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CF fine tunes Canada-wide EV charging program

3 years ago

There is a commercially viable future for electric vehicle (EV) charging in the commercial real estate industry, but that day has yet to arrive says an executive with Cadillac Fairview, which has hundreds of EV chargers in its portfolio.

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A ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in Quebec starting 2035 is the flagship measure of the Legault government’s green economy plan and will make up a large portion of the province’s $6.7 billion-investment over the next five years.

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As Canada battles climate change, nothing is more important than reducing transportation emissions, which are second only to oil-and-gas extraction as a share of the country’s carbon footprint, by addressing the millions of commuters burning gas while sitting in traffic.

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The second in command at the federal Environment Ministry speaking online at Vancouver’s annual zero waste conference challenged Canadians to continue to speak up about the problem of plastic pollution and push elected officials, scientists and businesses to do more.

Energy Profiles

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GRESB, the global benchmark for environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of commercial real estate portfolios and infrastructure investments, is moving out from the umbrella of the Green Building Certification Institute to establish independent oversight through a new non-profit foundation.

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On the first day of the 2020 Greenbuild virtual conference, a group of U.S. Green Building Council leaders talked about health and well-being, decarbonization, renewable energy, water efficiency and resiliency and how LEED can help combat climate change.

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Canada’s central bank and financial regulator are teaming up with a group of banks and insurance companies to gauge how risks related to climate change and a transition toward a low carbon economy could have an effect on the financial system.

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Shell Canada will plant more than 800,000 trees in the interior of B.C. next year, a project that the company hopes will create valuable carbon offsets in the future while pushing the federal government for a national greenhouse gas offset program.

Yardi Marketplace

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The federal government is set to launch a hydrogen strategy that will vault Canada into world leadership in the clean-energy market and help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said Thursday.

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Alberta’s Industrial Heartland near Edmonton has the potential to be Canada’s first hydrogen production hub as Canada “is strategically positioned to benefit from taking a leadership role in the transition to a net-zero hydrogen economy” according to a new report.

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Ottawa’s Waterotor Energy Technologies says it’s discovered a commercially viable way to generate electricity from slow-moving water is quickly picking up steam, thanks to some big-name backers. The device harnesses the power of water flowing three kilometres per hour.

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The City of Pittsburgh is hoping to change its Uptown community, called an Ecoinnovation District, in part by requiring that both commercial and residential buildings in the district be designed to Passive House standards to create a more sustainable neighborhood.

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Adam Corneil, North Vancouver founder of Unbuilders launched in 2018 with the intention of deconstructing, or “unbuilding,” houses piece by piece and salvaging the materials to be re-sold into the supply chain has raised $600,000 due to participation in Dragon’s Den.

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After the “pause” in construction in Quebec was lifted in May, concrete pumper trucks were back at work on a construction site near my home. Concrete is back despite it being one of the most environmentally damaging materials on Earth.

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Elaina’s Sustainability Fund, by the Institute of Real Estate Management Foundation, is accepting applications for funding to support green real estate management initiatives to encourage innovation or adoption of sustainability initiatives for buildings where people live, work, shop, and play.

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The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has opened a new advanced materials research facility in the City of Mississauga to serve as a national clean energy hub supporting research into new materials for industrial development and commercialization.

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Urban wetlands are GTA workhorses. Maybe they are not as awe-inspiring as wetlands in provincial parks, but they are doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to flood protection and water-quality improvement, retaining storm waters and removing nutrients.

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The Government of Canada is investing $580,902 in Curve Lake Catch Basin and Roads Stormwater Improvements through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario is providing $141,972, while Curve Lake First Nation is contributing $51,662.

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Construction has begun on a new 10,800-square-foot environmental response depot in Port Hardy, B.C. Funded under the Government of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan, the new facility will strengthen the Canadian Coast Guard’s capacity to respond to marine pollution incidents.

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ScaleUP Ventures, an Ontario government-backed venture capital firm that started as an experiment to foster Canadian innovation and aimed to connect Canada’s corporate giants with promising domestic software startups, is transforming into a clean-technology financier.

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