Registration for the 2021 ClimateWise Challenge is now open! If you are a building owner, manager, or tenant, you can take part in this exciting opportunity to take action on climate change while reducing costs and increasing asset value. Register one or more of your buildings today!
Joining us today is Wayne Emmerson, Chairman and CEO for The Regional Municipality of York. Wayne announces his endorsement and support for the ClimateWise Challenge and speaks to the steps York Region has taken to tackle the climate crisis.
Joining us today is Steven Costa, the National Solutions Developer of Energy Storage and Distributed Energy at Ameresco, Inc. Steven will discuss understanding and improving your building's existing energy infrastructure and facility use profiles.
Joining us today is Graham Seaman, P.Eng., LEED AP, CEM, the Director of Sustainability and Asset Management for the City of Markham. Graham will discuss the municipal energy plan and long-term vision to reach net zero by 2050.
Jeff Ranson, Regional Director for the Greater Toronto Area chapter of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), joins us today for day two of the ClimateWise Building Challenge virtual preview.
Kicking off our weeklong virtual preview and celebration of the ClimateWise Challenge is Mayor John Taylor from the Town of Newmarket, Ontario and Brent Kopperson, Founder and Executive Director of Windfall Ecology Centre. Mayor Taylor speaks on the importance that municipalities in York Region place on energy reduction practices invites all York Region Mayors and commercial business to participate in this initiative as we collaborate in the transition to a low carbon economy.
Join in on the fun! A virtual preview introducing the ClimateWise Building Challenge, hosted by ClimateWise Business Network, will begin on November 30. The weeklong preview will include presentations with messages from key industry and municipal figures in York Region.
We're thrilled to be working alongside BOMA Toronto to deliver the ClimateWise Building Challenge to achieve economic and environmental benefits.
On November 5, 2020 BOMA Toronto held their 2020 race2Reduce Commercial Real Estate Trailblazers (CREST) awards event virtually. The event was a big success that we were proud to be part of. During the awards, Brent Kopperson, the Founder and Executive Director of Windfall Centre was honoured to provide a congratulatory statement to the winners and participants of the race2race program. The success of the program paved the way to bring a building challenge to York Region under our ClimateWise Business Network program.
The Atmosphere Fund (TAF) announced a $40 million Canada fund in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, City of Toronto, and the Government of Canada, bringing the total assets to $90 million. The significant green impact fund will drive further collaboration with cities across the GTHA community as well as Canada on bold new climate actions.
Financial assistance is available to help commercial and institutional building owners and operators implement the ISO 50001 energy management system standard. Implementing ISO 50001 within your organization will result in energy and cost savings and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The third episode of the Getting to Net Zero webinar series will seek to better understand the challenges and opportunities through a panel discussion with local business leaders who are pursuing a net zero strategy. Save your spot today!
ClimateWise Business Network founding member, the Regional Municipality of York, has been named one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2020 by Mediacorp Canada Inc. Mediacorp is Canada's largest publisher of employment-related periodicals.
In 2019, Maple Leaf Foods became the world's first major carbon neutral food company. Patrick Huynh of Maple Leaf Foods will join Stephen Boles of AET Group Inc. to discuss the company's carbon management journey and its benefits.
In the second episode of our popular Getting to Net Zero webinar series, we will present the what, why, and how of carbon offsets. Space is limited and the first webinar in this series filled up fast.
For the 2020 reporting year, the Government of Ontario will accept the submission of data to the Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) initiative until October 1, 2020. This is intended to be a one-time relief extension due to COVID-19. The Benchmarking Help Centre remains open to help with Portfolio Manager questions.
ClimateWise founding member Alectra Utilities was selected by The Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) for its 2020 Environmental Excellence award. One of Alectra's signature accomplishments is reducing almost 1500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016 - representing a 15% decrease in emissions. Congrats!
Officially launched by Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, the Mayors' Energy Challenge sets up a friendly competition between York Region municipalities to aid commercial building owners in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
There are two types of eligible recipients for the funding:
The funding will be used to reimburse eligible project costs as follows:
Eligible project expenditures include salaries and benefits, professional, scientific and technical fees specific to the energy management system, fees for data collection, benchmarking and analysis services, metering equipment, as well as other expenditures directly related to the project.
For more information, refer to Financial assistance for commercial and institutional buildings.
There are two types of eligible recipients for the funding:
The funding will be used to reimburse eligible project costs as follows:
Eligible project expenditures include salaries and benefits, professional, scientific and technical fees specific to the energy management system, fees for data collection, benchmarking and analysis services, metering equipment, as well as other expenditures directly related to the project.
For more information, refer to Financial assistance for commercial and institutional buildings.
ClimateWise Business Network, the Windfall Ecology Centre program hosting the ClimateWise Building Challenge, is a recognized Regional Partner of the BOMA Toronto race2Reduce program.
As a Regional Ally, ClimateWise offers enhanced outreach and support to public and private sectors in York and surrounding regions and provides resources to help them move their organizations toward more sustainable and low carbon operations.
The collaboration between BOMA Toronto and ClimateWise brings synergy and economies of scale to the mutual efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission from the buildings sector.
Reporting to the ClimateWise Business Network Program Manager, the Event Coordinator will be responsible for assisting with event coordination by managing attendee administration, budgets and liaising with venues including logistics design and management of on-site and virtual sessions.
The third episode of the Getting to Net Zero webinar series will seek to better understand the challenges and opportunities through a panel discussion with local business leaders who are pursuing a net zero strategy. Save your spot today!
In the second episode of our popular Getting to Net Zero webinar series, we will present the what, why, and how of carbon offsets. Space is limited and the first webinar in this series filled up fast.
The Toronto Waldorf School is a private, not-for-profit independent school in Thornhill. It operates 12 months a year which includes child care, JK to grade 12 and summer camp. The building is owned by the school, has 73,000 sq feet of usable area space. It is heated electrically and uses no natural gas.
The ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (ENDM) proposes to amend O.Reg. 506/18 to stop further rollout of the Energy & Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) program to buildings under 100,000 square feet. Windfall Centre recommends that the ENDM reconsider as it will impose additional cost on businesses in the long term and reduce the ability of businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
ClimateWise member Compugen and Compugen Finance were one of five nominees for Green Economy Canada's inaugural award. Compugen is being recognized for reducing emissions through building retrofits and implementing a teleworking program for employees. In addition, the organization manages an innovative program that encourages businesses to trade old IT assets for carbon offsets.
Green Economy Canada is hosting their annual reception, Connect 2019, at CSI Annex in Toronto. Celebrate the businesses and Green Economy Hubs accelerating Canada's shift to a low-carbon economy, find out the winner of the inaugural Green Economy Builder Award, and hear Dr. Dianne Saxe, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, and Priyanka Llyod, Green Economy Canada's Executive Director, discuss the importance of engaging SMEs and creating an inclusive movement for the low-carbon transition.
Listen to a non-partisan discussion on how sustainability in the business sector may be impacted by the new Canadian parliament. Will the influence of other parties change the way the federal government delivers on green incentive programs?
Across Canada on October 3rd, there will be non-partisan, all-candidate debates on the environment in the lead up to election day. The debates will create a forum where voters can hear directly from candidates about their visions for the environment. The initiative is organized by GreenPAC and is supported by non-profits, citizen groups, businesses and universities. Register to attend the debate in your local or nearby riding.
The Government of Canada announced that small and medium business owners in Ontario will have the opportunity to receive federal funding to improve the sustainability of operations and their bottom lines. The program will provide $20,000 to $250,000 to offset up to 25% of the costs of qualifying projects. Applications for funding is available until Oct 15, 2019, or until funding is completely spent.
Holy Trinity School, a ClimateWise member through Faith and the Common Good's Energy Benchmarking for Faith Buildings initiative. , was presented with the Engaged Green Team award at the York Region Sustainability Awards. The school was recognized for their outstanding commitment towards sustainability, including annual waste audits and a school curriculum that emphasizes environmental stewardship.
The Town of Newmarket is located in York Region and is home to over 85,000 residents. Newmarket has consistently been named one of the Best Places to Live in Canada by MoneySense Magazine and has garnered an international reputation for being one of the country's most dynamic, diverse and desirable towns to live and work in. Newmarket is also widely considered a progressive place with a reputation for innovation, particularly in its environmental projects.
Founded in 1989, Royal Envelope is the largest privately-owned envelope manufacturer and printer in Canada. Royal Envelope is equipped to service a variety of business segments in the marketplace. They produce about 1.2 billion envelopes on an annual basis. While their head office is in Vaughan, they have operations across the country including Montreal, Calgary, Burnaby and Winnipeg.
ClimateWise released our 2018 annual report at the York Region Sustainability Awards. The report highlights how our members are taking action to transition into a low carbon economy. We are pleased to announce that 22 of our 33 members established a GHG inventory and that our members have collectively set a target of 5502 mT of CO2e emissions.
ClimateWise Business Network held the third annual York Region Sustainability Awards on May 30, 2019 at the Vaughan KPMG tower. We celebrated the achievements of our members, along with recognizing sustainability champions in the broader York Region community. Special guests included Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights and Mary Ng, Federal Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion.
MP Deb Schulte, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources visited Windfall Centre for the launch of the Ontario Benchmarking Help Centre. The new initiative funded by Natural Resources Canada, will assist Ontario commercial building owners in lowering operating costs as they comply with Ontario's Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmark (EWRB) regulation.
Awards season is upon us and ClimateWise is recognizing members and the broader York Region community for their sustainability achievements. This year, the event will be held at the KPMG building at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. Toby Heaps, CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights will deliver a keynote. Join us for an evening of awards, networking and hors d'oeurves.
ClimateWise is happy to announce that our waste reduction and diversion framework is now available for download. We received input from our partners at the Regional Municipality of York, Recycling Council of Ontario and Eco Business Network as we designed this document. Coinciding with the framework launch, ClimateWise conducted a waste audit at our Windfall offices. We have a waste diversion rate of 74%, higher than the regional average of 62%. We are setting an ambitious target to have an 85% waste diversion rate by the end of 2020!
ClimateWise will be celebrating local environmental champions at our Evening of Recognition on May 30, 2019. Do you know an individual in York Region who is driving sustainability within their community? Nominate them today!
ClimateWise member Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) set an ambitious carbon emissions reduction target. The target was approved by LSRCA's board on November 30, 2018. The conservation authority's action plan outlines a 28% reduction of carbon emissions below 2016 levels in 2026, a reduction commitment of 102 tonnes.
Wastenot Farms provides food waste collection and composting services for GTA offices committed to environmental best practices. Clean, easy and affordable, office composting is a great way to engage employees in sustainability initiatives while improving the eco footprint of your facility. Clients benefit from quantitative impact reporting including GHG emissions reductions, while also receiving a yearly delivery of Soil Booster to use onsite or donate within the community.
Established 30 years ago with a small roadside stand; Rogue River Farms has grown to the point where they now distribute to many grocery retailers in the United States and Canada. Rouge River strives to help limit the amount of waste they produce and the water they use. Rouge River is also going to be working on reducing their CO2 emissions as well as work on continuing to reduce waste and water. Currently, they are in the process of collecting data and working towards setting a baseline for all three categories at their Ontario facility in Gormley.
