Conservation Measures
Pandemic intensifies evolving role of FM
Facility managers are no longer viewed as a back-office function, but rather “a strategic instrument to attract and retain talent and create a great experience,”
Cogeneration systems to lose tax enticement
The 2021 federal budget adds some clean energy equipment to immediately qualify for accelerated capital cost allowance, and names various combined heat and power applications to be delisted after 2023.
Can purchases help reverse global warming?
When considering products with recycled content, pay attention to the types of recycled materials that are in them.
Community buildings targeted for retrofit funds
Two distinct, but complementary new federal programs promise funds for community buildings. Both are focused on meeting GHG reduction targets and are aligned with a pledge to invest $15 billion to address climate change and boost the green economy.
Shoring up water conservation practices
In preparation for World Water Day, here are five water conservation tips for facility managers and service providers.
Ontario to stretch energy efficiency spending
A new slate of conservation and demand management (CDM) programs allocates $456 million for commercial, institutional and industrial consumers over the four-year period from 2021-24.
COVID-19 related investment unveiled
The commercial real estate, facilities management and construction/retrofit sectors appear poised to capture a share of the spending announced in the Canadian government’s fall economic statement.
Scorecard stokes energy efficiency rivalry
Efficiency Canada’s second annual provincial scorecard takes a detailed look at commitment, outcomes and potential related to 42 energy efficiency indicators, and charts progress, or backsliding, against last year’s results.
Real estate makes space for climate capitalism
The 2020 race2reduce field boasts more than 1,730 buildings encompassing 248 million square feet of space in common areas and tenant premises — an increase from 650 buildings covering 95 million square feet in 2019.
Feds to invest $2 billion in energy retrofits
A promised $2 billion investment in large-scale building retrofits will be central to the Canadian government’s job creation ambitions. Energy efficiency champions have plenty of ideas of how and where the funds could be best leveraged.
Circadian lighting improves seniors’ daily routines
Circadian lighting plays a special role in facilities management as long-term care homes and schools increasingly look to enhance wellbeing among seniors and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
An embodied carbon primer for facility managers
Facility management affects a significant component of total lifetime embodied carbon.
Blazing a trail for zero carbon in Nova Scotia
The zero carbon project marks an evolution in warehouses and, more broadly, the potential for a lower-emitting industrial sector.
Public disclosure could foil energy reporting
The City of Winnipeg has invited commercial building owners and institutional facility managers to affix their Energy Star Portfolio Manager results on a publicly accessible map.
COVID-19 incubates global adjustment 2021-22
For Class A consumers, cost-saving potential will be diminished even if they successfully curtail demand during the five peak hours since those peaks are expected to be lower than usual.
Ontario electricity prices flout sliding demand
Despite a steep drop in province-wide energy consumption due to COVID-19 triggered business shutdowns, many building owners/managers expect a more modest flow-through dip in operating costs.
A new home for first responders in Delta, B.C.
The facility brings together a multi-purpose satellite fire station, a live-fire training building, and a municipal emergency operations centre.