The Government of New Brunswick is investing $350,000 in Scott’s Nursery Ltd., a Fredericton-area company, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Department of Environment is making the investment through the New Brunswick Climate Action Fund (NBCAF) to help the company replace oil-fired boilers with pellet boilers and install an energy curtain in its greenhouse.
 
“Investments such as this will ensure that the province meets the goals set out in the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan (NBCCAP) and continues to be a promoter of environmental sustainability, which we must achieve to remain positioned to be self-sufficient by 2026," said Environment Minister Rick Miles.
 
This project is anticipated to reduce 1,866 tonnes of GHG emissions annually. The estimated project cost is $902,000, according to the provincial government.
 
“We are pleased to see the agricultural community take advantage of this program and contribute to reducing greenhouse gases,” said Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette. “The department is supporting producers to become more energy-efficient and reduce their energy use by completing and implementing an energy audit for agriculture.”
 
Established from New Brunswick's portion of the federal government's Canada Eco-Trust for Clean Air and Climate Change, the $34-million NBCAF is being used to support projects in keeping with the goals of the NBCCAP. The 3-year fund is dedicated to public-sector, private-sector and not-for-profit initiatives that will result in reductions or avoidance of GHG emissions and air pollution.
 

Four EllisDon projects have achieved LEED certification through the CaGBC (Canada Green Building Council). The projects are:
 
1.     Bay Adelaide Centre (BAC) in Toronto (LEED CS Gold) – EllisDon was the Construction Manager for this project, owned and operated by Brookfield Properties. Construction for the BAC started in April 2006, and the project was completed July 2009. The list of environmental enhancements on the BAC includes: a reconstructed heritage façade, a rain water collection system, a white roof to mitigate the heat island effect and lighting occupancy sensors.
 
2.     5750 Explorer Drive in Mississauga (LEED NC Silver) – An office building intended to provide tenants with measurable health, environmental and operating cost benefits, the CaGBC featured this project in their monthly e-newsletter. EllisDon was the Design Builder on this project, owned by Explorer Drive Equities, and developed by Redcliff Realty Advisors. Construction began in June 2006 and was completed November 2007.
 
3.     Nova Scotia Community College - Waterfront Campus (LEED NC Silver) – Certification was announced on Nova Scotia Community College's Waterfront Campus building on May 20, 2010. The Waterfront Campus boasts recycled material use, thermally efficient walls and windows carrying natural light deep into public areas, and enhanced energy performance. At the time of certification, the campus was the second building in Nova Scotia to achieve LEED Silver certification.
 
4.     The K-Rock Centre in Kingston (LEED NC Silver) – The building was certified recently on May 25. Several LEED credits were earned under the Innovation & Design Process category including Green Education, Green Housekeeping, Low Emitting Materials - Furniture, and Water Use Reduction of 40%.
 
“May has been a very exciting month for EllisDon with four of our earliest LEED projects achieving certification,” said Cameron Blair, EllisDon’s manager of Sustainable Building Services for Eastern Canada. “Overcoming the learning curve associated with the LEED Rating System during its initial sweep through eastern Canada has been a challenge for our teams on these projects, on top of tight construction schedules and budget constraints. We are proud of these certifications, and have all the more to offer our clients in terms of our green building knowledgebase and integrated team experience as a result.”
 
For more information, visit www.ellisdon.com.

Smartcool Systems Inc. recently announced the launch of its new blog on energy efficiency for buildings. The 'Energy Efficiency News' blog will provide readers with another source of news on developments, legislation and ideas within the facility energy efficiency sector.

The energy efficiency industry is developing at a breakneck pace and is accompanied by the rapid proliferation of information; Smartcool's blog aims to become a succinct, reliable resource for those who want to gain a better understanding of any aspect of energy efficiency for buildings.

Smartcool is confident that the blog will help elevate the company's profile within key demographics as it reaches out to an international audience. The blog will feature weekly posts by resident communications specialist Katy Campbell, as well as guest posts from other Smartcool and external contributors. Ms. Campbell brings a unique voice to the blog, including an M.A. in environmental politics and considerable experience within the energy efficiency industry while working with Smartcool.

"We are excited about this new initiative, as it gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise with our readers," states George Burnes, President & CEO at Smartcool. "As an international company with years of experience in the HVAC energy efficiency sector, Smartcool can provide considerable insight and value to readers through its blog."

www.smartcoolblog.com

Registered with the Canada Green Building Council, the Stratford, Ont., Toyota facility is the first automotive dealership in the country to achieve Gold Certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. In recognition of their LEED Certification achievement, Stratford Toyota was presented with a commemorative plaque from Toyota Canada's Chief Environmental Officer and Managing Director, Stephen Beatty, during their grand opening celebration in recognition of their achievement - setting a new benchmark for automotive dealerships across Canada.

The brand new, $4 million dollar state-of-the-art Toyota dealership at 925 Erie Street in Stratford, Ontario, goes above and beyond to exceed customer expectations, while at the same time reducing its environmental footprint. In addition to being the first Toyota dealership in Canada to achieve LEED Certification, it is also the first building in the community of Stratford to receive this distinction.

Among many other efforts, Stratford Toyota took the following steps to meet the strict LEED Gold Certification criteria:

• Over 28% of the materials used in the construction of the facility were of a recycled nature;
• Diverted over 97% of all construction waste (over 100 metric tonnes) from landfill;
• Energy conservation technologies were incorporated into the facility design resulting in a reduction of energy consumption by 37% compared to a typical building of the same size. These technologies include energy efficient lighting in combination with natural lighting, in-floor heating and highly insulated wall panels to retain heat.
• Integrated an 8,000 litre storm water cistern recapturing system, which reduces potable city water use by more than 99%;
• Total water use has been reduced by over 84% through the latest in water efficiency approaches such as the use of low flow toilets and drought resistant landscaping
• Installation of a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) roof (white vinyl type material) repels the suns rays in the summer months and serves to insulate the building during winter months.

Stratford Toyota, a 26,100 square foot facility which opened to the public in early 2010, is expected to employ 18 staff members. They are committed to providing excellent customer service in new and used vehicle sales, as well as parts and service operations. The new dealership offers its customers a convenient and comfortable experience featuring 4 vehicle service drive-thru bays, which are also a part of the open concept showroom and service reception area.

"We're proud to join the community of Stratford, and to do so while meeting LEED Gold Certification requirements is a great accomplishment for us," says John Strickland, Dealer Principal of Stratford Toyota. "Environmental leadership is a key pillar of Toyota's philosophy, and Stratford Toyota is committed to contributing to a better future for our customers."

toyota.ca

Starting August 1, 2010, IKEA Canada will begin to phase out all incandescent light bulbs in its Canadian stores. This recent IKEA environmental initiative has a target date of incandescent bulb elimination by January 1, 2011, which is ahead of the federal government ban set to take effect in 2012. IKEA will be the first Canadian retailer to completely phase out incandescent light bulbs, the company claims.

"As the leaders of life at home, IKEA is committed to continually offering our customers environmentally responsible solutions to live a more sustainable life at home," says Kerri Molinaro, President of IKEA Canada. "Eliminating incandescent bulbs is another simple step IKEA is taking to help our customers save energy, and reduce emissions. It's a small step, with a big impact."

In a recent environmental study of consumer behaviour, over 51 per cent of Canadians said they are buying products and making enhancements to their homes in order to save energy and be more efficient (2010 Canadian Green Gap Index). An average Canadian home has 30 light fixtures, indoors and out, that consume close to $200 of electricity every year. Replacing just five bulbs with qualified CFLs in high-use areas can save up to $30 a year.

www.ikea.ca/theneverendinglist

Toronto's Commerce Court, owned by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) has received the 2010 Earth Award in the Office Park Category and the BOMA BESt Level 3 Certification from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Toronto (BOMA) Toronto. These awards are given in recognition of environmental leadership in the building industry.

Situated at King and Bay, Commerce Court is located in the heart of Toronto's financial district.

"A priority is establishing an ongoing environmental leadership position for Commerce Court. We were delighted to learn that our prudent but progressive approach to capital investments and sustainable initiatives has resulted in us achieving this recognition, says Chuck Swanson, Vice President, Real Estate, bcIMC. "Today, Commerce Court offers a comfortable and environmentally-friendly environment, and we applaud our tenants for their efforts in helping to make this happen."

Commerce Court has introduced energy conservation measures such as upgrading to a new state-of-the-art tenant metering system, which has resulted in a 5% reduction in energy consumption or 1,350,000 KwH saved each year. In addition, the tenants have also been instrumental in achieving an 84% waste diversion rate or the equivalent of 41,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill sites. These measures together with upgrades to the lighting, heating and electrical power conditioning systems and the innovative Deep Lake Water Cooling System have contributed to Commerce Court's success in energy conservation. The Deep Lake Water Cooling System was installed in 2005 and continues to save an average of 6,768,911 kwh per year or 11% of the building total energy consumption.

For tenants, the sustainability initiatives lead to greater comfort and cost savings with respect to energy consumption. Improved comfort controls and enhanced functionality contribute to overall tenant satisfaction.

The BOMA Earth Award recognizes excellence in environmentally sound office building management. BOMA BESt Level 3 Certification is a certification program that recognizes achievements in energy and environmental performance.

Commerce Court is managed by GWL Realty Advisors.

www bcimc.com
www.bomatoronto.org

On May 20th, Cavet Technologies Inc. announced it is the recipient of the Celestica Award for Technology Commercialization. The award is part of the 25th Annual Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance) Innovation Awards program. This new award was presented to Cavet Technologies for its outstanding technology engineering development, which has resulted in the production of a world-class product incorporating advanced manufacturing and innovative electronics in the LumiSmart ILC.

"We are delighted that the LumiSmart ILC has received such favourable reception," said Albert Behr, President and CEO of Cavet Technologies. "This acknowledgment from CATAAlliance falls on the heels of our award as finalist for Best New Technology and Best Lighting Controller at Lightfair International 2010. It is an honour to receive such widespread global acceptance of the LumiSmart ILC, especially since we only introduced the product earlier this month. We are thrilled and humbled."

CATAAlliance is the largest high-tech association in Canada, and is the foundation for commercialization, market research, networking, events, access to other associations, and professional development, across the nation.

LumiSmart ILC is the first of a new class of Smart Grid-enabled lighting controllers that provide microprocessor-driven adaptive control of lighting circuits to reduce power consumption while providing an instant 30 per cent or more power reduction without replacing any existing lamps, ballasts or fixtures. The LumiSmart ILC is Internet-ready (with the addition of the upcoming LumiSmart DRC - Demand Response Control module) and will enable full remote "command and control" for utilities, property managers and customers, allowing for on-demand reaction to real-time electrical events. Cavet's LumiSmart ILC also helps reduce carbon emissions by actively reducing energy consumption at the source, and therefore minimizes strain on the electrical grid. This decrease in carbon footprint results in a reduction in greenhouses gases released into the atmosphere.

LumiSmart offers a number of energy and costing savings benefits, including:

• Maintaining light level quality with reduced energy consumption;
• Providing a positive impact to net income through energy bill reduction;
• Delivering a return on investment from 12 to 24 months, depending on the lighting system;
• Offering energy reduction data that is quantifiable, measurable and traceable;
• Providing CO2 emissions that can be tracked and reported;
• Reducing electricity consumption of 30% or more, subject to facility requirements;
• Offering a Smart Grid-enabled device that is ready to connect to any; and
• Supplying Smart Grid utility (Smart Grid module).

www.cavettech.com

The Co-operators this week announced the introduction of a 10 per cent insurance discount for eligible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified dwellings. The Co-operators is one of the first insurance companies to offer such a discount.

Two members of The Co-operators group of companies began offering the discount this week. Co-operators General Insurance Company is offering it under the name Envirowise, and at L'Union Canadienne it is known as Rabais Éco-Logik.

LEED certification is granted by the Canada Green Building Council, using internationally accepted benchmarks for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability focused on five key areas: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"Homes worthy of LEED certification benefit us all by promoting human and environmental health," said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators. "We're quite eager and pleased to reward clients who own these homes by introducing these discounts, which are among the first of their kind in Canada."

The LEED-certified discount is the latest in a series of sustainability-focused products and services offered by The Co-operators. Others include insurance discounts for hybrid vehicles, environmentally responsible home insurance endorsements and socially responsible investment options. The organization has also partnered with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction to participate in the Designed for safer living program, through which it rebuilds homes to better-than-building code standards.

The ground-breaking energy efficiency work at the Empire State Building has achieved a milestone on its journey for sustainability leadership in the commercial real estate community by receiving an ENERGY STAR rating of 90 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The designation for the Empire State Building signifies that the property's energy performance is in the top tenth percentile of all commercial office buildings, new and old, across the U.S. An ENERGY STAR rating of 90 was a stated objective in the iconic property's overall sustainability retrofit initiative launched in April 2009.

ENERGY STAR is a governmental recognition program that offers organizations access to resources that help evaluate their building's energy performance, reduce energy usage and lessen their overall carbon footprint. To obtain a certificate, a number of structural and energy output goals must be met and verified by a licensed engineer. Only buildings with a rating of 75 points or above (out of 100), are eligible for certification.

Anthony E. Malkin of Malkin Holdings which directs the operation of the international icon on behalf of building owner Empire State Building Company stated, "Receiving an ENERGY STAR rating of 90 out of 100 is a significant accomplishment for any building, and an especially groundbreaking accomplishment for our Pre-War Trophy Empire State Building." He added, "With the building's overall energy efficiency retrofit project still in progress, we may see a higher number when all of the initiatives are completed."

In April 2009, President Bill Clinton, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Empire State Building partnership team consisting of the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle, and the Rocky Mountain Institute announced details of an energy retrofit as part of a $550 million upgrade program. The overall project is aimed at reinventing the iconic landmark by restoring and recreating its Art Deco grandeur and adding state-of-the-art enhancements, while at the same time reducing energy consumption, operating costs and carbon emissions. Most importantly, the work pioneered by the team is a replicable model for similar projects around the world.

Upon completion in 2013, the $20 million sustainability retrofit is expected to reduce energy consumption by more than 38 percent and will save the building over $4.4 million per year. Achieving a high ENERGY STAR rating was one of the initial goals outlined by the ESB management team, and was accomplished in less than 13 months.

The retrofit is comprised of eight key initiatives:
1. Window Light Retrofit:  Refurbishment of approximately 6,500 thermopane glass windows, using existing glass and sashes to create triple-glazed insulated panels with new components that dramatically reduce both summer heat load and winter heat loss.
2. Radiator Insulation Retrofit:  Added insulation behind radiators to reduce heat loss and more efficiently heat the building perimeter.
3. Tenant Lighting, Daylighting and Plug Upgrades: Introduction of improved lighting designs, daylighting controls, and plug load occupancy sensors in common areas and tenant spaces to reduce electricity costs and cooling loads.
4. Air Handler Replacements: Replacement of air handling units with variable frequency drive fans to allow increased energy efficiency in operation while improving comfort for individual tenants.
5. Chiller Plant Retrofit: Reuse of existing chiller shells while removing
and replacing "guts" to improve chiller efficiency and controllability, including the introduction of variable frequency drives.
6. Whole-Building Control System Upgrade: Upgrade of existing building control system to optimize HVAC operation as well as provide more detailed sub-metering information.
7. Ventilation Control Upgrade: Introduction of demand control ventilation
in occupied spaces to improve air quality and reduce energy required to condition outside air.
8. Tenant Energy Management Systems:  Introduction of individualized, web-based power usage systems for each tenant to allow more efficient management of power usage.

In addition to ENERGY STAR certification, the work at the Empire State Building would qualify under current standards for LEED-EB Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.

www.esbnyc.com

Smartcool Systems Inc. has launched a 1.8 million dollar roll out of its energy efficiency technology into twenty-five Colt facilities in Western Europe. The project is expected to save Colt Telecom an estimated 7,400,000kWh every year resulting in a payback in less than two years enabling Colt to progress its tough reduction targets while providing significant financial returns.

"Our European team has worked hard to secure this major deal, building on their previous multi-site experience with other major clients like Sainsbury's in the UK and Telefonica in Spain," explains George Burnes, President and CEO of Smartcool. "This cross border roll-out further demonstrates Smartcool's growth and strength as a leader in the energy efficiency industry. Not only do we have a superior solution to offer, but we also have the proven capability to deliver effectively to our customers around the globe."

The roll out will see Smartcool's ESM and ECO(3) installed in all of Colt's 19 data centers and an additional six corporate facilities across the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland. In addition to taking a major bite out of Colt's energy bills, Smartcool's roll out will help the company cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 9,981,670 lbs or 4,527,500 kg.

"We have made a commitment to improve the energy efficiency of our data centers by 10% in 2010. Smartcool is helping us reach this goal by reducing the energy required to maintain ideal operating temperatures in these facilities," comments Steve Lamb at Colt. "The associated cut in greenhouse gas emissions is also helping us achieve our goals under our Carbon Reduction Campaign."