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Passive House construction available to the masses

4 years ago

Sustainable homes are no longer reserved exclusively for the elite. “If you can afford to build a new house, you can afford to build a Passive House,” said Natalie Leonard, an engineer and the president of Passive Design Solutions.

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A new report titled Ahead of the Storm from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo outlines 20 measures that can be taken by commercial real estate owners and managers to enhance flood resilience.

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U.S. House leaders dropped new legislation November 21, 2019 to establish a nationwide goal to achieve net-zero-carbon emissions across the entire economy by 2050. The legislation—100% Clean Economy Act of 2019—has broad support with more than 100 cosponsors in the House.

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The City of London should set a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the city by 2050. According to a staff report, it is an aggressive emissions reduction goal that would put London “at the leading edge” of cities.

Energy Profiles Limited

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Lufa Farms is building its fourth commercial rooftop greenhouse which will measure 163,800 square feet (about three football fields), making it the world’s largest rooftop farm. This milestone also coincides with the 10th anniversary of Lufa Farms’ 2009 founding.

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Gardens have been hitting new heights in urban centres across Canada, as highrise buildings literally raise the profiles of urban landscapes. If we think of a vertical tower as a vessel for soil and plant life, what are the possibilities?

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Sitting kitty-corner from the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club, a centennial-era tower is undergoing a remarkable transformation. In a caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation, the Passive House Standard is turning the 18-storey Ken Sobel Tower into a model of 21st-century efficiency.

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The Royal Canadian Navy’s new Tribute Tower at CFB Stadacona in Halifax has received LEED (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design) Silver certification, SNC-Lavalin announced recently.

BOMA

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The team behind the Senneville-sur-le-parc real estate development project celebrated the first groundbreaking on October 25. The unique real estate project is located in the heart of the Village of Senneville, a jewel of the West Island.

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Greenfield Global, Canada’s largest ethanol producer, and Hy2gen Canada, the first mover for commercial production of green hydrogen are creating a joint venture to build a facility in Québec for industrial-scale production of green hydrogen and other zero-carbon energy products.

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At the launch of the revamped mission statement and new corporate identity of Martin Roy et associés, engineer Martin Roy commented on the ambitious announcements made recently in favour of a carbon-neutral Canada and Montréal by 2050.

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Leopold Beaulieu has always been convinced that a diversified economy should be a balance between equity-owned companies and co-operative organizations. This led him to become the first executive director of the Caisse Solidaire Desjardins and founding CEO of Fondaction.

Global Property Market 2019

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So-called sustainable funds, which pick stocks based on environmental, social or governance (ESG) criteria, are on track to take in more than $16 billion in net new deposits this year, triple last year’s record of $5.5 billion, according to fund tracker Morningstar Inc.

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After selling three green project bonds in the U.S. and marketing a new one in Canada, Brookfield’s renewable power business is setting its sights on South America and Asia. Brookfield is selling bonds to refinance four hydroelectric facilities in Ontario.

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HSBC Bank Canada is supporting Canadian companies to meet their environmental and sustainability goals with the launch of new Green Finance products, the first of their kind in Canada aligned to the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles.

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Duke Realty, the leading domestic only, pure-play logistics property REIT in the U.S., recently closed a $400 million green bond offering as part of its commitment to sustainability. It plans to deliver more than $1 billion in industrial assets with LEED® certifications.

BOMA

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Buildings drive up to 80 per cent of the peak demand on the grid. Peak demand drives grid investments in generation, transmission and distribution assets, so there is a huge opportunity to balance building demand with electricity system supply.

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The Holy Grail of local energy lies in the ability of customers to sell to one another. LO3 Energy took a big step with a program that lets homeowners sell renewables directly to businesses served by Vermont’s Green Mountain Power.

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There is more technology in your pocket than in the entire building where you work. “A few years ago, we learned that an iPhone was much smarter than a building,” says Boudewijn Ruitenburg, of building management technology company EDGE Technologies.

 

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There is no denying climate change is a mainstream issue, as evidenced by vigorous debates in the recent federal election. While governments struggle to come up with public-policy responses, global investors and financial institutions are not standing around.

Matrix360

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If current patterns of behavior and decision-making with capital markets continue along the current trajectory the global climate crisis will deepen. To tackle this challenge, Ceres has launched a new center, the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets.

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The term ‘stranded assets’ has long been used to describe oil, gas and coal reserves that devalued due to their carbon intensity. It is now being applied to other sectors at risk of losing value due to climate change.

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“Smart beta.” It’s a term of art on Wall Street, a blend of active and passive investing strategies that are said to provide a risk/return profile that is more attractive than a singularly active or passive investment product.

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Over five million electric vehicles were on the road at the end of 2018, in the form of electric cars, trucks and buses. Two million were added in 2018. Vehicle electrification is likely a key strategy in decarbonization for your city’s sustainability plan.

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