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CRE leaders seek full disclosure of building energy, carbon data
CRE leaders seek full disclosure of building data
The first results of The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) Disclosure Challenge and its five voluntary participants show how far Canada’s commercial real estate industry must still go to significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings.
Ottawa aims to surpass 2030 emissions targets
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Ottawa is looking at increasing its 2030 emissions reduction targets as it charts a path for Canada to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Justin Trudeau has tasked him with figuring out how to surpass the 2030 target.
Mark Carney a new U.N. climate change envoy
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will lead a push by the United Nations to make the finance sector take proper account of the risks posed by climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.
Highlights from this year’s Greenbuild Conference
Sustainability leaders from across descended onto Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from Nov. 19 – 22 for the Greenbuild International Conference. The event’s theme was ‘A New Living Standard’ connected buildings to the health & well-being of the people who inhabit them.
Butterfly inspires glass covering of Winnipeg building
The scales on the wings of the Morpho butterfly inspired a Swiss company to develop a glass covering for solar panels, and Winnipeg’s Red River College will be the first in North America to benefit from the research.
OAA demonstrates new HQ’s net-zero values
Earlier this fall, the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) completed its staged move back to its headquarters in the Toronto suburb of Don Mills after completing its Renew+Refresh retrofit project intended to meet the 2030 Challenge.
Timber office concept proposed for The Junction
Hot on the heels of the revitalization of the Tower Automotive Building in Toronto’s Lower Junction neighbourhood the latest plan seeks Site Plan Approval for two buildings under their “T3” timber-frame concept.
6 climate-friendly ways to heat and cool buildings
Using local energy sources such as lake water, wood waste or even garbage to heat and cool buildings is one way for communities to cut their greenhouse gas emissions — the goal of this week’s UN climate summit.
New buildings and embodied carbon
The embodied carbon emissions of building products and construction represent a significant portion of global emissions: concrete, iron, and steel alone produce ~9% of annual global GHG emissions; embodied carbon emissions from the building sector produce 11% of annual global GHG emissions.
Prefab increases building efficiency, cuts waste: expert
Maik Gehloff, a University of Northern B.C. instructor, speaking at the Wood Solutions Fair held in Mississauga said that while the public might consider prefab as second-grade it is far from the reality of products manufactured in today’s prefab industry.
Smaller buildings spared Ontario benchmarking
A recently announced move to halt the phased rollout of the provincial energy and water reporting and benchmarking (EWRB) program comes just ahead of the scheduled 2020 inclusion of buildings in the 50,000 to 99,999-square-foot range.
Talking about climate change – even if you disagree
The majority of Americans accept human-caused climate change as a reality. National surveys report 70% of the country thinks this way. The catch: Only 3 in 10 Americans actually talk about climate change. “Climate silence,” observers say, is hampering our ability to take action.
Science Based Targets initiative releases first report
For the first time since launching in 2015, the Science Based Targets initiative published an assessment of its progress. The new report released this week shows that nearly 300 companies have set emissions reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
Hydro-Québec launches solar project
Hydro-Québec has just received the green light from Quebec to begin construction of its first real solar power plants, which will occupy by 2020 the equivalent of 38 football fields on the South Shore of Montreal.
Remote B.C. school gets most power from solar system
• CBC
A school in the Nemiah Valley, two-and-a-half hours southwest of Williams Lake, B.C. is trying to reduce its diesel consumption by getting most of its energy from solar panels that cost the school $450,000 with an estimated seven-year payoff.
B.C. community to open solar farm owned by First Nation
The chief of a small Indigenous community in British Columbia’s Interior says he expects the power to go on any day now at one of the first B.C. solar farms 100 per cent owned and operated by a First Nation.
BMO exploring financing for carbon-capture project
Bank of Montreal is exploring transition funding for a carbon-capture project as it seeks to mobilize $400 billion for sustainable finance by 2025. Transition financing helps companies finance the move to less carbon-intensive operations.
Utilities warming up to BluWave’s smart-grid solution
No one can accuse Devashish Paul and his team at Ottawa’s BluWave-ai of padding the results from beta-testing for their smart-grid technology. The startup makes artificial intelligence software that predicts the energy a utility’s power grid needs to meet demand.
Cleantech CEO Miriam Tuerk on doing what you love
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Miriam Tuerk, 58, is co-founder and CEO of Clear Blue Technologies International Inc., which has installed almost 4,000 solar and other off-grid power systems in 37 countries.
Waste Connections aims for more board diversity
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Waste Connections, a member of the S&P/TSX 60, faced a shareholder proposal this spring from the B.C Teachers’ Federation calling for a formal, written diversity policy, plans and a timeline for increasing the number of female board members and executives.
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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