Mohawk lab to be Canada’s largest net-zero building

Mohawk lab to be Canada’s largest net-zero building

Mohawk College’s Fennell campus will soon be home the largest net-zero energy use building in Canada. The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation (JCP&I) will open its doors to students in September.  A net-zero building means the structure itself generates its own clean-reusable energy and uses it as its main power source.

CBC

Hydro-Quebec pursues Lac-Mégantic microgrid

Another utility – this one Hydro-Québec – is moving into microgrids. The hydroelectricity giant announced it will develop the Lac-Mégantic microgrid, a project it describes as a major step in its technological evolution. The public utility is teaming with municipality Ville de Lac-Mégantic to build a solar plus storage microgrid in a new downtown area. The partners hope to create a neighborhood that will serve as a technological showcase.

Microgrid Knowledge

Vancouver’s SPUD, Wal-Mart team up in sustainability push

Vancouver-based Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery (SPUD) announced a deal last week that will see Wal-Mart (WMT-N) start using SPUD’s Food-X Urban Delivery program to deliver groceries to homes around Metro Vancouver via its delivery network, shared warehousing and order consolidation, beginning this summer. SPUD says the partnership will slash waste, truck trips and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the region.

Sustainable Biz Canada

McDonald’s takes steps to cut greenhouse gases

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD-N), on a quest to boost sales by improving its image, is vowing to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions. The world’s largest restaurant chain is adding LED lights and more efficient kitchen equipment, such as grills and fryers, in a bid to reduce emissions at its restaurants and offices by 36 per cent by the year 2030 from 2015 levels.

Vancouver Sun

Feds prequalify consortiums to bid on district heating system

The federal government has narrowed the field of companies vying for a 30-year contract to upgrade and operate the massive system that heats and cools more than 80 buildings in the National Capital Region. The Public Services and Procurement Canada says it had prequalified two consortiums to bid on a full request for proposals.

Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa offering $500M for projects that cut greenhouse gases

Ottawa is offering $500 million to businesses, local governments and advocacy groups for new ideas on how to cut Canada’s carbon footprint. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says the government’s Low Carbon Economy Challenge will dole out the money over the next four years to fund projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while also saving energy and creating green jobs.

Winnipeg Free Press – Globe and Mail

LEED v4.1: A game-changer or business as usual?

Feeling like you’re just settling in to LEED v4? It’s hard to believe It’s been four years since the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released LEED v4, and now, LEED v4.1, announced last November at Greenbuild, will be released by the USGBC later this year.

BDC Network

 

	Conflux Canada pushes sustainability agenda
	Getting the Conflux Canada conference off the ground nerve-wracking wracking. But as founder James McNeil prepares for year two he’s already looking for ways to grow the event, which focuses on sustainability, clean tech, and green buildings.
	Sustainable Biz Canada, March 21, 2018

 

How to minimize the challenges to portfolio-wide retrofits: RMI

Portfolio property owners own most commercial buildings and are facing unprecedented pressure from the market to upgrade their building stock to be more intelligent, comfortable and environmentally sustainable. Yet, most building energy retrofits miss the distinct needs of their owners. By using a new toolset portfolio, owners can overcome these challenges and reap savings,, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

Energy Manager Today

Developers are preparing for the realities of net-zero

In 2017, California passed the first net-zero building code in the United States (for new residential construction by 2020). New York City; Washington, D.C.; and other cities have made net-zero building commitments as well, including both new and existing buildings.  A few pioneering development companies are figuring out how to deliver net-zero and net-zero-ready projects with a high net-present value at scale.

Urban Land – Environmental Leader

Why real estate and insurance lobbies impact climate policy

Climate change is often seen as synonymous with global warming, a misperception deriving from the historical mislabeling of the phenomenon. Certainly, “warming” is part of it, but the real danger is the increasing variance or the greater-than-normal fluctuations in all aspects of climate: temperature; humidity; winds; rain; snow; hurricanes; seasons; etc. 

GreenBiz – GreenBiz

Are corporations turning climate-risk disclosure into action?

It has been eight months since the launch of global Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) guidelines aimed at helping companies and investors better prepare for climate change and the low carbon transition. The general consensus is these crucial recommendations are gaining important traction. Since their release, there has been a marked uptick in corporate and investor interest.

GreenBiz – Environmental Leader

	Green building materials worth $365B by 2022
	The global green building materials market size is expected to reach USD 364.6 billion by 2022, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Growing demand for environmental-friendly and sustainable building materials is expected to propel the growth of the market.
	PR Newswire, March 15, 2018

 

Green Schools Alliance launches new management service

Green Schools Alliance recently announced an innovative service for participating member schools to lower energy costs and to increase energy literacy among students and other stakeholders. Built on world-class patented solutions from Noveda Technologies, the services range from basic energy monitoring to deploying cutting-edge energy conservation measures.

PR Newswire

Pittsburgh looks to build an airport microgrid

Pittsburgh wants an airport microgrid. And developers — many of them — want to build it. The Allegheny County Airport Authority has received 64 responses to its request for expressions of interest seeking a developer to design, build, own and operate a microgrid at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Microgrid Knowledge

San Francisco Marriott’s ‘own our block’ initiative

The San Francisco Marriott Marquis got a head start on its resolution to create a cleaner community when the downtown hotel launched its “Own Our Block” program on Dec. 4, 2017. Since then, San Francisco Marriott Marquis volunteers have clocked in 156 hours of cleaning sidewalks and streets and removed approximately 780 pounds of trash from the surrounding neighbourhood.

Green Lodging News

A 100% geothermal community in the U.S. reaches milestone

A new neighbourhood development in northeast Jefferson County, Ky., has completed its 200th geothermal home. Norton Commons, which sits on nearly 600 acres, aims to create the nation’s largest 100 per cent geothermal community. Currently, Norton Commons includes more than 1,200 residences, more than 60 businesses, three schools, along with dozens of parks, pools, and green space.

Energy Manager Today

Products, Technology and Design

Do sustainability tools work? How would we know?

A few decades ago, the sustainability movement lacked tools, so I started making some. Assessments. Indicators. Workshops. Even sustainability songs. The tools seemed to work — or at least, people seemed to like them. I recruited friends and colleagues into the process, we packaged up our most universally applicable tools into a suite, Accelerator; and I started teaching workshops.

Green Biz

Passivhaus is a standard of luxury

Passivhaus, or Passive House, was originally all about saving energy and sets strict limits on heat loss and air infiltration. The very rich people in this world don’t worry much about energy costs, yet more and more of the nicest houses in the world are being built to Passivhaus standards. One incredible example is this Bloomsbury Town House in London, renovated by Prewett Bizley Architects.

TreeHugger

‘Value engineering’ builds better, cheaper Passivhaus buildings

“Value engineering” and “design-build” are every architect’s nightmare. Nick Grant makes them almost cuddly. Few words strike horror into the hearts of architects like “value engineering” where the so-called experts roll into your office and strip the life out of your building looking for cost savings.

TreeHugger

Market Trends and Research

Carbon markets must balance stability and adaptability

The launch of China’s national emissions trading system (ETS) in December marked a major milestone in global efforts to deliver on the Paris Agreement. The addition of China’s ETS means more than seven gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — roughly 15 per cent of global emissions — are now covered by carbon markets.

Eco Business

To fight climate change, we need to make cooling a hot topic

A lack of understanding of the threat air conditioning systems pose to the environment is masking a crisis created by these so-called “carbon bombs in a box.” Governments, businesses, and consumers must be made aware of the potential for more sustainable, energy-efficient cooling to slow global warming and reduce humanity’s carbon footprint, experts said at a conference on the topic in Bangkok recently.

Eco Business

High Arctic ice flowing south due to climate change: Researcher

After a Canadian icebreaker was diverted from a research mission in the Arctic to assist with never-before-seen levels of ice off the coast of Newfoundland, a climate-change researcher is sounding the alarm about the potential for increasingly treacherous conditions in the North Atlantic.  A team of scientists from five Canadian universities had planned to head out on the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen to study the effects of climate change.

CBC

Commercial real estate

First Elements hotel in Illinois gets eco-friendly makeover

Element Hotels, part of Marriott International, and CTwo Hotels Monday announced the opening of Element Moline, marking the debut of the eco-conscious, extended-stay brand in Illinois. With the support and inspiration of the Moline Historic Society, Element Moline offers guests eco-friendly and wellness-focused amenities within the historical surroundings of one of Moline’s oldest buildings.

PR Newswire

Corporate Sustainability

Fannie Mae wins recognition as largest issuer of green bond

The Climate Bond Initiative, as part of the Third Annual Green Bond Pioneer Awards, recognized Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) as the 2017 Largest Issuer of Green Bonds in the world.  In 2017, Fannie Mae issued $27.6 billion in Green Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) backed by either green building certified properties or properties targeting a reduction in energy or water consumption.

PR Newswire

Water Management

What happens when we run out of water?

The clock ominously ticks down toward the projected “Day Zero” when Cape Town, South Africa, will run out of water. This historically catastrophic event puts heightened urgency on this year’s World Water Day on March 22 — an annual event celebrated across the globe that brings attention to local and global water issues.

Victoria Times Colonist

Waste Management

Cities look to ‘zero waste’ plans to reach sustainability goals

Smart cities’ roads to greater sustainability are long and sometimes difficult to navigate. Successful plans tend to involve pursuing sustainability from a number of fronts simultaneously, which further complicates the issue. A recent report from NRG Energy found tackling energy sustainability is a significant challenge, though cities of all sizes can do it by first assessing their unique resources and strengths.

Smart Cities Dive – Smart Cities Dive

Dog waste, plastic bags could be accepted in Ottawa’s green bin

You could soon be able to toss dog waste and plastic bags in the green bin.  Starting in mid-2019, plastic bags and dog waste could be included in green bins for weekly pick-up in Ottawa. Adding plastic bags and dog waste to the contract would cost the city an additional $626,000 a year.

CTV News

Stickers on fruits and vegetables not biodegradable

Most people don’t pay much attention to the little stickers on fruits and vegetables, but for Calgary’s waste and recycling program, they can be a bit of a pain. A recent tweet from the city’s official account reminded Calgarians the stickers are not biodegradable and should be removed before fruit and vegetable peels and rinds are thrown in green carts to be composted.

CBC

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