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Quest carbon capture facility ahead of expectations

4 years ago

The Quest carbon capture and storage facility near Fort Saskatchewan, AB., has captured hundreds of thousands of tons more carbon than forecast, and operates at a 35 per cent lower cost than anticipated, according to Shell Canada Ltd., data.

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Seventeen Canadian cleantech startups have received funding from the federal government through Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) seed fund.   Piloted in 2019, the fund was expanded to support up to 100 startups that each receive between $50,000 to $100,000 from SDTC.

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The economic devastation created by COVID-19 is staggering and now the Canadian economy needs resources to recover. Fortunately, we have them with over 120 million tonnes of biomass: wood fibre, agricultural waste and food waste all suitable for manufacturing fuels.

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In an Australian eucalyptus forest, six towers made of 25-meter-tall white pipes poke above the treetops. In 2012, carbon dioxide gas started flowing from the tubes, raising levels inside the rings to nearly 40 per cent above the global average CO2 concentration.

Building Lasting Change

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Over the last few months, most of us have been so focused on achieving productivity — or at least maintaining operations — remotely that it may be tempting to avoid thinking how centralized operations will need to change when we finally reconvene.

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The University of Toronto has announced that Pomerleau has been awarded a design-bridge-build contract for the construction of a new residence hall to be built to Passive House standards in Toronto’s Scarborough community.

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Canadian green construction technology company, Nexii Building Solutions Inc., announced three new manufacturing plants across North America. The company is rapidly accelerating the roll-out of its new green construction technologies to meet escalating customer demand.

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President Trump has often claimed he was the world’s greatest property developer, and he does know something about gold glazing. Also, one has to point out net-zero can be a difficult concept to grasp, even for stable geniuses.

Energy Profiles

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There is plenty of interest in residential solar power systems among people forced to spend more time at home, however in Alberta, sales have been slowed by the end of a rebate program covering 35 per cent of the cost.

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Recycled ocean plastic certification makes sense. Manufacturers need assurances the material they are receiving will perform as expected and consumers need assurances. However, the preponderance of new recycled plastics certifications is rapidly adding cost and complexity.

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There is no denying that single-use plastic has been a lifesaver in the fight against Covid-19, especially for frontline health workers. It has also facilitated adherence to social-distancing rules, by enabling home delivery of basic goods, especially food.

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The theoretical has suddenly become real. Climate activists’ hopeful pleas for dramatic cuts in carbon emissions are now in front of hard-nosed policymakers, as governments worldwide perform a hard reboot of their pandemic-frozen economies. It’s a moment without precedent.

ICS Facilities Services

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Shares of Bloom Energy surged nearly 35 per cent on Wednesday, lifting the fuel cell maker above its initial public offering price for the first time since 2018, after the California-based company announced it would enter the commercial hydrogen market.

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IBM has reduced its operational CO2 emissions by 39.7 per cent since 2005, according to IBM’s sustainability report. The achievement puts IBM ahead of schedule in reaching its goal of a 40 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025.

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From wildfires to hurricanes and rising sea levels, residential and commercial real estate has seen the potential for climate-related risk globally. MSCI Inc. has launched a new solution to help real estate investors quantify that risk for their property portfolios.

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For years, corporate reporters responsible for creating sustainability reports and reporting environmental, social and governance data to various other organizations have been frustrated by the alphabet soup of standards and frameworks: CDP, GRI, IIRC, PRI, SASB, TCFD, UNGC and more.

Informa - Land and Development

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The European Union is poised to speed ahead with the European Green Deal. China will build on its pre-pandemic solar power, electric vehicle, and batteries advantages. The U.S., on the other hand, is increasingly at risk of being left behind.

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Corporate Knights released a letter June 29, signed by 47 business leaders, calling for a bold green recovery coming out of the COVID 19 crisis. The signatories lead companies employing over 200,000 people in Canada and with annual revenues of $140 billion.

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For three years, nine storeys beneath downtown Ottawa, crews have been tunneling a solution to one of this city’s oldest problems: sewage. The tunnel is designed to hold for treatment sewage-contaminated stormwater that would otherwise flow into the Ottawa River.

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At the end of 2016, the regional municipality that includes Fort McMurray bluntly declared it would not entertain property buyouts from residents in flood-prone areas.  Now, some officials are almost begging owners in frequently flooded zones to consider moving elsewhere.

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