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COP26: Built environment day roundup

3 years ago

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For the first time, the climate-change summit, COP26 is holding a day dedicated to cities, regions and the built environment where the World Green Building Council has revealed that 44 businesses have signed up for its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

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Hines, an international real estate firm, has earned WELL Health-Safety Rating labels for over 100 of its properties, representing 42 million net rentable square feet. Created by the International WELL Building Institute ™ , the WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating.

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Rivian Automotive, an electric vehicle company that has so far delivered only about 150 electric pickup trucks mostly to its own employees, surpassed General Motors Thursday to become the second most valuable U.S. car company behind Tesla. The California company went public Wednesday in an initial public offering (IPO) that priced shares at $78 each.

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Canadian pension funds must play a vital role in realizing a sustainable, inclusive future according to a report by a partnership between The Natural Step Canada, Smart Prosperity Institute, and Corporate Knights, and an advisory committee of pension fund experts.

Anchor Corporation

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OPINION: The COP26 has put major institutional investors such as Canada’s biggest pension funds which have assets topping $2-trillion, in the spotlight.  A new Canadian Pensions Dashboard for Responsible Investing aims to provide sustainability metrics to help assess pension fund investments.

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A week after the announcement that Montreal would be one of the cities hosting the ISSB, thanks to the work of Montreal International in particular, its CEO on Wednesday detailed the efforts made by the business, political and academic community to house the organization.

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The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on Monday sought to extend its reach into the investment community, with the launch of new tailored guidance to help private equity firms set credible decarbonization goals for their operations and portfolios.

Cadillac Fairview (CF) has launched a waste recycling station at its CF Lime Ridge shopping centre in Hamilton. The station is the first of its kind to be offered at a CF shopping centre in Ontario.

Yardi Pulse

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Ariel Feldman of Choice Properties had a blunt message for his fellow Toronto developers attending the recent ULI Toronto ESG Symposium: there is no longer any grace period to plan sustainable projects to meet carbon-reduction goals.

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New research reveals what scientists have learned about the scale and distribution of a massive carbon reservoir lying just below the surface in wilderness areas across Canada — and what is at stake for the planet if it’s disturbed.

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Alberta Innovates announced new funding, the Building with BioFibre program to advance emerging technologies that utilize Alberta’s plentiful forest and agricultural biomass and encourage their use in green construction to support the economic development of the bio-industrial sector.

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Only 3 lots are available in Calgary’s most eco-friendly neighborhood, Echo Haven. This ground-breaking green community preserves 60% of the site in its natural state – untouched and undisturbed. The 25 sustainable homes in the neighborhood are all custom-designed to minimize environmental impact.

Payquad

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Deloitte’s survey of 10,000 youth aged 16 to 25 in 10 countries found “widespread psychological distress” and feelings of betrayal over inadequate response on climate with those believing business has a positive impact on society down to 47 per cent in 2021, from 76 per cent in 2017.

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McVeigh is one of a growing number of young people who have sued large companies and governments over their failures to tackle the climate crisis. Not old enough to vote some young people are voicing their dissent through the courts.

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The problem with asking people to change their lives to slow climate change is it’s a terrible offer. Stop flying, driving, buying clothes, coffee, holidays and in return the planet might be a bit less uninhabitable a century from now.

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Climate chaos disproportionately hurts the most vulnerable in society. U.S. President Joe Biden’s Justice40 initiative promises that at least 40% of the benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy will flow to disadvantaged communities.

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Martin Imbleau, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority describes how green hydrogen is a potential route to greening the maritime corridor where 80% of the goods consumed everywhere on the planet pass through a ship and a port.

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Companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint by integrating renewables into their energy mix, which is driving the fuel-based distributed generation market to provide more flexible solutions. Mainspring Energy explores how linear generators can provide those solutions.

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In the shift to a sustainable low-carbon economy, creative startups can offer new solutions to address the causes and impacts of climate change. Last month, at GreenBiz’s annual climate tech conference, VERGE 21, 25 startups competed to win the event’s startup showcase.

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National pledges to tackle climate change this decade may lead to around 2.4 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2100 according to Climate Action Tracker (CAT) which is following the promises made by countries attending the UN climate change summit in Glasgow.

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