expectations on energy efficiency, according to a U.K. researcher. David Coley, a University of Bath specialist, led a team that surveyed 108 architects, engineers, and energy consultants who routinely use energy performance models.Energy models showing unreasonable results are evident at the preliminary stage on half of projects going through the LEED certification process.

BDC Network

Air pollution’s impact on solar cell effectiveness

Global solar energy production is taking a major hit due to air pollution and dust. According to a new study, airborne particles and their accumulation on solar cells are cutting energy output by more than 25 percent in certain parts of the world. The regions hardest hit are also those investing the most in solar energy installations: China, India and the Arabian Peninsula.

Green Lodging News

SAB Magazine announces 2017 Canadian Green Building Awards

The winners of the 10th annual Canadian Green Building Awards, a program hosted by Sustainable Architecture & Building [SABMag] in collaboration with the Canada Green Building Council, represent some of the best examples of sustainable, high-performance building design in Canada.  Projects were awarded in nine categories and described on the SAB website.

SAB Magazine

Research study examines tall timber buildings worldwide

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) released an original Tall Buildings in Numbers (TBIN) research study entitled “Tall Timber: A Global Audit.” This study examines recently completed and under-construction timber structure buildings as well as a wave of new proposals.

BDC Network

The genius of the healthcare microgrid: Part 3

This is third article in a series that examines the healthcare microgrid and its value to medical facilities that want to lower cost energy costs and improve electric reliability. During the Northeast blackout of 2003 half of New York City’s 58 hospitals suffered failures in their back-up power generators, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Microgrid Knowledge

DOE invests millions to improve commercial building efficiency

DOE’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) is investing more than $3 million in five projects to improve the efficiency of the nation’s commercial buildings. The investment is designed to drive innovation in multi-system technology packages while also fostering the collaboration of dynamic industry teams that include energy consultants and nongovernmental organizations, utilities and technology providers.

Proud Green Building

	Drawdown: A plan to reverse global warming
	Drawdown maps, measures, models, and describes the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. For each solution, we describe its history, the carbon impact it provides, the relative cost and savings, the path to adoption, and how it works.
	Learn more about Drawdown

 

Will giant batteries lead to giant emissions cuts?

Some states and electric power companies are rolling out a new weapon against fossil fuels — giant batteries. A growing number of states are requiring large batteries to be used to store electricity to help expand wind and solar power. The trend is catching on quickly as at least three states have created energy storage targets or incentives so far this year.

GreenBiz

Energy efficiency is a ‘win-win’ for investors

Between now and 2050, the biggest contribution to global emissions reduction has to come from economy-wide energy savings. But investment levels in energy efficiency (despite modest rises) still lag those in renewable energy generation by a large margin. And the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global investment in energy efficiency needs to reach $1 trillion per year. The current level is around $221 billion, so that is a fourfold to fivefold increase — with current technologies.

GreenBiz

Ottawa’s Thermal Energy lands heat recovery contract

Another contract with a Fortune 500 food and beverage company may help Thermal Energy International (TSX:TMG) bring some heat back to its recent stagnating revenues. This is the sixth heat recovery project Thermal Energy has installed for the client, in addition to converting more than 30 of its sites to the firm’s flagship steam-trap systems.

Ottawa Business Journal

ECO Canada’s Internship Program awarded NRC funds

ECO Canada’s Internship Program received substantial funding that provides up to 50% in salary for environmental jobs in Natural Resource Sectors. Funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Jobs – Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP), eligible employers who work in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) can receive up to $15,000 to onboard new environmental positions.

Canada Newswire

	100 companies produce 71% of emissions
	Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. The Carbon Majors Report  “pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may hold the key to systemic change on carbon emissions,” says Pedro Faria, technical director, CDP.
	The Guardian, July 10, 2017

 

Chicago named greenest city in U.S. in CBRE study

After placing second last year, the Chicago market claimed the top spot with 66% of its space qualified as green certified according to the fourth annual Green Building Adoption Index study by CBRE and Maastricht University. San Francisco slipped to second, while Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis again claimed spots in the top 5 in the 2017 report.

CSR Wire – Energy Manager Today – Bloomberg

A microgrid grows in Brooklyn — is this the future of energy?

In a corner of a ground-floor office in Brooklyn, Lawrence Orsini closely watched software startup LO3 Energy has set out to create what it calls a “microgrid” platform that has transformed a local neighborhood into a test hub for a new electricity system. If it ramps, participants will be producing power from their brownstones and selling electricity from one building to others, and back to the electric utility.

Green Biz

Sports venue owners get help from Penn team

Professional sports franchises that face challenges when it comes to making their venues more sustainable are getting some help from researchers at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. A large part of the challenge in reducing a venue’s environmental impact is convincing fans to act in environmentally responsible ways.

Environmental Leader

Apple building another 100% renewable-powered data center

Apple announced this week that it will begin construction on a data center in Denmark that will run entirely on renewable energy. The $921 million project will begin operations in 2019 in Aabenraa in southern Denmark near the German border.

Energy Manager Today

Products, Technology and Design

The secrets held within Ancient Roman concrete

Ancient Roman seawalls that have been exposed to the elements for over 2,000 years are finally beginning to reveal the secret of their longevity to researchers trying to figure out what makes them so durable. Lasting for 2,000 years in impressive enough, but even more impressive is the fact that the concrete barriers have actually strengthened over that time period.

BDC Network

Green Building Rating Systems

CaGBC job posting: Manager, Zero Carbon Building Program

The Canada Green Building Council is seeking an agent for change, to champion the CaGBC’s efforts to dramatically reduce GHG emissions from building operations. The CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Program is Canada’s first green building program to make carbon emissions the key indicator for building performance. The release of the Zero Carbon Building Standard in June has 16 pilot projects already in process.

Canada Green Building Council

CaGBC announces 100th LEED® certification in Manitoba

The Canada Green Building Council^® (CaGBC) and the CaGBC Manitoba Chapter announced that Manitoba has reached its 100^th LEED^®certified project. Totaling 601,753 sq. m. of space, these 100 LEED certifications represent Manitoba’s greenest and most sustainable buildings, with 72 certifications in Winnipeg, six in Brandon, and the remaining 22 projects spread across the province.

Canada Green Building Council – REMI Network

Market Trends and Research

Without funding, Canadian climate science is in peril

A crisis is looming for Canadian climate research on scientific issues of critical relevance to Canadians. With anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases driving rapid global warming, Arctic sea ice loss and permafrost retreat, climate change is set to affect Canadians in myriad ways. But up-to-date scientific research and information are urgently needed.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Why we should be building out of sunshine

Bruce King has written a new book, coming out in the fall, called The New Carbon Architecture, with the subhead ‘Building Out of Sky’. By this he means building out of materials that come from the sky; carbon from the CO2 in the air, sunlight and water, which through the process of photosynthesis turns them into plants which we can turn into building materials.

TreeHugger

Shading and lighting retrofit reduces energy usage

The project was launched to show that installing the latest generation of smart, actively controlled energy efficient lighting and shading can dramatically lower energy costs and enhance the quality of the work environment in office buildings. 

Energy Manager Today

Government Programs and Incentives

Opinion: Indigenous consent is key to sustainable development

On June 30, the Trudeau government quietly released its highly anticipated approach to revamping the federal environmental assessment process. Expectations were high following the recommendations of the government-appointed expert panel. Sadly, the Liberal government opted for the status quo over innovative change. Nowhere is this more evident than in the proposed approach to indigenous peoples’ role in the process.

Vancouver Sun

19 G20 members say Paris climate deal “irreversible”

Nineteen members of the G20 group of leading industrialised and emerging economies underscored their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, leaving the United States isolated. The US also was the only country to opt-out of a first-ever G20 action plan that outlines steps to implement the deal and drive a global energy transition.

Eco Business

Cities and Towns

The Dutch ‘Windwheel’ a sustainable landmark for Rotterdam

Hailed by the Windwheel Corporation as “a true showcase for climate architecture,” the Dutch Windwheel is a unique building focused on being as sustainable as possible while still providing a complete mixed-use development for the city of Rotterdam. An innovation consortium that includes Arup, the Royal BAM Group, Deltares, Dura Vermeer, ECN, Eneco, Evides, Siemens, SPIE and TNO is researching these technologies.

BDC Network

Waste Management

Ikea saves $1M by tackling food waste

I noted with surprise that reducing food waste has been ranked as the #3 climate solution in Paul Hawken’s Drawdown. I mean, I knew it was a moral imperative and a common sense priority, but the fact that cutting our food waste could be one of the most important ways to help save our civilization had somewhat passed me by.

TreeHugger

Other

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