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Morguard continues to cut energy, water usage, GHGs
Morguard continues to cut energy, water usage, GHGs
Energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage have all been reduced since 2015 as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues remain a top priority for real estate giant Morguard Corporation. The company has initiatives spanning 321 commercial and multi-suite residential properties.
Manulife earns straight A’s from U.N. for PRI report
Manulife Investment Management announced that it has been recognized with top scores (A+ and A) in all submitted categories from the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment report for 2018.
Windmill gets listed on THE OCMX
• Windmill Development News Release
The OCMX™ announce the listing of Windmill Development Group to its online portal. Windmill is a 30-person real estate investment, consulting, development and management company with offices in Ottawa and Toronto dedicated to the commercial application of green building practices.
BMO is winding down reinsurance business
Bank of Montreal has decided to exit the majority of its business that provides insurance to insurers, partly due to climate change. Canada’s fourth-largest lender had previously said it was reviewing ways to keep its reinsurance business more consistent.
Amazon, Walmart blame Tesla solar panels for fires
Walmart Inc. isn’t the only corporation that has seen its Tesla solar panels catch fire. On Friday, Amazon.com said a blaze on the roof of one of its warehouses in California involved a solar system Tesla’s SolarCity division installed.
Uncovering the viability of mid-size rooftop PV arrays
Inputs for assessing the financial viability of rooftop PV solar arrays have been shifting over the past several years. On one hand, government grants for system installations and power buy-back programs have all but disappeared across Canada.
Alberta solar project would be Canada’s largest
• CBC • Calgary Herald
The largest solar energy project in Canada has received provincial approval and is expected to start construction in Alberta next year. The project in Vulcan County will include 1.5 million solar panels that will provide enough energy — 400 megawatts — to power 100,000 homes.
First-of-its-kind geothermal project underway in Alberta
• CBC • Canada Newswire
The president of a company behind a $10-million Alberta geothermal pilot project says the tech is the first-of-its-kind. It’s a “game changer,” Alberta Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda wrote in a tweet after visiting the project near Rocky Mountain House.
Tiny homes ecovillage proposal in Alberta all but dead
• CBC
The “ecovillage” project in Okotoks, Alta. has been hotly debated in the town since it was first proposed in 2017 and shifted locations after nearby residents complained. On Monday, town council voted on first reading not to fund the project.
The OBJ examines the business of agriculture in Ottawa
On a recent August evening, I dined under the stars in an apple orchard where tree branches already drooped under the weight of their ripening fruit. It was a magical evening planned by the Heart of Orléans BIA at Orléans Fruit Farm.
Toronto airport plan to test federal sustainability goals
The plan for an airport on rural land north of Pickering was first hatched more than four decades ago, when Pierre Trudeau’s government expropriated 18,600 acres of farmland, including two villages, to create an airport on the city’s western flank.
Building Decarbonization Coalition’s ‘all-electric’ plan
• GreenBiz
The City of Berkeley made history in July as the first to ban natural gas hookups to new homes. It likely won’t be the last, part of a push by the cities across the state to reach deep decarbonization goals.
What good are city clean-energy targets?
• GreenBiz
The United States has seen a groundswell of local efforts and leadership in the fight against climate change. Many cities have committed to power their own operations and 132 U.S. cities and counties have set 100 per cent clean energy goals.
Edmonton declares state of climate emergency
Edmonton has joined other municipalities and declared a state of climate emergency, a move one resident likened to pulling a fire alarm. Larry Zhong calls himself an introvert but with the threat of global warming, felt compelled to speak out.
Hurricanes getting harder for CRE owners to deal with
The commercial real estate industry is more conscious than ever of the effects of major storms. However, whatever improvements can be made to the built environment might not be enough to counteract the effects of ongoing climate and demographic changes.
Marriott joins other hotel chains, eliminates little bottles
• CBC
It could be the beginning of the end for tiny toiletries. Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, said Wednesday it will eliminate small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel worldwide by December 2020.
Holt Renfrew signs G7 fashion pact
• Canada Newswire • Sustainable Brands
Holt Renfrew & Co. has signed the G7 Fashion Pact, pledging to improve sustainability standards across the retail industry. It focuses on action in three essential areas for safeguarding the planet: stopping global warming, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans.
Melting glaciers consume carbon dioxide
A new study has found bodies of glacier-fed water consume significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The absence of life, alongside a high prevalence of sediment, leads to a process called chemical weathering, which consumes the CO2.
Wildfires turning forest into carbon source: research
• Globe and Mail • CBC
Bigger, hotter wildfires are turning Canada’s vast boreal forest into a significant new source of climate-changing greenhouse gases, scientists say. The shift, which may have already happened, could force firefighters to change how they battle northern blazes.
UN head warns of ‘dramatic climate emergency’
The head of the U.N. is urging world leaders to step up in the face of “a dramatic climate emergency” as wildfires blaze across Amazon rainforest, while politicians squabble over whether carbon price is an essential tool or a rip-off.
Industry Events
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Greenbuild 2024: Built to Scale
Nov 12 2024
to Nov 15 2024
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
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Sustainable Finance Forum 2024
Nov 28 2024
to Nov 29 2024
Shaw Centre, Ottawa
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