List of Sessions

0:01
good afternoon everyone I hope everyone’s having a really excellent day and happy early Earth Day to everyone as
0:08
well Uh so just to um give you a little bit of background on what the government
0:13
of Manitoba is doing um that relates to uh that relates to building sustainable
0:20
building policy and sustainable building programs Um I am the director of climate
0:25
action and lowcarbon government in the climate action and energy innovation division I do have to say that the most
0:32
fun I’ve ever had at jobs has always been when I’ve had a ridiculously long title So I’m have to say that I’m having
0:38
a good time here and so I think that uh that premise still holds So just to give
0:44
you a little bit of an overview around the government mandates uh the department of environment and climate
0:50
change has uh has several mandates that directly or indirectly relate to
0:56
sustainable buildings So establishing Manitoba as a leader in clean energy um
1:02
an affordable energy program uh delivering on electric vehicle incentives for the province developing a
1:08
roadmap for net zero by 2050 um a net zero energy grid and restoring
1:14
government and environmental organizational funding Uh I also do just want to note as well
1:22
that the that these concepts actually stream across government through the
1:27
crowns um as well as other departments So on the energy side you see northern and clean energy projects You see
1:34
developing a plan for net zero energy grid increasing lowcarbon energy generation
1:41
uh supporting bofuel production developing a plan for net zero um expanding the EV charging network
1:48
um green industry and jobs growing Manitoba’s energy and green economies of
1:54
which many of you are involved in climate adaptation for farms which of
2:00
course can extend to buildings supporting municipal climate action and planning and climate resilient
2:06
infrastructure And then you also see funding sustainable projects managing natural resources sustainably and
2:13
protecting biodiversity So I’m actually just going
2:20
to skip over this slide because I want to make sure I have enough time for discussion today So I’m just going to slip over this quickly Um I just want to
2:27
talk about um the Manitoba building codes um for just a couple of minutes So
2:33
Manitoba adopted um a new building code uh a couple of years ago and it’s the
2:39
2020 building code and it’s tier one for residential um commercial and energy
2:44
code Uh I do just want to note for you
2:49
that while we know that code is not as aggressive as it could be that there is
2:55
support in the province for accelerating that that code So Manitoba um is in the
3:01
process or just starting a process to develop a roadmap to advance uh the adoption of higher energy efficiency
3:07
tiers and Dunksky Energy and Climate Advisors has been contracted to do that
3:12
So that’s just a recent announcement Um and that part of that will be a roadmap
3:18
uh part of that road map will include um some outcomes around training and
3:24
education on codes and the tiers for the trades inspectors and professionals So
3:29
keep your eye out for those kinds of things Uh and I do uh want to acknowledge that Sustainable Building
3:36
Manitoba and probably several people I can’t see who’s here today but probably several of you who were here um either
3:43
your associations or uh or others uh supported Manitoba
3:49
developing um this roadmap process Um we did apply for federal funding um for the
3:55
codes acceleration fund and that is part of what is supporting this action
4:00
Um just a little bit here around climate action and lowcarbon government
4:06
initiatives Um so we do have a five-year cumulative uh emissions target It is 5.6
4:14
megat tons So we’re sort of partway through this process So it runs the period runs from 2023 to 2027
4:22
And that is somewhat of what is on top of the list here in terms of framing out
4:29
uh where we’re going and how we’re getting there Um and some of our priorities So we have uh just closed a
4:38
program which was the merit-based lowcarbon economy fund Approximately $15 million went into incentivizing in in a
4:46
year which is which is pretty aggressive um over the last year went into
4:52
incentivizing a lot of fuel switching across the province And we had a number of great projects um and programs that
5:00
uh were um that were funded through that including some of the like the Colony
5:06
Square project for example Uh and so there are a lot of decarbonization efforts occurred through that Um the
5:14
climate action and uh the climate action fund which was formerly the conservation and climate fund some of you may know
5:20
that has also done a lot of work And so um we did just see the province has
5:26
announced um part of that uh part of that funding last week around electric
5:32
vehicle charging stations And I’ll talk a little bit more about that I also wanted to frame up for you that there
5:38
has been an incredible amount of work that’s been done and continues to be done around training and capacity
5:45
building And we’re doing this through a lot of different means that includes um
5:52
working with um uh that includes working with different partners So we’ve worked
5:58
with the international institute for sustainable development that has come out with a guide book around resiliency
6:05
planning for communities Um we continue to work with uh Climate West uh and they
6:11
do a great deal of training for professionals for municipalities uh for
6:17
indigenous communities around being climate ready And um we also continue to
6:24
help support through funding um and other means support advancing uh plans
6:31
for climate readiness in the province and we work with partners including Federation of Canadian Municipalities to
6:38
make sure that Manitoba municipalities are really well positioned That of course is important because buildings of
6:45
course are part of being climate ready And while we have um while we have very
6:52
resilient buildings in many ways there is opportunity to look at those bu that
6:57
building infrastructure and ensure that we are ready for the changing climate and that our buildings are uh resilient
7:04
in faces some of those u weather events and other changes that we’re going to
7:10
see Um efficiency Manitoba I’m not going to say very much Lindsay’s here He’s
7:15
going to talk a lot about it but I do just want to flag for you that efficiency Manitoba is a really
7:21
important partner Um they report up to our minister at environment and climate
7:26
change and we work very collaboratively with them I mean they are they are
7:31
delivering the demand side management programs Sometimes the department has spe particular programs like the
7:37
merit-based program Um but for the most part we’re seeing most of this kind of action being delivered through um
7:45
efficiency Manitoba and and their programs
7:50
Um I do want to talk a little bit about lowcarbon government here but um
7:56
government is uh also trying to look at how it’s going to uh frame up its path
8:03
forward and we do have a sustainable procurement policy which is one of the
8:08
frameworks We do work with uh sustainable procurement Manitoba’s community of practice and we are man
8:15
pardon me we are looking at our building uh infrastructure we are looking at opportunities to decarbonize
8:22
um we did have a very major move last year uh both in Flynflon and in
8:27
Churchill around moving housing um that is owned by the province uh
8:34
moving them off propane and onto electric heating systems So those are the kinds of things that are happening
8:41
um quietly but happening and important because it also does support the capacity in the province to make these
8:47
things happen I do want to talk about a green building policy which I’m sure some of
8:54
you know about um but we do have a green building policy Um it is applying to new
9:00
buildings and to major retrofits Um it does reflect government’s commitment to
9:06
create coste effective and an energy efficient buildings um that reduce the
9:12
environmental impact and have long-term operating costs um that are lower
9:17
ideally are lower and they support healthier and more sustainable communities Um it also helps advance
9:24
quality jobs um to support that transition to a lowcarbon economy
9:30
I do also want to flag here that we are looking at the program Um currently for
9:38
any buildings that are funded by the province new builds and major retrofits we are looking at lead certification or
9:47
equivalent Um in the last few years we’ve definitely been moving to a lot of equivalency certain sectors are still
9:54
quite interested in maintaining a lead certification but we know that’s not for everyone and we know that there’s lots
10:00
of opportunity to do things somewhat differently Um oops sorry Uh to do
10:06
something somewhat differently or to uh or to just be a little bit more flexible
10:12
but still accomplish the same great outcomes So we’re looking at how we can
10:18
adjust that program Um one of the things that we are very cognizant of is that
10:24
the pathways diagram and how you navigate this process is very complex and it doesn’t need to be quite that
10:30
complex So we’re looking at doing some looking at doing things to make it more predictable and more accessible for
10:37
everyone Um and and also to really make sure that we have specific
10:42
acknowledgement of some of the key objectives that are perhaps a little bit less um uh that aren’t as as framed
10:51
quite as loudly uh such as around climate resilience So making sure that our building infrastructure is climate
10:57
resilient as well as reducing emissions um and focusing on
11:03
renewables Um some of the things that are underway I did want to flag for you probably stuff that you’re not hearing
11:10
is again this implementation of the sustainable procurement policy Um there
11:15
some of you may have participated in a construction and renovation demolition task force and working group So this is
11:21
these are items that are underway and there are some recommendations that have come out of that process and we’re
11:27
looking to see how sort of next steps in this space How can we be more effective
11:33
um and particularly around buildings as we all know buildings make up a substantive portion of the waste that we
11:39
are seeing going into landfill and what can be done about that and how can we approach this in a different way Um the
11:45
green transportation piece not directly linked but there is links right So the province is fun uh funding an electric
11:52
vehicle um rebate program $4,000 um per vehicle Uh and we are also trying
12:00
to advance the charging station network So recently last week in fact the
12:06
minister announced half a million dollars in funding for multif family residential and rural and northern
12:13
communities to install charging stations Some of them are for fleet and some of them are public charging but this is a
12:20
really big leap forward So this will be 51 new chargers that will be out on the landscape and again help create that
12:28
network that is needed for there to be widescale adoption of electric vehicles
12:34
We do also notice you know we do also note that um having uh building building
12:40
codes that enable uh charging station installs in residential units and in
12:48
other in in other applications is part of that language So these are the kinds
12:53
of things that we are looking forward to um working with all of you on in the
12:58
coming uh in coming weeks and months Um where to from here well we are
13:04
very much focused on supporting the green economic transition and we certainly are looking at seeing work
13:11
both in policy and programs coming out of the province continued incentives Um
13:17
so some of you may have noticed that the province has been um has entered into an
13:23
agreement with Canada for $26 million for large industrial um for the large
13:29
industrial sector And so you know look to see some things coming out in in that space in the coming coming weeks and and
13:36
months Um we do continue build on our
13:42
decarbonization efforts and that it is the basis The the good news is when the
13:48
expert the minister’s expert advisory council um developed a recommendation
13:53
for a target they did ensure that it would fit on a pathway for net zero So Manitoba is uh is still well in the
14:02
running to achieve a pathway pathway for net zero Um we don’t have this up I just
14:08
checked just before I got online Um we are looking at revamping our website a little bit and that’s supposed to be
14:13
going live shortly and expect to see um the expert advisories recommendation for
14:19
a green economic transition report Again some of it which reflects buildings So
14:25
all in all stay tuned lots of good news stories to come out I know it’s a very dynamic space right now Um we enjoy
14:33
working with all of our partners Uh our partners are an extremely important part
14:38
of how government delivers Um so sometimes we may be doing things but it
14:44
doesn’t really appear that it’s us Um but we’re very much involved in the background and in and certainly
14:51
appreciate the opportunity to work with partners like Sustainable Building Manitoba like Climate Change Connection
14:58
um like several out uh out throughout the community And it’s through the work
15:04
good work that you do um that helps the province advance in this space And it’s
15:09
a really important part of um of our efforts And uh just to also I do want to
15:17
acknowledge as well um efficiency Manitoba again because they are a super
15:22
important part of how we are delivering uh and it is
15:28
um it’s it’s really key So there’s good in there’s good work working
15:34
relationship We work very closely with efficiency Manitoba um in our particular
15:39
office and uh a lot of what you’re seeing in terms of government direction
15:44
is coming out through uh through the offerings of efficiency Manitoba
Efficiency Manitoba
15:49
So uh thanks very much for having me Uh it’s my pleasure to join the building resilience gathering once again and
15:54
share with you some perspectives my position and role at efficiency Manitoba So in case you weren’t already
16:01
aware efficiency Manitoba is the newest crown corporation and we have a legislative mandate around energy
16:07
efficiency aiming to provide uh 1.5% reduction in electricity consumption and
16:13
0.75% for natural gas um through demand side management programs like the
16:20
mentioned So to start with I’d like to take a bit of a look at our uh emissions
16:26
Um so with the 2015 signing of the Paris agreement Canada adopted uh 2005 as the
16:32
base year from which we measure our greenhouse gas emission reduction target and announced a 20% and 40% reduction
16:38
targets for 2026 and 2030 respectively Um so on this chart we see Manitoba’s
16:45
emissions breakdown between 2005 and 2023 with the peak emissions occurring
16:51
in this period at 2018 Um with several electricity generation
16:58
and uh heavy industries having retrieved substantial emissions reductions we
17:04
still nonetheless see a net increase uh primarily due to the transportation sector along with smaller contributions
17:10
from waste light manufacturing construction and from buildings
17:16
Um but we can see those 2026 and 2030 targets if applied equally to Manitoba’s
17:22
emissions from 2025 those are going to provide substantial shallow toe Um
17:27
however for context in 2023 Canada’s top five emitters were Alberta Ontario
17:33
Quebec Saskatchewan and BC which together released 92% of Canada’s total
17:39
GHD emissions Lanto are responsible for slightly over 3%
17:45
I should also note that when considering our cumulative GHG emissions during the
17:51
industrial era so let’s consider this between 1850 up to the latest data that I had seen from 2021 Canada ranks about
17:59
10th highest worldwide However on a per capita basis we are at or near top uh
18:05
with 1751 tons of cumulative emissions per person from this source Um for
18:13
reference our neighbors to the south are at about 1550 tons per capita or about
18:19
12% lower Um no doubts owing to our uh very cold climate and the high standard
18:25
of nonetheless something important to consider in terms of our overall contribution uh to the climate change
18:32
problem
18:40
Uh before we get a little further in I’d like to introduce a few uh different definitions and terms here some core
18:46
concepts for our discussion around energy Um so few are generating capacity
18:53
uh what actually is energy and peak demand and how these concepts are interrelated So to do so I’d like to use
18:59
this analogy of a bus ridership and transit system Um so generating capacity
19:05
can be thought of as the number of buses available Uh while they’re typically not fully utilized this number of buses
19:11
defines the total number of passengers that can be moved at any given time And in a similar way the cumulative
19:17
generating capacity on our electric grid defines the available power In this example our bus system can transport a
19:24
certain number of people in the course of a day uh and that is in the same way that the number of generating stations
19:30
on our grid can provide a certain amount of energy during the course of a day And
19:35
then lastly we can think of peak demand as the highest number of passengers using our transit system at any given
19:41
time So let’s say this might be during the morning rush hour which is akin to the highest demand period for
19:47
electricity which could be on an extremely cold morning in January or February as both people and buildings
19:54
and systems all start to use energy for their daily
19:59
activities Now let’s take a little closer look at Manitoba’s energy landscape Manitoba Hydro supplies both
20:05
electricity and natural gas with the majority of our electricity coming from northern hydroelectric generating
20:11
stations while smaller portions are purchased from local wind farms or imported from interconnected grids uh
20:18
with the neighboring provinces as well as northern United States A very small portion is also
20:24
generated from natural gas thermal plants to cover the peak demand for electricity if needed which can’t be
20:30
provided by our grid Considering natural gas we are importing approximately two billion
20:36
cubic meters or about 21 or so equivalent terowatt hours of energy per
20:42
year I also wanted to mention at this point
20:48
uh Manitoba is currently in the midst uh sorry Manitoba Hydro is currently in the midst of their 2025 integrated resource
20:54
plan which picks up where their 2023 effort left off and is intended to result in a recommended development plan
21:01
outlining a sequence of actions they’ll be able to take in the near term to help ensure that we’re ready for our energy
21:08
future A couple of notable learnings from the previous uh iteration of the
21:13
IRP uh from 2023 Uh firstly is that the energy transition is already underway in
21:19
Manitoba We certainly see it as an efficiency Manitoba Uh number two is that investments are required in all
21:25
scenarios and three that natural gas uh is looking to play a role in getting to
21:30
a lowcarbon future Uh currently the 2025 IRP is conducting modeling and analysis
21:37
uh before launching into the second round of engagement on the preliminary recommendations and the uh uh
21:44
preliminary road
21:50
map Both the 2023 and the 2025 IRP have
21:55
highlighted peak demand in particular So from the 2023 IRP uh they state that
22:01
quote “The current surplus capacity in the industrial system is limited and is only expected to meet Manitoba’s future
22:07
needs until the early 2030s assuming current energy trends uh and the population growth remains the same While
22:14
the 2025 iteration basically restates this that energy demand could more than
22:19
double in the next 20 years but we’re making sure that we work to make sure that we are ready.” Um and this has been
22:27
highlighted recently Uh on January 20th uh of this year Manitoba Hydro Systems
22:32
set a new peak demand record at 5,111 megawatt hours breaking the
22:38
previous record which been set on December 12th 2024 at 4 uh
22:45
927 megawatt megawatts All to say is that we have highlighted
22:51
peak demand as a a real concern for our energy grid and system and that Manitoba
22:58
Hydro and Efficiency Manitoba and certainly the provincial government are taking that very seriously and looking
23:03
at the most feasible ways to address the issue uh of needing to potentially build
23:09
um new generating capacity but also hopefully defer the need to add those generational resources due to the large
23:17
uh potential cost and time commitments
23:23
involved So when we talk about the energy transition um we know that it’s underway Um and efficiency Manitoba
23:30
certainly has a plan a perspective on how to handle this Um and this starts with efficiency first So we’re committed
23:38
to contributing to a lowcarbon future and support the energy transition but it has to be through an efficiency first
23:44
approach as we believe this really makes the most sense This means that ensuring energy efficiency is appropriately
23:50
valued and recognized as the first fuel for Manitobans Uh amidst broader uncertainties taking efficiency first
23:56
approach makes a lot of sense because reducing your energy consumption can immediately also reduce your energy
24:02
expenses Secondly uh we would like to support beneficial electrification As the energy transition progresses
24:09
investing in beneficial electrification using technologies which are more efficient than electric resistance
24:15
heating is increasingly important Heat pumps are a great example of suitable technologies for beneficial
24:22
electrification and efficiency Manitoba’s incentives are positioned to ease the incremental cost burden of
24:27
making more energyefficient choices relative to conventional ones uh posed by the minimum market uh standards
24:35
And then lastly really again hammering home this point on the the peak
24:40
generating capacity and our peak demand issue As we shift towards beneficial
24:45
electrification reducing the demand on the grid becomes more important than ever It’s why we recognize the value in
24:52
supporting uh eelectric capacity and demand savings um such as enclosure uh focused
24:58
retrofits um which include measures such as improving insulation and air sealing
25:04
which can yield longlasting uh demand reductions and enable an e economical
25:10
sizing of efficient HVAC solutions such as grounds which again also provide peak
25:17
demand savings relative to electric resistance Christy Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro are
25:23
also in the process of investigating and developing demand response initiatives which can leverage uh behavioral changes
25:30
and innovative technologies such as smart thermostats and uh smart and connected electric vehicle chargers to
25:37
strategically shift loads from peak to non- peak times uh again benefiting the grid and
25:47
ability to reinforce energy efficiency as the first choice fuel for Manitobans
25:52
Let’s consider this chart from the 2023 hydro uh which shows a range of levelized cost
25:59
of energy for several different technologies in the Manitoba market Especially note that while energy
26:05
efficiency measures shown here in the middle of the chart is already among the three lowest cost options that the
26:12
actual levelized cost achieved by efficient plan with blended portfolio which includes portions of heat pumps
26:18
and solar was at $22 per megawatt hour outperforming all of the other options
26:24
And uh apologies I had included a a dotted line here to show that threshold
26:29
uh but rest assured it is lower than everything else here Okay Um energy
26:36
efficiency measures also provide employment and economic benefits within Manitoba through our local manufacturing
26:41
of products insulation windows and doors Unlike other technologies uh although
26:47
very attractive such as heat pumps and solar which are currently manufactured outside of our province
26:59
Okay Uh so the graph on the left hand side illustrates a typical residential
27:04
energy consumption and this can kind of give us a sense of where um some of these energy efficiency opportunities
27:11
may lie When considering uh a detached single family home uh when we take
27:17
heating cooling and water heating together these account for nearly 80% of
27:22
the home’s energy use um which points us to the areas of greatest opportunity Um
27:29
when considering the uh available options heat pumps offer potentially very attractive solutions both from an
27:36
energy efficiency perspective but also from an energy cost perspective relative to electric resistance heating
27:44
Um so for example our coal climate airsource heat pump um is uh providing
27:51
still about 30 or 40% energy cost reductions relative to electric
27:56
resistance heating whereas a ground source heat pump could provide up to 60% uh operating cost reduction
28:04
So um just wanted to before I close out here just wanted to highlight that efficiency Manitoba has more than 40
28:10
programs in market Um and a few of the uh really attractive ones um that you
28:16
may want to keep an eye out uh keep an eye on our website for um is new heat pump offers which will be offered very
28:22
soon as well as our Energy home evaluation rebate uh which just launched yesterday and is providing $400 towards
28:30
a pre-retate evaluation Okay And uh with that I think we could
Q&A
28:36
move to questions Uh okay So we have a first question uh is going to come to us
28:42
from Mike Uh what is the province doing to implement nature-based and low energy
28:47
solutions to climate change in built environments examples include passive solar heating so for low energy and
28:54
native ecosystems on rooftop naturebased So do either of you want to take that question uh well maybe I could
29:01
just provide just a little bit of context Uh so um some of the funding that we have provided um out of the
29:09
department has looked at either pilots or supported uh implementation projects
29:16
So from that angle we’ve been um doing those kinds of things Um our focus in
29:23
terms of nature-based uh naturebased solutions has been more on a landscape scale So um supporting uh you know
29:32
riparian area and wetland restoration um and less so less specifically on this
29:40
but certainly all of these things come into the mix uh through the um through
29:47
the provincial green building program which again applies to applies to buildings that are are funded by the
29:54
province Lindsay I don’t know if you’ve got anything to add to that Yeah I don’t think anything particularly
30:01
um I think efficiency Manitoba’s programs uh haven’t maybe taken the nature-based solution focus as yet Um
30:08
but I would like to mention that we do have our innovation fund available which is open to supporting innovative uh
30:13
ideas which can yield energy savings or demand reduction So if anyone out there
30:19
has a nature-based project that they would like to pilot or to um increase market awareness at you know please
30:25
don’t hesitate to reach out and we can see what support might be available
30:30
And maybe maybe I should add though is that the province does have a um
30:38
um sorry uh a tax credit for uh renewable energy
30:44
So the solar panels that sort of thing does fall in that That’s in addition to the programs that efficiency Manitoba
30:51
offers Okay Oh sorry One last thing One last
30:57
thing for um we do have a small number of uh of oil um uh homes that are on
31:06
home heating oil in the province Uh and we have partnered with Canada on
31:12
uh on and efficiency Manitoba is involved in that delivery but um have partnered with uh Nash Resources Canada
31:20
on providing an off-ramp for those uh for those homes into geothermal or air
31:26
source or some other option So great All right Next question What part
31:32
of peak demand is due to residential consumption what percentage of peak can be reduced by the proposed management
31:38
meas measures that’s a great question and unfortunately one which I don’t have the
31:44
data in front of me to provide So I’ll have to inquire with my friends at Manitoba Hydro as to where they see
31:49
those peak demand reductions um coming from in particular Uh I mean I think there’s no question that there are
31:56
absolutely a certain number of large industrial customers to Manitoba hydro
32:02
Um however I I do know that hydro is also in uh current talks with some of those customers into their ability to uh
32:09
voluntarily curtail some of the process energy uh demand as as it pertains to
32:14
peak demand um considerations Um but I believe you know really the market is
32:20
responsible ultimately So it’s it’s not going to be provided by any one sector residential commercial or industrial but
32:27
a suite of measures across uh our economy um uh to provide effective
32:33
demand response uh that will benefit uh our grid
32:41
All right Uh moving on to the next one Uh are there new measures coming forward
32:47
regarding adoption to higher tiers of energy code adoption in the works
32:53
well I would say that there’s good understanding in the province that um having higher energy um code adoption is
33:03
really important to help support uh some of these other measures that we have in place right it’s very important and for
33:09
long-term decarbonization for achieving a net zero um net zero system by 2050 is
33:16
critical Buildings are going to be around for a very long time So we need to we need to be busy doing the
33:22
important things now Uh so that so the work that Dunky uh is will be just
33:29
launching or has just launched on uh a roadmap for code acceleration is key to
33:37
that We recognize that uh just adopting higher energy codes is not the most
33:44
pragmatic way to do this there is supports that are needed in the system around training and skills development
33:52
um across the board We’ve certainly heard from industry on that And so we’re taking a really practical um and
33:59
engagement focused approach to to looking at developing a roadmap that
34:05
makes sense uh for for the province and working with our partners uh in
34:11
education and sustainab building Manitoba you know across the board because um it’s an important facet and
34:20
um we are uh we’re focused on on trying to get something done here but get it done right for Manitoba
34:27
Yeah And I’ll just add to that that um on the 30th one of the discussions we’ll be having is around some of this
34:33
building code adoption stuff So uh because it’s very important to SPM that we hear from everybody in the community
34:38
and we help lift up those voices because there’s so many smart people here My goodness you keep impressing me Okay so
34:46
to the next question Lindsay unless you had something you wanted to add there Okay perfect So the last question of the
34:52
day for this session is going to be how sustainable are the new schools recently announced do they build upon the several
34:58
lead platinum schools built eight years ago in the province have life cycle costs been prepared to demonstrate the
35:04
benefits of deeply sustainable schools and healthy learning outcomes sorry two healthy learning
35:09
outcomes Leanne that might be for you Uh yeah maybe and and maybe Lindsay can
35:15
give me a little bit of help here because those schools probably came over to efficiency Manitoba for some supports
35:20
as well Um I I don’t know what standard
35:25
each school is going for Uh although the uh the green building policy will say a
35:31
minimum of lead silver We know many schools achieve higher than that That is actually a really um interesting sector
35:38
that likes using lead because uh it really speaks to their community
35:44
um around the quality of the of the built environment and how it supports learning So that’s a good example of
35:51
where any refinements to the green building code or pardon me buildings program greens buildings policy in the
35:57
province will reflect um continue to reflect you know the needs and interests
36:02
of that sector Um so I I can’t speak specifically to uh
36:09
to what is happening I do know that there is some really good work underway
36:14
because we um we have provided funding to one of the schools for uh geothermal
36:22
So there is excellent work underway and um so I it is something I will follow up
36:28
on and and can get back to you on Lindsay I don’t know if you’ve got anything to add those Yeah I would uh
36:34
certainly echo um I unfortunately am unfamiliar with the particular schools in question as to whether you know where
36:41
they are falling relative to previously platinum schools in terms of energy efficiency Um but I would certainly say
36:48
that uh I believe all new construction schools are coming to new buildings program through efficiency Manitoba
36:54
which is our primary program for new commercial buildings and institutional buildings uh which provides
37:00
performance-based energy performance-based incentives uh to help encourage um energy efficiency and
37:07
environmental stewardship and performance um through those programs And we have more recently launched a new
37:14
iteration of that program aligned with the new building code which offers escalating tiers of incentives So as a
37:21
building demonstrates energy performance to say to tier two or to tier three the incentive rates also ratchet up to
37:27
provide an increased uh financial incentive uh for those buildings to be built better and to perform better uh
37:34
over time in addition to uh bonus incentives aligned with building commissioning so that we are not only
37:40
ensured that the building design is good but the building actually operates as intended as designed and functions to
37:46
provide real world energy savings Um.

0:00
okay So uh first question what do you think of when you hear the word sustainability a lot of people think
0:07
about emissions carbon reduction uh innovation and technology building
0:13
products What about supporting the Canadian economy you know sustainability
0:18
needs to support uh and create local jobs build resilient supply chains and
0:25
uh keep dollars within our community Most people are very surprised to learn
0:31
that when designed with intent a mass timber building can compete head-to-head
0:37
with steel and concrete construction It’s often unfamiliarity that equals uncertainty or the fear uh
0:46
the fear of the unknown But what’s the cost of playing it safe
0:52
mass timber is grown harvested manufactured and installed entirely within Canada by Canadian workers for
1:00
Canadian projects And uh some stats about mass timber It has a 70 to 76% lower carbon
1:08
footprint than its equivalent and steel or concrete Strategically using mass timber
1:13
can reduce project’s overall carbon footprint by 10 to 20%
1:19
And uh as we know trees as they grow sequester carbon through the growth cycle and
1:25
um uh when this timber is harvested and manufactured into engineered products
1:33
they’ll have incredibly long life cycles in buildings up to 100 plus years as we can see in some of our heritage and old
1:41
industrial buildings in uh in downtown Winnipeg And the there’s a significantly
1:47
lower input energy into harvesting and fabrication uh for mass timber than
1:53
there is with steel and concrete But beyond reducing emissions and carbon footprint sustainability
2:01
needs to help make our economy sustainable too And when you choose a
2:06
mass timber product that’s grown in Canada you’re also investing in the Canadian economy
2:14
What if your building envelope could reduce your heating loads by 20% or more prevent premature
2:22
building envelope or structural failure uh reduce the opportunity for air
2:28
contamination within an occupied space Ice panels combine light gauge
2:34
steel framing and expanded polystyrene insulation There’s no thermal bridging
2:40
no waste delivered to sight And uh the cold form steel within the
2:46
panel is lightweight has an incredibly long life cycle and expanded polystyrene
2:51
offers exceptional insulation performance values and a matching life cycle to the steel Combined these
2:59
products equal lighter buildings fewer materials used lighter
3:04
foundations and a building that’s going to perform as designed for for many
3:10
years to come along with uh the potential for much better indoor air
3:15
quality You could think of ice panels a little bit like a thermos for your building They lock in heat resist
3:21
moisture and provide a lifetime of permanent insulation properties Ice panels contribute to
3:28
sustainable building But it takes more than building products to bring a sustainable building together
3:37
Have you ever worked with a consultant who pushes for what they know versus
3:42
being open to new ideas it’s easier for them But
3:49
sustainability demands creativity uh technology and continuous learning
3:55
It’s incredible to have a team aligned with clients priorities and u have those
4:03
priorities be sustainable ones at the same time in uh in a project we’re
4:09
working on It’s uh a super eight hotel up in Cross Lake First Nation or Pimma
4:15
Chikamac Some of the questions we got from our design team during preconstruction were very pleasant
4:21
surprises Um the architects for example LM architecture they took an interest in
4:28
learning about Greenstone ice panels and the benefits uh to that they could
4:34
provide for the client and they were already familiar with mass timber So you know they were open to learning about
4:40
new products and the engineering team was asking questions about the
4:45
environmental cost of shipping heavier products versus constructing with lighter materials on site and uh
4:53
creatively designed grid lines to work with multiple systems while we explored what system would serve the client’s
4:59
priorities best are mechanical engineers So tower engineering uh on structural
5:05
mechanical electrical They’re quite involved in searching for uh HVAC
5:11
equipment that offered the fewest building envelope penetrations and came
5:16
back with some suggestions for a heat pump system uh heat that only required
5:22
two 6-in knockouts in the hotel suites instead of your standard PTAC which is a
5:28
much larger opening in the wall um as a contributing factor to poor
5:35
envelope performance and uh generally creates opportunities for for things to
5:41
go wrong with water infiltration and and such Our civil engineers were exploring
5:47
solutions to minimize impact on sewer and water infrastructure and we managed to remove a fire pump and a reservoir
5:55
energy advisor uh providing multiple scenarios of data sets that helped the
6:00
client shape decisions and uh added insulation to the building because it it made sense It it would pay off along
6:08
with exploring other efficiency opportunities kitchen consultants believe it or not
6:13
you know discussing delivery schedules for uh uh foods and dry goods and u and
6:21
by that process reducing the overall building uh
6:26
footprint And u landscape architects of course tried to plan the site to
6:31
preserve nature and keep as many trees as possible and and inevitably they did not get to keep as many trees as they
6:38
wanted to But um these are all all thoughts that the team put into thinking
6:45
about um sustainability within this project It takes an innovative team
6:50
working together to think about sustainability at this level But how do you bring it all together and that’s
6:57
just a handful of the consultants There’s actually quite a few more on a project this
7:03
size Collaboration isn’t just convenient it’s actually critical especially in remote
7:09
projects like Cross Lake And that’s where technology comes in and it can impact your
7:15
sustainability Revit is a building information modeling software or BIM
7:21
Revit is used to build the building virtually first before it’s physically constructed
7:27
Working in Revit allows collaboration between engineers architects and suppliers like the timber company and
7:34
the panels Uh clash detection flags conflicts early avoiding costly rework
7:40
like we’re colliding with structural components Catching mistakes virtually
7:45
means a shorter construction time frame reducing total required construction energy fewer wasted materials and a
7:53
lower project cost for the customer checking off three sustainable boxes at once Uh virtual collaboration also
8:00
reduces travel to remote sites and allows for precision building modeling
8:05
which also reduces material waste by up to 15% And that’s because all the bits
8:11
and components of the building be it a timber a column a beam or structural member can be designed op optimally
8:19
based on the whole building versus overdesigning those components for the
8:24
just in case scenarios when each consultant works inside their own set of
8:29
drawings or design So the collaboration can have a big big impact on
8:35
sustainability overall Imagine spending millions of dollars on
8:42
a building and it didn’t capture your values or your intended purpose but
8:48
instead reflected your design team’s ideas And this happens in our Cross Lake
8:55
Super 8 project Transparency return on investment and
9:00
cultural respect were very important to the client Um and these actually tie into
9:07
sustainability So with transparency um we’re able to create an ethics
9:14
accountability for the leadership within the community and the owner gets to see the actual cost of everything including
9:21
any performance upgrades or added insulation or mechanical systems
9:27
Uh a transparent tendering process also uh is a way to respect our clients money
9:32
and their reputation within the community On the ROI it’s not just a
9:37
hotel building It needs to be a profitable business because poverty is still a big problem within these First
9:44
Nation communities So we can’t build a hotel that doesn’t cash flow and doesn’t make sense So we bring to the table uh
9:52
our experience in hotel operations and uh provide insight into what makes a
9:58
good hotel along with data sets and design insights to um to their business
10:05
performer to make sure we’re setting them up to be successful for the future as well And that results in good
10:12
information and sustainable choices by the client and a working business plan
10:18
And the outcome is a hotel with 20% reduced utility bills carbon deficit and
10:25
a design that reflects the identity of Cross Lake and PimachicMac First Nation
10:31
Key takeaway is refuse to allow your contractors or consultants to create contracts that stifle creativity They
10:38
need to channel it This isn’t just a hotel but a blueprint for the future And
10:44
that brings me to the big picture How local action creates a global
10:50
impact Cross Lake Super 8 proved that innovation local supply chains and
10:56
creative teams can deliver sustainable results at comparable costs
11:01
Sustainability isn’t compromise it’s an upgrade What can you do about
11:08
sustainability in your projects bake local sourcing and innovation into your RFPs Don’t just ask for it require it
11:17
Partner with firms who know your climate community and values If they don’t know
11:22
about it they need to be willing to learn and put in the time to learn about it Challenge your team to innovate Just
11:29
because we’ve done it one way for 50 years doesn’t mean that it’s the right way today Uh in closing sustainability
11:36
isn’t a buzzword It’s required for economic survival Let’s build a stronger
11:42
economy together through sustainable building in Manitoba
11:47
My presentation is a bit more on the I guess uh bit on the broad strokes Um
11:55
um not much on on on data or specifics although we can uh we can always talk
Sustainable design
12:01
about that in the uh after um I’m just showing the screen from my
12:07
uh PDF uh editor here and that’s that that’s fine So you can see the the
12:13
panels on the side Um we can see the uh Yeah we can Yeah as you say you can see
12:19
the panels on the side but no biggie Great That’s fine Um so uh I’m a uh
12:25
partner with Montene Architecture Works and uh we have a sibling construction company Bob Sled Construction Um Bob
12:33
Sled gets it name Everyone always asks Boba gets its name because one of the founders was was in fact an Olympic bob
12:39
sled in uh I believe the Calgary Olympics So
12:44
um we believe and so and it was kind of obviously was born um out of an idea
12:50
that uh the founding partners of of maintain architecture works had that um
12:56
um you know construction should is and and and should be more um closely tied
13:02
to the practice of of architecture Um so
13:07
we we believe strongly that uh you know our tech should be should be on site and talking to to trades and talking to uh
13:14
the guys on site and and kind of helping resolve the details as a as a team Um it
13:21
allows us to I think um push the boundaries a little bit more
13:27
Um and because most I would say all of the work that we do with bobsled is um
13:33
is not tendered It’s not um um you know it’s not put out to uh to the public to
13:39
in a typical kind of um design bid build process It’s uh usually construction
13:45
management and at times it’s um um design build Um in any case it’s it’s
13:51
always architectled design build is a close tie to the to the client and
13:56
obviously a um a high importance put on
14:02
uh on on quality um design and sustainable kind of
14:08
design So the firm’s been around for um upward 30 years now Um I’ll talk
14:15
primarily the focus of uh of montane architecture work Bob said been around for about uh a decade or so kind of
14:23
growing from small basements to um to larger kind of multif family um
14:30
residential work One of the early um sustainable projects for the office
14:36
was the um Alloway uh reception center at uh at at Fort White that our founder
14:43
Tom Montaine Um had the pleasure to design and kind of work with the the
14:49
team at Fort White who as we all know are are you know kind of leading the way
14:55
in terms of uh sustainable buildings and practice in in in Manitoba This building
15:01
was I guess the kind of the second major building at uh at Fort White and it was
15:07
built um it’s about 20 years ago now So um it’s uh the building you enter when
15:16
you come onto site um um and has these uh really really
15:23
noteworthy um kind of stone look like dry sto well So some of the interesting
15:29
aspects of this building is um use of a of a of a lake roof um um with a heat
15:37
pump So the geothermal coming from from the lake um for at the time it was very
15:43
well insulated very very well uh um detailed building that that uh that
15:50
performs quite well It’s getting to the point where this kind of end of life of some of the uh systems and and some of
15:57
the um the the timber is kind of wearing out But it’s uh it’s still in still a
16:03
beautiful building Um as we all know construction is a you know a major
16:10
contributor to the um to uh well waste in this case um
16:17
greenhouse gas and carbon and machine Um we’re trying to think about
16:23
ways we can improve that on a project to project
16:29
basis carbon carbon Um operational energy is always a
16:36
large portion of the the energy used uh in a building and um a a fraction of the
16:43
cost of a of a uh of a new build So if we can focus our our efforts on on
16:50
investment at the front end both on design and quality construction then it you know it it obviously pay back in way
16:57
of the uh the building Um one of our uh one of my early
17:05
projects with with the firm was um at with the Winnipeg Folk Festival and it’s
17:11
not what you would typically think think as a building or as a as a sustainable building Um the brief for this project
17:19
which is the uh backstage uh kitchen for the Winnipeg Book Festival at Birds Hill and it also functioned as an offseable
17:27
storage Uh the brief requested that the the building um would have the ability
17:34
to to grow to shrink to stay the same size or to be removed from site
17:41
completely So in reality you know there the the that organization um was was
17:50
um basically used to and and accustomed to to you know working out of tent This
17:58
would be kind of their first foray into um a permanent built structure on the
18:03
festival site Um but there was you know limitations to it and they were very
18:09
very aware and very concerned with the uh the footprint on the site and being
18:14
able to um um remove any trace leave no trace Um so for this we were able to
18:23
source a um I’m going to jump ahead one slide we were able to source um a
18:29
collection of uh industrial steel buildings that were slated for uh slated
18:36
for demolition Um as you can see here this is probably from I’m going to say
18:43
20 n 2009 um this building was this collection of
18:49
buildings was was being dismantled and uh set to uh go to be recycler with
18:55
dollar We uh we visited the site Um the construction manager you see him kind of
19:01
the center of the photo underneath the white frame It was um thought we maybe
19:07
just be able to use one or two of these kind of buildings and uh and and you
19:14
know call it a day We quickly realized that they weren’t appropriate for for the design that we had Um but then after
19:22
looking at it we recognized that the span maybe could work And with um the benefit of a a
19:30
um creative structural engineer with wform engineering we were able to look
19:36
at possibly you know rotating reconfiguring and um um reassembling a
19:43
lot of these pre-engineered steel frames into a way that would work for for a
19:48
project Um so this slide is just kind of a a diagram of of the the reconfiguration
19:57
This was early on before we had um figured out what was possible Top left
20:02
is the re-engineered steel frames as they sat on the yard in North Kildon and
20:08
the other frames are um are design exploration let’s say If we were to pop
20:15
back up you know this is the the essentially the finished project product
20:21
It’s um it’s makeshift It’s you know it’s barely a building It’s very um uh
20:28
ad hoc in a lot of ways but it it’s it’s it fit the personality of the folk to it
20:35
and it it serves them very well It’s not only um a pre-engineered field building It’s also the arrival point for
20:42
performers and guests to the festival This large um uh front porch um that is
20:51
just a a welcoming spot for uh for volunteers and farmers alike So it’s
20:58
been it was always it was wellreceived and it was um it was a a different take uh I think on uh on
21:07
scalable design and building reuse slash
21:13
repurposing Um a lot of the work was done on site with site modifications to
21:19
to the steel um very intensively used for short times
21:24
in the year Um and it was one of the first projects we’ve done with with very large um
21:32
helical scoop out So you know um often used on in deck construction
21:39
kind of ground anchors um just get uh either manually or or
21:45
with a a bobcat kind of board into the into the ground and um serve your you
21:52
know supporting for a wood deck or or what have you We had this um I guess naive expectation that you
22:00
know the precision on a on a on a helical ground anchor would just be spoton for everything But as you can see
22:07
at the top of the uh the helico ground anchor and the bottom of our column things didn’t always line up the way we
22:13
wanted So it was always you know just a need to be flexible and work out details
22:18
on on site as you go Another one of our actually you know
22:24
maybe a more common typology for our offices dated um retrofit deep energy retrofits with
22:32
existing building Um a common client we have uh is
22:39
um housing co-ops A lot of housing co-ops are kind of that were built in
22:44
the in the in the 70s are are reaching a kind of a a point in time where their
22:50
envelopes need to be replaced they’re looking at renewing um mortgages They have they have some capital to um to
22:58
reinvest Um so we’ve been doing a number of housing co-ops um adding insulation
23:04
putting in better window systems making uh more efficient with with um modern
23:09
HIV systems Um this project in particular is again with Fort White This is the the interpretive set which is the
23:17
the building from the early 80s that a few years ago
23:23
um undertook a a deep energy retrofit At the time we looked at different programs
23:28
like um like the or zero carbon Um we we
23:33
finally settled on on green globes um just due to the flexibility of that
23:39
program Um there’s some constraint with uh with lead that made it impractical Um
23:46
one of the primary ones was just the location of Fort White I’m sure you’re all familiar with these locations and and until now probably up until like
23:54
this weekend I think there’ll be uh transit access on the on the McGillry um side but at at this point there is no
24:01
ability to have uh um efficient transit access and that was a a major hit on
24:07
that side Um but we introduced um about an extra foot of insulation on
24:15
this building Improved uh the energy efficiency by um I think their their
24:21
energy or their their heating costs are down about 70% from what they proved as
24:26
they were Um new windows replacing um platting again It was it’s a beautiful
24:32
building The original building is beautiful have beautiful wood uh cedar shake uh
24:38
roofing and and siding Um we we tried to do it uh justice with a with a new kind
24:45
of metallic skin that uh we feel is quite successful but I know there’s uh
24:52
always various opinions out there Um but we wanted to to to provide it in honor
24:58
with something that had a has a scale and texture that um that was reflecting
25:03
the original virtual architect vision Um and Fort White um as we all
25:11
probably know is has a new building opening up on on Gilbury Um we’re
25:17
heavily involved with the uh formation of that vision um at the time Um so a
25:23
lot of the a lot of the moves the programming elements were you know we had we had helped the uh the
25:31
organizations flesh out and we’re we’re really proud of of those efforts as well
25:36
There’s just a couple of of um image shots of what uh what happens So if
25:44
you’re not familiar a lot of times in and architectural offices will assist uh
25:51
um entities companies with with you know kind of visioning the future of of what
25:57
uh what what what they could be Um they’re looking for you know aid in
26:02
programming or or fundraising and those sorts of things So you start to develop ideas and and you you often throw a lot
26:10
of different things at the board and and and and create um captivating images I think you know
26:17
so there’s a few few things that were developed in Fort White and again the nature of that site is is it’s kind of a
26:25
it’s about reuse and it’s about um um some industrial waste like it’d be a
26:33
former uh cement plant cement yard
26:39
Um we got into items like the uh
26:44
thinking about it as a possible way of building and and what what those systems could be and and how they could be
26:52
implemented And that was kind of our first foray into um pass uh design and
26:59
construction Um we uh from from Buffalo Crossing to
27:06
uh to today we’ve uh we’ve been involved in a number of pass designs Uh we
27:12
currently have two single family passive homes in in construction both being
27:18
built by Bob Sled um mentioned previously and we have a um a larger um
27:26
um multifamily um building in the uh in design phase Um
27:33
so I’ll just kind of breeze through these a little bit
27:42
um basic principle Um one of the things that we found in our climate I mean
27:49
designing and and constructing a passive house uh building isn’t easy Um I think
27:56
there’s a lot of principles that we we’re you know we’re we’re now employing on every everything we do Um but to to
28:04
reach a a point where where certification is realistic it takes a
28:09
lot of rigor and it’s a large it’s a large commitment Um we find that uh
28:16
because we’re working handinhand with the builder on these projects the the the detailing and the air ceiling isn’t
28:22
our isn’t necessarily our greatest challenge Um I think the the greatest
28:28
challenge um comes earlier on in a in a in the design phase and working with the
28:33
client to really determine um the program uh the program the um the
28:41
coordination and the the um the layout of rooms and just having
28:48
all all of that known to be able to um distill it into a into to have an
28:56
efficient um form and you know but as architects we’re also interested not
29:02
only in the work of the building but the the the effect that they have the the
29:08
the comfort and and really a big part of um of successful building ensuring that
29:16
a building will last and be cared for and that it um it’s loved by it by its users that it occupants So you know a
29:24
lot of lot of care is uh taken to to give the owners and the community a
29:33
building that will be kind of embraced Um this project is a single
29:40
family home on um seated place in um Nor Flats just off Lindell Drive You can see
29:48
uh the red on the left of the screen Um and the window is kind of in the center
29:54
The um reddish square is a is a single family
29:59
house that is currently under construction and uh and should be will
30:06
be done later this summer Our pro you know we talked about you know getting it
30:11
right Um we tend to spend a lot of effort on uh on the schematic design and
30:17
often that involves uh study model different size of scale of material um
30:23
just to be able to explore different notions of of what the project could
30:29
be Um some of you may recognize this from
30:34
uh uh design ph It’s a it’s a auto modeling tool um to uh to help
30:43
realize these past projects The layout in this case is a
30:49
simple family home but the one thing that stands out in in these images we
30:54
did the the thickness of the exterior walls that
31:00
th well it’s almost 2 feet thick There’s a um 2×6 structural wall and then a a
31:09
nonstructural um um engineered wood truck on the outside of that that’s
31:14
about 20 in deep and is filled with
31:20
installation If you just want to wrap up so we can
31:26
move to questions Oh yeah for sure Yeah And I I’ll leave it at this project Um
31:32
so again the section this house was built without a basement which is kind of
31:38
um it it in some ways it’s an interesting aspect of it We have a
31:43
three-foot uh deep floor joist that again full with um and a three-foot deep
31:51
uh roof joist again but with cellular um on the
31:59
drawings Um a rudimentary rendering of the uh of the house and house in
32:09
construction [Music] Um some we talked about mass timber a
32:16
little bit This house is the um the floor structure is CLT or sorry NLT um
32:24
nail laminated timber We we’ve been pouring that on some of our multif family work as well as a way of reducing
32:30
the uh amount of drywall uh for one uh two it uh it reduces the the floor to
32:39
floor uh the floor thickness allows us to keep our building height and volume down a little bit and um and you know
32:47
depending on the situation it’s an appropriate uh ceiling finish as well So
32:52
um you know we’re we’re happy with that that approach and some is not appropriate everywhere
33:00
but uh it uh be quite effective
33:05
another house that is under construction that Wolves league
33:11
Um don’t worry about this is just the the site configuration and all of the
33:17
factors on the site leading to a bit what would otherwise be a very odd form
33:24
and the the the shape and the masking of the house
33:30
is wouldn’t be found on any other site of the combination of dealing with the river trying to capture views trying to
33:37
be a good neighbor um to the existing kind of building fabric around trying to
33:42
orient uh the building in a manner which captures enough solar gain and uh um and
33:50
again capturing views out and uh and respecting kind of the uh the stability
33:57
of the riverbank all played an impact um to the form of this particular project
34:03
that ended So that was a it was a challenge in a lot of ways an old
34:09
plan Some other images of it and then this plan is just a uh you know we
34:17
we find sometimes um nonorthagonal plans and it’s not
34:23
because we want to do that It’s often just you know there there are all the other factors of you know yards street
34:30
things that kind of lead that way and and um orientation for for silverware
34:36
and pass plays into that as well But I’ll leave it at that All right great So
34:42
we’re going to move on to questions Uh so we’ve got a few in the chat here So
34:48
uh Fletcher if you just want to stop sharing your screen that’d be excellent Yeah I’ll find it All right Uh so for
Q&A
34:55
starters for Rod did you do overall life costing for your project in addition to
35:02
looking at mass timber in particular I’m curious about the installation What are the embodied carbon implications of
35:10
EPS were alternatives considered yeah great question
35:16
Um we often consider uh life cycle cost We also include rebates from Manitoba
35:24
Hydro and uh operational maintenance costs We also take into consideration um
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as a contractor we might finish a project but the project’s never finished and that um there’s warranty calls and
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and things that come down the road in line uh along with building performance
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and if it’s not right it ends up being our problem We have those scenarios that happen
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So so we look at insulation properties specifically expanded polystyrene being
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98% in trapped air uh very efficient use of um hydrocarbons and uh very effective
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at dealing with extremely harsh environments especially in a northern climate where um open cell insulation
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products like uh fiberglass or or some of these other options tend tend not to
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fare well uh and uh don’t provide the same performance Um and then as compared
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to some of the other alternates like um urethane foams or poly isos you know
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with the expanded polystyrene it’s just atmospheric air within the closed cell So you know we don’t have inflated R
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values going into the building We have a long-term performance of 50-year LTR on
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on that um insulation It has uh the ability to dry if there’s any uh vapor
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drive or humidity driving into it Um so so it can actually dry and retain its
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performance for for more than 50 years is what the data shows So it’s uh we you
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know and this bridges into the next question you know right materials right places It’s very important to utilize
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the right materials for the right job It’s not the It’s not the solution all the time but in this particular project
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it worked out to be the correct solution All right So interesting comparison
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between wood and concrete Considering the significant processing required to create engineered mass timber products
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how does the energy consumption and associated emissions compared to advancements in lower carbon concrete
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mixes example with supplementary cementitisuous materials carbon capture
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utilization and storage Have you seen the full life cycle assessment that
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accounts for these evolving concrete technologies
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so great question Um the answer is I don’t actually have that data in front
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of me We do again right material right places and it’s not that there’s no
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concrete or steel um within the project There certainly is And um strategically
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we have concrete foundation and steel underneath um the floors where we have
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high moisture environments and just heavy heavy uh loads coming down within the building And um so it’s not that the
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whole thing’s mass timber or the whole thing’s an ice panel but it’s it’s it’s the strategically using um the right
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material in in the propation So while we’re considering the client’s um
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cultural values the aesthetic that they want in their design and um the
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performance and sustainability you know mass timber above above the deck makes
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sense concrete and steel in this project made sense grading and uh and so that’s
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generally uh tends to be the process in in um some of that decision making um
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when when materials are being selected by and and it’s usually the client’s choice So we get excited when they
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choose sustainability in their material selections It’s not our decision it’s what they want for their project Yes So
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we’ll be talking more about materials in a moment Let’s see if we can get another qu one last question in before we uh
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take a short short break But uh how are materials compared to measure embodied carbon impacts how did every oh sorry
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did every product have a valid environmental product declaration how is GWP global warming potential measured
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and balanced against the thermal energy efficiency properties of the product
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yeah it’s it’s another great question So some materials like the mass timber would carry an FSE certification with it
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uh chain of so it has a chain of custody and um sometimes those certifications
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carry some significance and sometimes they don’t make sense like we’ve actually seen um those certifications
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where uh resources are harvested in Canada then shipped to another country
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like overseas where they’re manufactured and then shipped back but they carry that certification because the
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facilities carry that designation or certification doesn’t necessarily mean that um that’s the most sustainable use
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of that of of that product because it carries a designation You know we like to think about the shortest trip and the
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least amount of uh um handling of a material So if it’s sourced in Canada
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then it moves to a fabrication facility that’s closer to the job and then gets delivered to the job and installed
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no matter what you do that’s going to still have a lower carbon footprint than shipping that overseas and back again
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And and sometimes those certifications unfortunately carry a little bit of greenwashing with them And so we have to
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apply some practical sense when we’re thinking about uh and and and deciding
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what’s what’s the best product or material for the job