Minto’s Oakvillage looks to hackathon for solutions

BIZ  Real Estate

A three-day hackathon which asked participants to devise innovative energy, construction and circular economy solutions for Minto Communities‘ Oakvillage development in Oakville concluded with digital presentations and the selection of a winner on Nov. 26.

Alberta set to retire coal power by 2023

Real Estate  •  CBC  •  Pembina Institute

The Pembina Institute welcomed news from Capital Power Corp. of Edmonton will spend nearly $1 billion to switch two coal-fired power units to gas at its Genesee generating facility as part of a plan to stop using coal entirely by 2023.

Climate change hurting Canada’s economic growth

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

Climate change costs are already taking an increasing bite out of Canada’s economic growth and the country is falling behind other nations when it comes to planning for them, says federally funded research by the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices.

2020 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report

Energy  •  Responsible Investment Association

The 2020 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report reveals that responsible investment continues to grow rapidly in Canada. The biennial report tracks the scale, trends, and outlook for responsible investment, ones that incorporate environmental, social, and corporate governance issues into investment selection.

Cutting carbon pollution while revitalizing the auto sector

Energy  •  Clean Energy Canada

Over the past 20 years, the number of vehicles being manufactured locally has fallen by 37%. Once a global top-five auto manufacturer, Canada now doesn’t even crack the top 10. In short, transportation emissions are up and the auto manufacturing sector is down.

Sponsored by Framery Lifecycle costs: Conference rooms vs. Framery pods

Are you thinking about making a change to your company’s office space? Eyes over here please! Office tenants and managers often inquire which kind of rooms, pods or constructed conference areas, are more cost-efficient.

Automakers use solar panels to boost electric range

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

For three decades, generation after generation of engineering students have been gathering in the University of Waterloo’s Sedra Student Design Centre to create solar cars for international competitions. Mostly, the resulting vehicles have looked like campy, flat-topped, single-seat Jetsons-style monsters.

Quebec car-sharing company hopes its time has come

Energy  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

Benoît Robert may be the president of a car-sharing firm, but he arrived at a recent interview looking every inch the cyclist. His company, Montreal-based Communauto, owns 3,500 vehicles in 17 cities, but here he was in the city’s La Fontaine park, with his right pant leg tucked into his sock to avoid grease from his bike chain.

Activists find commonalities in climate, racism reform

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail

A feeling of isolation washes over Chúk Odenigbo when he walks into environment conferences. Upon entering a room of professionals, like anyone would, he looks around to see if there is anyone he recognizes or anyone looks like him.

Ont. Greenbelt Council members quit, Crombie resigns

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC

Half of the remaining members of Ontario’s Greenbelt Council followed former chairman David Crombie’s lead by stepping down in protest of pending environmental reforms. Six members, all appointed under the previous Liberal government, resigned from the council on Sunday.

Ontario announces $30M in wetlands funding

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Ontario has announced new funding for environmental protection after several conservation authority members resigned over the weekend. Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing, says the provincial government is investing $30 million to create and restore wetlands across Ontario.

Laval buys large plot of land to create urban park

Real Estate  •  CTV

The City of Laval announced the acquisition of a vast pice of land to develop an urban park. The green space, purchased for $6.84 million, includes approximately 300,000 square feet — or about 17 ice rinks — including shoreline along Riviere-des-Prairies.

United Natural Foods commits to emission reduction goal

Real Estate  •  Environmental Leader

United Natural Foods is the first North American wholesale grocery distributor to commit to set science-based emissions reduction targets covering its operations and value chain aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Canada’s first IREE certification for housing retrofit

Real Estate  •  Canada Newswire

Efficiency Capital’s comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit project across multiple WoodGreen Community Housing buildings is the first project in Canada to achieve the internationally recognized Investor Ready Energy Efficiency (IREE) certification, awarded by Green Business Certification Inc. Canada (GBCI Canada).

Future depends on sustainable buildings now: Experts

Real Estate  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Heating our buildings affordably without fossil fuels is the question addressed at a Sustainable Building Manitoba event, and it’s an urgent one, experts said. Reliance on natural gas is growing in Manitoba, a recipe for climate calamity and economic instability.

Six principles for a healthy, sustainable built environment

Real Estate  •  TreeHugger

There is LEED for green buildings and there’s WELL for health and FITWELL for fitness, and don’t forget One Planet Living and Living Building Challenge and now the Health & Wellbeing Framework from the World Green Building Council.

Why U.S. leaders must help push for ESG disclosure

Real Estate  •  Investment Executive

To truly develop unified, global standards for environment, social and governance (ESG) disclosure, two things are essential: greater U.S. involvement and stronger regulatory guidance. That was the consensus of experts participating of the 2020 Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Symposium.

Appetite for green investing exposes regulatory weakness

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

When BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager announced its plan to make environmental sustainability a key plank of its investment strategy, it was a game-changer for green investing. BlackRock vowed to dump polluting investments and to launch eco-friendly investment products.

Grid markets in the U.K. reward flexible distributed energy

Energy  •  Green Tech Media

The U.K.’s novel approach to enlisting rooftop solar, behind-the-meter batteries, electric vehicle chargers and grid-responsive appliances as an integral part of its power grids has set a series of tasks before the country’s six distribution network operators (DNOs).

Australia’s first renewable hydrogen microgrid

Energy  •  Microgrid Knowledge

Horizon Power plans to build Australia’s first renewable hydrogen microgrid, a part of the country’s effort to foster the technology. The demonstration project will test the ability of hydrogen to serve as a dispatchable power source in remote microgrids.