On September 29, 2022, the ClimateWise Business Network will be holding the 2022 York Region Sustainability Awards event. This year, the award ceremony, lined up with exciting activities, will be an in-person event in the heart of Aurora at the newly renovated, historic building - THE ARMOURY.
A new report by the World Economic Forum and the University of Cambridge’s Aviation Impact Accelerator explores how aviation can achieve a true zero climate impact. Reducing carbon emissions during flight is only one aspect of the problem. The full lifecycle impacts of any fuel or energy source used to power an aircraft also needs to be considered. So too is the impact of manufacturing and replacing batteries for electric aircraft.
The secret to efficiently heating some buildings might lurk beneath our feet in the heat that humans have inadvertently stored underground. Susanne Benz, an environmental scientist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, said, Harnessing underground heat in this way could provide some communities with a reliable and low-energy means to warm their homes. And if we don't use it, it will just continue to accumulate.
Sand Batterycould solve green energy's problem
Finnish researchers have installed the world's first fully working "sand battery" which can store green power for months at a time. The developers say this could solve the problem of year-round supply, a major issue for green energy. The sand stores the heat at around 500C, which can then warm homes in winter when energy is more expensive.
A new study of the ancient world of Anatolia, now Turkey, shows how they adapted to climate change but offers a warning for today's climate emergency. The efforts of ancient populations to minimize the impacts of climate change were undermined during longer climate shifts when it is combined with other events such as pandemics, earthquakes and wars.
In truth, if everyone in Canada gave up their car, lowered their thermostat, stopped taking flights and ate more organic lentils, it wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to make a difference. No wonder it’s hard to maintain any hope that climate change is solvable. But as Greta Thunberg said back in 2018: “The one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. Full Article
Texans crank on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. CNN reports that Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday. More
Just Green Cities is a research project addresses a core challenge Canadians face in implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing the climate crisis, focusing on municipal infrastructure renewal. The research focused on three key areas: net-zero housing, fleet electrification and stormwater management.
On April 28, 2022, Durham Region officially launched the Durham Greener Homes, an initiative inspired by Durham Region's Community Energy Plan to help make energy-efficient, low-carbon homes more accessible to Durham residents. Durham Region partnered with Windfall Centre to deliver the new home energy retrofit program. Read More.
On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua at Council meeting, announced Vaughan's Award won at the ClimateWise 2021 Achievement Award. He said: I am pleased to announce the City of Vaughan has received the Mayor's Energy Challenge Advocate Award from the ClimateWise Business Network for our dedicated support of the Provincial Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking initiative. More
Renewable Energy to the Rescue as Texas Records Incredibly High Heat and Energy Demand
Renewables are slowly but surely gaining ground more recently in Texas as the city depends heavily on wind and solar power to meet the current high energy demand. Texans crank on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. CNN reports that Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.
However, unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas, which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it's owed in large part to solid performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday's peak demand -- close to 40% of the total needed.
Texas is, by rhetoric, anti-renewables. But frankly, renewables are bailing us out,
said Michael Webber, an energy expert and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. They're rocking. That really spares us a lot of heartache and a lot of money.
Durham Region Officially Launches Durham Greener Homes, Partners with Windfall Centre
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Durham Region unveiled the Durham Greener Homes at a launch event at Durham College, Whitby Campus. Durham Greener Homes is a home retrofit service that will empower Durham Region residents to undertake home energy renovations. Durham Region has partnered with Windfall Ecology Centre to deliver the new home energy program to help Durham residents achieve energy-efficient homes as part of the Region's Community Energy Plan- a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Durham Greener Homes Program offers homeowners a home energy retrofit service that offers financing and cash-back rebates for home energy upgrade projects and a home energy coach to give expert advice to residents in the home retrofit journey. The Durham Greener Homes Program will target single-family homes built between 1970 and 2000 (representing 46 percent of single-family homes in the Durham region) because these are understood to have high energy-saving potential.
Windfall Ecology Centre's Founder and Executive Director, Brent Kopperson, who spoke about Durham Greener Homes, said, Windfall Ecology Centre has been helping Durham residents retrofit their homes for over 20 years. We are proud to combine all we have learned in that time to Durham Greener Homes, a best-in-class home retrofit facilitation service designed to ease renovation anxiety and help homeowners get the most from their energy efficiency investments.
At the launch event, a $3.4 million boost was announced to help finance the Durham Greener Homes Project to help more residents achieve energy-efficient homes and create a cleaner, low-carbon environment in Durham Region. The financing is offered through the Green Municipal Fund and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and funded by the Government of Canada.
Durham Greener Homes will support energy-efficiency upgrades such as high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, thermal envelope upgrades, lighting upgrades and high-efficiency appliances. Additional eligible measures will include heat pump installation, renewable energy and energy storage systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, water conservation measures and indoor air quality measures.
Are you a resident of Durham starting your home retrofit journey? Visit durhamgreenerhomes.ca to learn more about the Durham Greener Homes program
More on the launch of Durham Greener Homes on Natural Resources Canada, Yahoo News, insauga.com
The fourth in the webinar series 'Better Understand your Energy Consumption and What is Driving your Energy Use' presented why submetering tenant spaces is a priority for both tenants and landlords. View Webinar 4 PDF.
The third in the webinar series 'Green Leases: How to Achieve Cost Savings and Sustainability Goals' presented how innovative Green Leases can create win-win agreements for building owners and business tenants to benefit from environmentally friendly upgrades and behaviours. View Webinar 3 PDF. Register for Upcoming Webinars.
The second in the webinar series "Why Building Tenants Should be Thinking about Climate Risk" informs commercial building tenants (SMEs) on mitigating their cost and supply risks by being more climate knowledgeable .View Webinar 2 PDF. Register for Upcoming Webinars.
The first in the webinar series "A Roadmap to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction - Benefits for Your Business" delved into the influences and trends impacting businesses. The speakers gave insights into how commercial building tenants can collaborate with landlords to achieve a low carbon workplace, modernize lease arrangements, energy-efficient best practices and other important topics. PDF. Upcoming Webinars
We are a licensed Service Organization under Natural Resources Canada and a leader in developing Energy Conservation Solutions for homes and businesses seeking a full time Registered Energy Advisor . The ideal candidate has a passion for working in the field of climate science and energy efficiency, enjoys data analysis, is an enthusiastic professional, and can build relationships with internal and external clients and stakeholders.
Learn how to help the environment and reduce your carbon footprint with key priority programs in Durham Region, such as the Durham Greener Homes Program, Canada Greener Homes Grant, and driving an electric vehicle!
Windfall Ecology Centre, Partners for Action and Possibilian Ventures partnered in early 2021 to explore and research three municipal infrastructure issues and their relevance to the SDGs, with focus on fleet electrification, stormwater management, and net-zero buildings. The extensive research produced the Just Green Cities
Discussion Paper which will be launched on Friday, March 4, 2022 at 1:00 PM EST. Read More
Our annual fundraising event is back with great savings on rain barrels. Prices start from $55 with various styles to choose from, including FREE home delivery. All accessories are available at great prices too! Please place your orders to support our fundraiser rain barrel sale. Delivery starts May 27, 2022!
When it comes to energy performance, building owners and tenants have similar building goals; both want to save money, be recognized for corporate responsibility efforts, engage stakeholders and have transparent access to energy consumption. Submetering provides a single solution for all of these needs. Register to learn from experts how submetering can help you achieve energy efficiency See Details of Webinar 4.
Windfall Centre is seeking a post-secondary student with Communications background for the position of Communications Assistant. The successful applicant will directly report to and work with the Manager, Digital Communications to manage Windfall Centre's Marketing Communications strategy and provide communications support to the Program Managers. Learn More about the position.
The free ClimateWise Building Challenge webinar series will provide your business with the tools and intelligence to take the needed action on climate change. The first in the series tagged; A Roadmap to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction - Benefits for Your Business
, will guide you in an understanding on the influences and trends that will impact your business operations.
The third webinar presents how innovative Green Leases can create win-win agreements for building owners and business tenants to benefit from environmentally friendly upgrades and behaviours. More Details.
Our second webinar informs commercial building tenants (SMEs) on mitigating their cost and supply risks by being more climate knowledgeable. In 2021 the City of Toronto advanced three big moves to decarbonize buildings in our City, including existing buildings, future construction, and the City's portfolio. These initiatives are an introduction to what other municipalities will be doing soon. More Details
One of our Registered Energy Advisors, Violet Kopperson, received three awards for Energy Advisor excellence at Green Communities Canada's 2021 Advisor Recognition Awards! Violet also received the "Highest Carbon Reductions from Retrofits" award. Windfall Ecology Centre's Sarah Grant also received the "Single Deepest Retrofit" award of 2021.
Green Communities Canada (GCC) is organizing a free five-part webinar series on floodplain mapping to share the learnings from a project led by Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and executed in partnership with GCC. The series will enable Indigenous communities and environmental professionals to develop their own floodplain mapping projects and explore successful protocols and effective partnership approaches. Learn more.
According to Statistics Canada‘s first survey of urban green spaces, cities across the country are getting greyer and browner. Researchers looked at 31 urban centres of various sizes and found about three-quarters of large and medium-sized cities were less green in 2019 than 20 years earlier. Using satellite imagery, StatCan estimated the amount of green space in Canadian cities, including parks, lawns, urban trees, and backyards.
Green Economy Canada (GEC) has announced a $3.9million Electric Vehicle(EV) charging station incentive program. Application is open to all legally incorporated or registered for-profit or not-for-profit organization in Canada.
Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) on Tuesday, February 9, 2022, announced that Canada ranked second globally on the annual list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED in 2021. In 2021, Canada certified 205 projects, representing more than 3.2 million gross square meters (GSM) of LEED space. LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
Vancouver and Quebec recently banned certain kinds of fossil fuel-based heating in new home construction, CBC News reports. Similar-and, in some cases more extensive- bans are happening around the world, from Norway to New York City. The goal? To cut CO2 emissions from buildings by replacing fossil fuel burning with electric heating. But are such bans necessary? And what impact will they have on people who live in those cities? Here's a closer look.
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) has just launched $2million electric vehicle(EV) station fund. The fund is providing GTHA municipalities, multi-family building owners, businesses, and other organizations in the community with technical and financial support to install new EV charging stations on-street and in public and private lots. That means up to 300 new chargers in the region in the most challenging places to plug in.
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) has just launched $2million electric vehicle(EV) station fund. The fund is providing GTHA municipalities, multi-family building owners, businesses, and other organizations in the community with technical and financial support to install new EV charging stations on-street and in public and private lots. That means up to 300 new chargers in the region in the most challenging places to plug in.
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) has just launched $2million electric vehicle(EV) station fund. The fund is providing GTHA municipalities, multi-family building owners, businesses, and other organizations in the community with technical and financial support to install new EV charging stations on-street and in public and private lots. That means up to 300 new chargers in the region in the most challenging places to plug in.
Catch all the fun and exciting moments from the unforgettable virtual ClimateWise 2021 Achievement Awards, held Thursday, December 9, 2021!
This year's achievement awards go beyond commemorating sustainability efforts by also celebrating the resilience of those that rose above the tides of the pandemic in the past year and prioritized climate action against all odds. Hence, the 2021 Award Event's Theme: A Celebration of Achievement in Challenging Times. Meet our Winners.
The ClimateWise 2021 Achievement Awards event held Thursday, Dec. 9 was nothing short of remarkable moments recognizing the tremendous efforts of emerging leaders in sustainability and climate action within York Region. The virtual event brought organizations, business owners, employees, and industry stakeholders together to celebrate achievements of public and private sector organizations.
Canada is pursuing a nationwide 'net-zero emission by 2050' goal. The City of Toronto has aligned with this mission with its target to record citywide net-zero emissions by reducing existing buildings' Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over the next 30 years. Read More.
More than ever before, Climate Change is spiralling out of control due to increased human activities that have become more detrimental to our planet's ecosystem. As a result, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released its sixth assessment report to alert the world of the alarming spike in activities deepening climate change.
The City of Toronto has released its much anticipated net-zero policy strategy for existing buildings. The comprehensive report was 18 months in the making by an expert team from Windfall Ecology Centre, the Integral Group, WSP, and Reep Green Solutions. It lays out an ambitious policy framework and pathways to net-zero for all buildings in Toronto by 2050.
Windfall's annual fundraising event is back with great savings on rain barrels. Prices range from $45 to $175 and include free home delivery. There are many styles to choose from and all the accessories are available.
York Region municipalities and businesses have heard the call to action to participate in the ClimateWise Challenge. We are excited to welcome 60 municipal buildings and 15 commercial buildings into the free, friendly award and recognition competition.
With more than 20 years leading environmental sustainability programs and supporting communities within York Region, Windfall Ecology Centre is creating pathways to build back better through the launch of the ClimateWise Building Challenge.
The home-energy experts at Windfall Centre took part in a web-meeting with Natural Resources Canada on March 9, 2021. The web-meeting covered the federal government's new Greener Homes Initiative
. Full details of the program are not yet available, but here is what we know so far...
Registration for the 2021 ClimateWise Building Challenge, an initiative of ClimateWise Business Network, is now open. If you are a building owner, manager, or tenant in York Region, you can take part in this exciting opportunity to take action on climate change while reducing building costs and increasing asset value.
Join our team of home energy experts at Windfall Centre. We are seeking enthusiastic and hardworking candidates who have a passion for working in the field of energy efficiency and are interested in pursuing a career as a Registered Energy Advisor.
Windfall Ecology Centre is proud to support Climate Action Network Canada along with over 100 member and ally organizations who signed a letter outlining key recommendations and expectations for our government in the upcoming Speech from the Throne. This is a pivotal moment in the history of Canada's action on climate change and in building a just recovery and creating a resilient future in Canadian communities and economies.
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 Home Winterproofing program is providing a free smart thermostat to homeowners and renters who are income qualified. The ecobee3 lite, a 7-day programmable thermostat that supports third-party integrations, can help you save up to 23% a year on heating and cooling costs and create a comfortable home environment.
The third episode of the Getting to Net Zero webinar series will seek to better understand the challenges and opportunities of achieving a net zero strategy through a panel discussion with local business leaders.
Our ClimateWise Business Network is hosting a free webinar series for businesses and municipalities interested in learning about achieving net zero emissions. Click on the button below to view past webinar recordings as well as upcoming events.
ClimateWise has partnered with the City of Vaughan to conduct a survey to identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency in the commercial real estate sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The working relationship with the City will also support the launch of an outreach program to the commercial real estate sector on the Energy and Water Reporting & Benchmarking (EWRB) reporting requirements.
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.
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.
Following the lead of Ontario health officials, we are happy to announce Windfall on-site Home Energy Evaluations have resumed, with new safety measures in place.
The second episode of the Getting to Net Zero webinar series will focus on business strategy and carbon offsets. This webinar will feature two industry leaders from Maple Leaf Foods and AET Group with experience in working with carbon offsets and greenhouse gas reduction plans.
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.
The Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (ENDM) proposes to amend O.Reg. 506/18 to stop further rollout of the EWRB program to buildings under 100 000 sq. ft. Windfall Ecology Centre recommends that the ENDM reconsider the proposed amendment as it will impose additional cost on businesses in the long term and reduce the ability of businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Compugen and Compugen Finance were one of five nominees for Green Economy Canada's inaugural award. They were nominated for their commitment to sustainability that included reducing building energy use, encouraging employees to work remotely and managing an innovative program that incentivizes businesses to trade old IT assets for carbon offsets.
September is time to think about properly heating your house this fall and winter. The best furnace in the world won't help much if your house is drafty. Learn how to heat your home for comfort while also saving money on heating by having a home energy assessment and take advantage of the new fall bonus incentives offered through the Home Efficiency Rebate program.
On August 15, 2019, Kyle Peterson, MP for Newmarket–Aurora announced an investment of nearly $957,000 for Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. to install and pilot a high-power overhead, on-route electric charger in Newmarket, which will help York Region phase out diesel buses and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
In May 2019, ClimateWise member Holy Trinity School won the Engaged Green Team award at the York Region Sustainability Awards. From annual waste audits to a school curriculum that emphasizes the importance of environmental stewardship, HTS proves to be a true inspiration when it comes to educating, promoting and advocating sustainability!
The federal government announced a $72 million fund for small and medium businesses in Ontario to take climate action. The program will provide $20 000 to $250 000 to cover up to 25% of the costs of qualifying projects. Applications for funding are available on a first come, first serve basis until Oct 15, 2019.
We mainly think of draftproofing to keep cold winter air out, but it can also help keep warm air at bay during the summer. In a well-sealed house, you can be the one in control of air flow by strategically opening windows or placing fans. You still have time to insulate or draftproof before the next heat wave.
Energy rebates for qualifying homes are still available.
On Thursday June 6, over 150 teachers, students, parents and community partners worked together with Windfall Centre, the York Catholic District School Board, and Evergreen, to transform their Kindergarten yard into a greener space. Using prybars and wheelbarrows, volunteers got their hands dirty and removed over 700 square feet of pavement by hand!
On Thursday, June 6th Windfall Ecology Centre teamed up with the York Catholic District School Board and Evergreen to Depave the Kindergarten yard at St. John Chrysostom CES in Newmarket.
School staff, students, parents and community volunteers ripped up over 700 square feet of pavement by hand to make way for green space for the students.
Thank you to everyone who came out on to our annual York Region Sustainability Awards! Our event was a success thanks to the fantastic support from our members and sponsors.
We had a great evening networking and celebrating the achievements of over 100 sustainable businesses and community leaders throughout York Region.
Congratulations to all the award winners! We cannot wait to see what is in store for next year!
Join in a national dialogue about meeting the challenges of climate change, environmental destruction and social justice. This event is one of many Green New Deal town halls being held in communities across the country in May 2019. The input from these town halls will be used to inform a vision for a Green New Deal for all.
Spring has arrived and with it some exciting changes to the energy rebates and incentives available from our gas utilities and partners. It has never been easier for to qualify for rebates! Effective May 1, 2019 the Home Energy Conservation (HEC) from Enbridge Gas and the Home Reno Rebate (HRR) from Union Gas merge into a new offering called Home Efficiency Rebate (HER).
MP Deb Schulte, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources visits Windfall Centre for the launch of the Benchmarking Help Centre. The new initiative, funded by Natural Resources Canada, assists commercial building owners in lowering operating costs as they comply with Ontario's Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmark (EWRB) regulation.
Canada's Ecofiscal Commission releases new report to serve as a resource for Canadians who want to learn what the evidence says about carbon pricing and its impacts on emissions, the economy, affordability, and jobs.
ClimateWise Business Network is happy to announce that our waste reduction and diversion framework is now available online. Coinciding with the framework launch, our team conducted a waste audit at the Windfall Centre. 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.
Windfall Ecology Centre, in partnership with the Waterloo Global Science Initiative, and Possibilian Ventures, is conducting a landscape analysis on how finance understands and responds to systemic transformation. The purpose of the project is to inform development of Canada's Agenda 2030 National Strategy which is to be released later this year.
Windfall is now scheduling FREE Home Winterproofing assessments for qualifying residents in Durham, Peterborough, and York Region. If you are an Enbridge gas customer, your home is older than 1980 and you are receiving financial assistance, we want to hear from you!
Electric vehicle owners in Ontario may one day be able to use the electricity in their EVs instead of loud diesel or gas generators to provide emergency power during blackouts. They could potentially also sell back the energy in their cars to the grid when needed.
Negotiations at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow have entered the second week, a technical week featuring intense deliberations on pathways to achieving global emission reduction goals. A United Nations preliminary analysis released Tuesday, November 9, 2021, shows a huge gap between nations' long-term decarbonization plans and their already submitted short-term plans.
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.
Join us on Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm as we toast to achievements in challenging times and recognize industry stakeholders for different milestones. Attendees at the event will be treated to entertaining performances by the lovely Donner Huber as Shania Twin, our co-host for the day.
Today is day five at the ongoing 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, and climate talks are in top gear. The summit, which kicked off October 31 to end November 12, has in attendance world leaders, countries' delegates, climate activists, major corporations, and others. Here are a few highlights from conversations so far. If you missed our opinion article on COP 26, you can find it here.
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.
Graham Seaman, P.Eng., LEED AP, CEM, the Director of Sustainability and Asset Management for the City of Markham joins day three of the ClimateWise Challenge virtual preview. Graham will discuss the municipal energy plan and long-term vision to reach net zero by 2050.
Watch the ClimateWise Challenge virtual preview
View the City of Markham's Municipal Energy Plan (MEP) – Getting to Zero
Activities are in full swing at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, where nations have converged for renewed negotiations and submission of increased climate action commitments called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
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. The ClimateWise Challenge is an initiative of our ClimateWise Business Network program.
Radon is a naturally occurring odourless, tasteless, and invisible radioactive gas that is present in all homes in Canada. It is important to test the radon level in your home as high radon levels can be a risk to the health of you and your family. Health Canada has a number of free resources available.
Join in on the fun! A virtual preview introducing the ClimateWise Building Challenge, hosted by ClimateWise Business Network, will begin on November 30. The week-long 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.
The curtain finally fell on the much-talked-about 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) on Saturday, November 13. For fourteen days, countries across the globe, including Canada, had their leaders, delegates, and climate activists in Glasgow negotiating climate terms and setting new emission reduction targets.
When it comes to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, commercial buildings in York Region are underperforming their provincial counterparts, 2019 benchmarking data released in 2020 from the Ontario Ministry of Energy Northern Development and Mines has revealed. Read More.
Kicking off our week-long 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. The ClimateWise Challenge is an initiative of our ClimateWise Business Network program.
The Home Retrofit Performance Dashboards are designed to virtually assess energy retrofit performance, identify trends, segment marketing opportunities and benchmark progress at the neighbourhood level. The interactive dashboards are created in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada and display the progress our communities are making in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the EnerGuide for Houses program.
Inspired by the No More Delays campaign, which calls for urgent climate action from the Federal Government, a new poll released on October 14, 2021, shows that the majority of Canadians are frustrated and need the new Liberal government to step up climate action in the first 100 days in office. According to the poll, 66% of Canadians want the Liberals to enact their platform's climate promises or even stronger climate policies.
The Home Efficiency Rebate (HER) program has officially launched the Emergency Heating Replacement or "no heat" rule for customers who need immediate replacement of their natural gas furnace or boiler. This rule is available to all Enbridge customers who heat their homes with a natural gas furnace or boiler that also meet the HER program criteria. Contact a Windfall Home Energy representative for more information.
Windfall Ecology Centre, Partners for Action and Possibilian Ventures are launching the Just Green Cities
Discussion Paper on March 4, 2022, at 1:00 PM EST. Just Green Cities
is a product of extensive research into the challenges of moving from big climate action ambition at the national level to operationalizing change at the municipal level.
Municipal infrastructure renewal has been one of the core underexplored challenges Canadians face in addressing climate crises. Consequently, Windfall Ecology Centre, Partners for Action and Possibilian Ventures partnered in early 2021 to explore three municipal infrastructure issues and their relevance to the SDGs. The areas of focus are:
The Just Green Cities Discussion Paper seeks to create a common framework and language for integrating equity-driven decision-making into municipal infrastructure renewal to respond to the climate crisis. In this launch session, we'll present the Executive Summary with key insights on fleet electrification, stormwater management and net-zero buildings and discuss how we can continue to create a broader, inclusive conversation.
Join us in imagining a just, green future for our communities at the free launch event on Friday, March 4, 2022 at 1:00 PM EST.
This webinar will present how innovative Green Leases can create win-win agreements for building owners and business tenants to benefit from environmentally friendly upgrades and behaviours. Green leases balance costs and benefits of investments in sustainability to ensure both parties get the savings back based on their investment while taking action on climate change.
Important topics that will be discussed include;
Speakers
Michael Brooks
Michael is the Chief Executive Officer of REALPAC, the senior Canadian trade association for large public, private and institutional investment real estate companies. He has represented the Canadian Real Estate industry in all major policy initiatives with governments at all three levels, including property tax reform, securities legislation, income tax issues, sustainability and ESG, land use planning and regulation, and many other issues since 1997. Michael is also the Author and Editor of the Canadian textbook "Canadian Commercial Real Estate: Theory, Practice, Strategy."
Emily Nield
Emily Nield is an integral member of the Sustainability Department at Epic Investment Services, where she works as the manager of ESG & Sustainability. Emily started her career as a planetary geologist, where she studied the surface of planets and moons in our solar system. During her tenure with NASA, she could no longer ignore the problems on Earth and decided to switch careers and focus on sustainability. Emily achieved her MBA from the Schulich School of Business, where she specialized in sustainability and has been with Epic since 2019.
Windfall Ecology Centre was recognized at Green Communities Canada's 2021 Advisor Recognition Awards. Our Registered Energy Advisor, Violet Kopperson, received three awards for Energy Advisor excellence. She also received the "Highest Carbon Reductions from Retrofits" award. Windfall Ecology Centre's Sarah Grant also received the "Single Deepest Retrofit" award of 2021.
Green Communities Canada and member organizations, including Windfall Ecology Centre, are devoted to the local communities that we serve, providing grassroots solutions to one of the biggest national and global challenges facing our generation. In Canada, our home energy use accounted for about 18.8% of total GHG emissions in 2017.
York Region Commercial Buildings Need to Bridge Energy Performance Gap
When it comes to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, commercial buildings in York Region are underperforming their provincial counterparts, 2019 benchmarking data released in 2020 from the Ontario Ministry of Energy Northern Development and Mines has revealed. Businesses in commercial buildings have a role to play in overturning this lacklustre performance by taking action on climate change, and in turn, they can save money.
In 2018, the Ontario government launched the first mandatory commercial building energy benchmarking program in Canada. Tagged Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking
(EWRB), the program requires commercial buildings over 50,000 sqft to report their energy and water consumption annually. The program is a realization of the adage, you can't manage what you don't measure
. By measuring energy consumption and benchmarking with comparable buildings, commercial building owners and their tenants can evaluate their building space energy performance.
There are many benefits to energy benchmarking; top amongst these are saving operational costs by emulating best-in-class buildings and taking action on climate change from the resulting GHG reductions. Research by the US Environmental Protection Agency on energy benchmarking programs proves that up to a 2 – 7% savings in operational costs can be achieved just by measuring your energy performance.
According to The Atmospheric Fund, buildings account for 43% of York Region's GHG emissions. Early EWRB results suggest that York Region commercial buildings are not performing well when benchmarked against provincial energy performance data. Reducing GHG emissions in buildings is significant in reaching Canada's net-zero by 2050 commitment.
The interactive dashboard provides an overview of how York Region commercial buildings benchmarked for a selected group of building types. York Region buildings underperformed by an average of 15% (all types) and as high as 65% for the office building type. The sample is small for York Region, 77 buildings as compared to 805 provincially. Nonetheless, the indicators are not encouraging – we need to do better. A national comparison is also provided in the dashboard.
The 54,000 businesses in York Region are predominantly located in leased premises. They are business tenants in commercial buildings. While many commercial real estate firms have tenant engagement programs, a large percentage do not. And what does exist is often constrained by lease arrangements. In gross or triple net leases, the allocation of the benefits and the costs of energy reductions act as a disincentive to action in that capital cost incurred are mis- aligned to how the operational savings are allocated.
What is the solution? Since business owner activities in these buildings account for up to 80% of energy use, it is business owners in the building who need to take action. After all, customer-facing and B2B businesses have the most to gain in telling their customers, suppliers, and employees about their commitment to going green and taking action on climate change.
Business owners need to understand how their space contributes to GHG emissions. They need to inform themselves about their options for green leases
. With a green lease, those who incur the capital costs also receive the benefits in operational savings.
As part of its mandate to help businesses and commercial building owners champion climate action by achieving net-zero emissions in their buildings, York Region’s, ClimateWise Business Network, launched a friendly competition, the ClimateWise Building Challenge.
York Region building owners and tenants can join the ClimateWise Building Challenge to take advantage of the free York Region-wide competition and services. Through the challenge, business owners can take advantage of the many resources provided by the energy efficiency experts at Windfall Ecology Centre to help measure your current GHG emissions and form a plan to reduce your emissions in collaboration with your building owner and business neighbours.
To learn more about the value of energy benchmarking to achieve energy efficiency, check out this resource on the website, Successes in Sustainability: Landlords and Tenants Team Up to Improve Energy Efficiency
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Will COP 26 Amplify the 'Fair Share' Concept as Negotiations Enter Week Two?
Negotiations at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow have entered the second week, a technical week featuring intense deliberations on pathways to achieving global emission reduction goals. The first week of the conference saw renewed emissions pledges, deforestation commitments, and bans on overseas fossil fuel projects.
However, the pertinent questions remain; 'how have countries arrived at their reduction targets? What is their Fair Share
in global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions? Will COP 26 deliver on requirements for countries to report their estimated emissions? Windfall Centre's Founder, Brent Kopperson, in his opinion article published by Toronto Star, prescribes the 'Fair Share' as the bedrock of all negotiations at COP 26 if we must begin to see any positive shift in ambition gaps and reduction targets.
Already, a United Nations preliminary analysis released today, November 9, 2021, shows a huge gap between nations' long-term decarbonization plans and their already submitted short-term plans. With this current reality, goal 2030 for many countries might be 'mission impossible.' While researchers say it is more realistic to focus on short-term pledges, which require immediate action and create room for easy accountability for world leaders, negotiators must hammer out requirements for countries to report their estimated emissions.
Highlights From COP 26 Conversations in Glasgow
Today is day five at the ongoing 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, and climate talks are in top gear. The summit, which kicked off October 31 to end November 12, has in attendance world leaders, countries' delegates, climate activists, major corporations, and others. Here are a few highlights from conversations at the summit so far.
UN Special Envoy Carney announces private sector Climate investment
Almost 500 global financial services firms have reached a consensus to align $130 trillion, which is about 40 per cent of the world's financial assets, with the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
Trudeau Makes Global Carbon Price Pitch at Cop 26
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a collective effort to have the world's greenhouse gas emissions covered by pricing mechanisms. "We recognize right now that only about 20 per cent of global emissions are covered by a price on pollution. We should be ambitious and say as of right here today that we want to triple that to 60 per cent of global emissions should be covered by a price on pollution in 2030."
Governments, corporations Commit to Ending Deforestation by 2030
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that not less than 110 countries representing 85 per cent of the planet's forests had signed the COP26 Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, committing to stopping deforestation by 2030.
World Leaders Pledge Reinforced efforts to curb methane emissions
More than 100 countries have signed a pledge introduced by U.S. President Joe Biden and European Union leaders at COP26 to curb methane emissions. The pledge requires world leaders to cut methane which frequently leaks from oil and gas processing plants and landfills, by 30% by the end of this decade.
New $10.5 billion funds announced to support developing nations' climate ambition
A series of initiatives to help developing countries avert the dangers of rising temperatures was announced in the conference's early days. International development banks and a group of philanthropic foundations, Global Energy Alliance, announced a $10.5 billion fund to help these nations switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources.
If you missed our opinion article on COP 26, you can find it here
The Emergency Heating Replacement Rule is Now Available
The Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate (HER) has officially launched the for “no heat” customers between October 15th, 2020 to March 31st, 2021.
The Emergency Heating Replacement means that customers can complete a pre-retrofit energy evaluation after an emergency replacement of their natural gas furnace/boiler. This rule is available to all Enbridge customers who heat their homes with a natural gas furnace or boiler that also meet the HER program criteria.
What you should know
Contact us today or book a call time for more information and to get started.
What is the Speech from the Throne?
The Speech from the Throne opens every new session of Parliament. It will introduce the sitting government's direction and goals, as well as outline the ways to it will work to achieve them.
A number of guests attend the reading the Speech including Members of the House of Commons, senators, and Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.
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