Recent Articles
Sustainalytics launches supply chain ESG solution
Sustainalytics launches supply chain ESG solution
As businesses continue to place higher priority on ESG issues and reporting, Sustainalytics is launching its corporate supply chain ESG solutions platform. The ratings assist in identifying companies’ supply chain ESG risks.
Google to help brands map ESG supply chain risks
With little or no visibility on the environmental impact of the materials used for garments and shoes, brands are counting on Google’s Global Fibre Impact platform to illuminate their supply chains. Fashion brands aim to repair the sector’s ESG record.
Disclosure requirements needed for Cdn green bonds
Canadian bonds do not attract as much international investment compared to their global contemporaries, but Canada is primed for a stronger presence on the world stage. Canadian climate-aligned issuers can now refinance their liabilities via the green bond market.
Climate change efforts going from ‘failure to failure’
• CBC • Globe and Mail • National Post
Canada’s carbon emissions have risen 20 per cent since 1990; the country remains unprepared for climate disasters; and subsidies for the oil and gas sector have not delivered promised emission reductions, according to the federal government’s chief environmental watchdog.
Vancouver mayor wants climate levy in 2022 budget
Vancouver’s mayor wants a levy to fight climate change in the city’s 2022 budget. If it’s adopted by city council, Kennedy Stewart says the money raised from the levy would be used to cover infrastructure upgrades needed because of climate change.
Toronto’s mayor wants city to hit net zero by 2040
Toronto Mayor John Tory wants the city to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero 10 years earlier than planned, making it one of only three big cities in North America to aim for that milestone by 2040.
Battery storage solution crucial to achieve net-zero
• McKinsey
Responsible for one-third of total global carbon emissions, the power-generation sector’s role is crucial, since decarbonizing the rest of the economy depends on the growing demand for renewable electricity (for example in electric vehicles and residential heating).
Canada needs 1.6 GW of solar/year to reach net-zero
The industry body for renewable energy businesses in Canada has called upon federal and provincial politicians to drive 1.6 GW of solar generation capacity per year — the estimated volume of solar required to achieve a net zero economy by mid-century.
‘Greenflation’ a risk for renewable energy
Rising prices of commodities for renewable energy will increase the costs of developing green power projects, but this will be balanced by better access to funds and economies of scale. Rising costs won’t be a long-term threat to clean energy.
SFU’s $33M biomass plant heats community
Simon Fraser University (SFU)’s campus in Burnaby, B.C., is now home to a new $33 million biomass plant that is using urban wood waste to provide heating and hot water to the campus and a nearby residential community, UniverCity.
Niagara region wind farm closes $31M in refinancing
Vancity Community Investment Bank and Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation have closed $31 million in refinancing for the 230 MW Niagara Region Wind Farm. The 77-turbine wind farm is the second largest in Ontario by installed capacity.
Solar Alliance to build 500kW Kentucky solar project
• Canadian Business Journal • Globe Newswire
Toronto-based Solar Alliance Energy Inc. has signed a contract to build a 500 kilowatt solar system in Kentucky. The contract includes an option for the customer to select Solar Alliance to build an additional 500kW system at the same location.
Subaru debuts 1st-ever all-electric Solterra SUV
• Cision
Subaru Canada, Inc. has revealed its first-ever all-electric SUV, the 2023 Subaru Solterra, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The highly anticipated Solterra is packed with new electrification and in-vehicle technology while staying true to its Subaru heritage with industry-leading safety.
Reducing truck emissions in Montreal
The movement of goods in Montreal and the province of Quebec is a source of carbon emissions — fuelled by the growth of e-commerce and doorstep deliveries. The resulting climate-change implications have not received significant policy attention until recently.
Bill to ban ‘forever chemicals’ from food packaging
A bill introduced in Congress could ban “forever chemicals” (PFAS) from food packaging. If the Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act is passed, it would ban the sale of grease repellant PFAS on any food wrappers or packaging.
Marketplace helps companies ‘SourceGreenPackaging’
SourceGreenPackaging connects companies with sustainable, plastic-free packaging options, as well as education on materials. With only 9 percent of all plastic being recycled and 12 percent burned, it’s no wonder the environment is suffering from the effects of plastic pollution.
Subpar waste diversion for CRE in Ontario
Subpar waste diversion results in Ontario’s ICI and multi-residential sectors hobbling ambitious targets to conserve existing landfill capacity. Recommendations from provincial Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk call for more outreach, enhanced data and firmer oversight to improve compliance with recycling regulations.
10% of homes could be uninsurable due to flood risk
• CBC
Many homeowners are unprepared for flooding because they lack information thanks to murky real estate rules, incomplete floodplain maps and the insurance industry reneging high-risk areas, a Marketplace investigation found. Homeowners are also losing flood protection due to climate change.
Groups hope to stop building on Monarch fields
Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault has refused a request by Quebec conservation groups to issue a designation to prevent destruction of the Monarch fields north of the Trudeau International Airport to make way for Medicom’s production facility.
Solution to Canada’s thawing permafrost is ‘wild’
Researchers are attempting to bring back landscapes not seen since mammoths roamed the Earth. At Pleistocene Park, they’ve introduced bison, muskox, horses and other herbivores in hopes the animals’ grazing will transform the landscape into grassland, cooling the underlying permafrost.
Industry Events
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Sustainable Finance Forum 2024
Nov 28 2024
to Nov 29 2024
Shaw Centre, Ottawa -
Zero Carbon Building Standards Interactive Workshop
Dec 10 2024
to Dec 12 2025
Online -
FCM’s Sustainable Communities Conference 2025
Feb 10 2025
to Feb 13 2025
Fredericton, NB -
GlobeXchange
Feb 11 2025
to Feb 14 2025
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel -
BuildGreen Atlantic 2025
Apr 28 2025
to Apr 29 2025
Halifax, NS -
Building Lasting Change
Jun 18 2025
to Jun 20 2025
Vancouver, BC