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.

Read Windfall Centre's response

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.

Read more at Newmarket News

Visit Compugen website

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?

Listen to the podcast

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.

View list of debates

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.

Read more at YorkRegion.com

View Applicant Guide

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.

Faith and the Common Good

View all York Region Sustainability Award Winners

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.

Newmarket joins ClimateWise

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.

Royal Envelope joins ClimateWise

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.

Read ClimateWise annual report

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.

York Region Sustainability Awards

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.

Get benchmarking help

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.

Event details and registration

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!

Download framework

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!

Fill out the nomination form

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.

Visit Waste Not Farms

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.

Visit Rouge River Farms