Oxford plans 1M square feet of rooftop solar

BIZ  Energy, Real Estate

Look up next time you’re shopping at a major mall in the GTA — it might make you green with delight. Oxford Properties will install a million square feet of rooftop solar panels atop its retail and industrial assets by 2022.

How Patrick Dovigi built GFL into a waste empire

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

In a little over a decade, Patrick Dovigi has transformed GFL from virtually nothing into a trash empire with more than 9,500 employees collecting waste, recycling and organics from more than four million households in nine provinces and 23 U.S. states.

WSP buys Danish environment consulting firm

Real Estate  •  Globe Newswire

WSP Global Inc. announced that it has acquired Orbicon A/S, a 500-employee Danish environmental consulting firm with additional offering in Supply & Infrastructure and Building. The firm also has a presence in Sweden and the Arctic.

HOK report focuses on design for the neurodiverse

Real Estate  •  BDC Network

Scientists are learning more about variations in human cognition giving rise to the concept of “neurodiversity,” where an estimated 15% to 20% of people are neurotypical and function under conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit syndrome, dyslexia, and Tourette syndrome.

CRE industry improves energy intensity by 17%

Real Estate  •  Pensions & Investments

The global commercial real estate industry over the past 10 years has improved its energy use intensity by 17%, according to the ULI’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance. Energy use intensity is defined as annual energy consumption divided by gross floor area.

A dive into Hydro Ottawa’s MiGen Transactive Grid Project

Real Estate  •  Green Tech Media

In Canada’s capital, utility Hydro Ottawa is in the midst of testing out a distributed, digitally-connected energy ecosystem. It’s starting small, with a handful of homes equipped with smart thermostats, smart water heaters, rooftop solar panels, and behind-the-meter batteries.

Space for a quarter of European power on roofs

Real Estate  •  Bloomberg

Europeans can massively expand low-cost solar generation just by tapping the space over their heads. Rooftop area three times the size Luxembourg is available and could economically supply almost a quarter of the bloc’s power according to a paper published in Elsevier.

ULI report explores impact of rising temperatures

Real Estate  •  Greenroofs.com

The impact that rising temperatures and excessive heat waves are having on urban development, and strategies to mitigate urban heat island effects are explored in a new report, Scorched: Extreme Heat and Real Estate, published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Why architects should account for the environmental impact

Real Estate  •  Treehugger

Sustainability matters, but so does hypocrisy. 270 Park Avenue is being demolished as you read this. It’s the tallest building ever demolished on purpose, the tallest building ever designed by a woman architect, and was completely rebuilt to LEED Platinum standards in 2011.

Feds invest in Alberta’s member-owned smart grid

Real Estate  •  Canada Newswire

Among the smart technologies being implemented, eight micro solar photovoltaic generators and a 70-kw solar photovoltaic system with battery storage will help power two electric vehicle charging stations in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Feds invest in Vancouver’s urban climate centre

Real Estate  •  Canada Newswire

The Federal government has announced a $22-million investment for the City of Vancouver to establish an urban climate centre. This investment will support energy efficiency improvements in homes and buildings, including affordable housing developments.

Cities urge federal leaders to wade into wastewater debate

Real Estate  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire

While climate change is dominating the environmental conversations leading into the federal election campaign, politicians with plans to stop the dumping of toxic, feces-laden sludge into Canada’s waterways will be welcomed by municipal governments.

Builders are swapping cement for ‘biofiber’

Real Estate  •  Bloomberg

Startup turning CO2 emissions into handcrafted soap

Real Estate  •  CBC

For the last four months, Jill Hawker has experimented with mixing potash into her line of handmade soaps. She’s testing out how much of the material she can mix into her existing soap-making recipe and how the finished product stands up.

Vancouver considers ban on plastic bags

Real Estate  •  Business In Vancouver

Vancouver business owners are open to reducing their impact on the environment and willing to accept whatever bylaws the city enacts to keep people from using single-use plastic items. The catch is switching to more sustainable packaging could increase prices.

New Edmonton 25-year trash plan gets go ahead

Real Estate  •  CBC  •  CBC

Edmonton councillors have approved a 25-year waste management strategy that aims to keep 90 per cent of residential garbage out of the landfill. It includes a switch to a four-stream bin system that will separate organics, recyclables, residual waste and yard waste.

Retreating from rising seas a reality

Real Estate  •  Grist

Retreating from coastlines and riversides might have once been considered unthinkable. But across the world, it’s already happening — in Australia, Colombia, Vietnam, and even in the United States.

St. Lucia’s sustainability map and survival

Real Estate  •  GreenBiz

What does sustainable development mean for St. Lucia? Rigobert: Historically, the term sustainable development has had an environmental overtone: this generation should utilize existing physical resources responsibly to ensure that future generations have access to those resources.

Denmark fund sells stake in big oil companies

Real Estate  •  Windsor Star

A $20 billion fund in Denmark, MP Pension, is selling its stakes in the 10 biggest oil companies after deciding they haven’t done enough to live up to climate goals set out in the Paris accord.

Julián Castro unveils $10-trillion environmental plan

Real Estate  •  UPI

Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castro unveiled a $10-trillion plan to fight for environmental justice, resilience and jobs amid climate change.  The former San Antonio mayor and housing and urban development secretary has released the People and Planet First Plan.