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2023 Real Property Greening + Sustainability Workshop
The RPIC Greening & Sustainability Workshop, held June 13-14, 2023, in Ottawa and online, focused on net-zero goals, waste reduction, and climate risks. Programming discussed topics related to achieving net-zero, reducing waste in the real property life-cycle, and addressing climate change risks.
Download Program (PDF)Day 1
Speakers
Honourable Mona Fortier, MP
President of the Treasury Board
Nick Xenos
Executive Director, Treasury Board Secretariat – Centre for Greening Government
Session Description
Welcome Remarks 9:00-9:15Welcome remarks by RPIC Board Members and Chair of the Real Property Greening & Sustainability Workshop.Opening remarks from our Platinum Workshop Partner SNC-Lavalin, Peter Dunn. Opening Address 9:15-9:30Opening address from The Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board.Opening Keynote 9:30-10:00The opening keynote features Nick Xenos, Executive Director of the Centre for Greening Government, who will share his insights on how the Real Property community within the Government of Canada can ensure that their work contributes to a zero-carbon and climate-resilient Canada. Learn how the Greening Government Strategy applies to your work, and walk away with a common …
Speakers
Christina Schwantes
Advisor – Climate Risk and Resilience, WSP
Maria McGibbon
Manager, PSPC
Session Description
Mitigating the impacts of climate change is an urgent priority for public real estate leaders around the world. Following COP26 in 2021, countries have established new commitments to decarbonize government infrastructure and operations at an accelerated pace. This white paper (or “playbook”) summarizes the progress and achievements of four federal government real estate organizations: • Canada: Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) • Netherlands: Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (RVB) (Dutch Central Government Real Estate Agency) • United Kingdom: Government Property Agency (GPA) • United States: General Services Administration (GSA) These organizations are responsible for federal real estate portfolio management among other responsibilities such …
Speakers
Ivica Karas
Strategic Initiatives Manager, CSA Group
Session Description
The Government of Canada has recognized the potential of circular economy to offer new opportunities for sustainable economic growth while supporting net zero strategies in Canada. Circular economy is viewed as a means to achieve waste and pollution reduction, combat climate change, protect nature and accelerate creation of sustainable jobs. Please join this session to learn more about the circular economy, the role it plays along the value chain of Canada’s built environment with particular focus on commercial real estate sector. The session will introduce the history of circularity in Canada, key government and private sector initiatives and linkages between …
Speakers
Casey Clunas
Policy Analyst, Canadian Centre for Climate Services
Pouriya Jafarpur
Physical Science Officer, Canadian Centre for Climate Services
Sessions Description
To build resiliency to climate hazards, long-term decisions that are vulnerable to weather and climate impacts must incorporate climate change information. Climate services act as a bridge that facilitates this process, from plain language explanations about climate science through to technical science efforts to address outstanding data gaps. The Centre for Canadian Climate Services (CCCS), along with other climate service providers in Canada, collaborate to produce a variety of future climate information and user-oriented climate data products to support adaptation actions. The purpose of this session is to assist attendees in discovering available data, tools, information, and services offered by …
Speakers
Peter Dunn
Regional Director, SNC Lavalin
Sessions Description
Whether you are concerned with the roadmap to achieve your net zero goals, delivering sustainable and reliable energy savings or complex optimization of spendings, this talk will bring cutting edge inspiration, ideas and examples from across the globe. We will showcase the decisions, innovative processes and efficient data-driven solutions taken by public sector clients-partners to achieve clarity in their net zero pathways. With substantial experience of working in partnership with a variety of public and private clients over the years, the decarbonization team at SNC-Lavalin have linked cutting edge digitization with co-creation programs to build on our existing capability in …
Speakers
Rob Cooney
Senior Advisor Buy Clean, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
Ryley Picken
Policy Analyst, TBS Centre for Greening Government
Sessions Description
This session will provide information regarding the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction. It will review the importance of tackling embodied carbon, the objective of the standard, and the work that supports its implementation.This standard will require the reporting and reduction of the embodied carbon footprint of all new major government construction projects initially starting with concrete. Specifically, these projects must use lower carbon concrete, where available, so that the total GHG emissions associated with the project’s concrete is at least 10% less than the regional average for concrete. This is an important step towards implementing a …
Speakers
Brigitte Laliberté
Spécialiste principale en environnement, Services Publics et Approvisionnement Canada
Pascale Giroux-Denis
Professionnelle en Adaptation aux changements climatiques / Climate Change Adaptation Professional, Stantec Experts-Conseils
Sessions Description
This session, presented in French, will present the highlights of a set of climate change risk and vulnerability assessments (CRiVA) conducted by PSPC and Stantec in 2022-2023. The subjects under study comprise infrastructure with diverse functions, including existing buildings, new construction, as well as transport infrastructure such as ports and airports. The discussion will cover unsuspected risks, the limits of existing standards, pitfalls to avoid, lessons learned, innovative recommendations, and strategies to implement recommendations following the study reports. These learnings support the idea that integrating climate change into the initial project design greatly strengthens the resilience of our infrastructure, and …
Speakers
Carl Taillefer
Senior Technical Officer, Canadian Forces Housing Agency / Department of National Defence
Nicole Reich
Manager, Environment, Asset Information and Technical Services, Canadian Forces Housing Agency / National Defence
Sébastien Brideau
Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada
Sessions Description
The Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) has partnered with Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY-Ottawa (CE-O) Housing and Buildings research group to examine energy use and carbon emissions from its nearly 12,000 Residential Housing Unit (RHU) portfolio. As part of this partnership, CFHA and CE-O are working together to assess energy conservation approaches, develop deep energy retrofit strategies for the RHU portfolio, as well as monitor and evaluate implementation results in real-time. The energy retrofit strategies will be incorporated by CFHA into the intervention plans for all RHUs across Canada, starting in 2023. This presentation discusses the approach to model the carbon …
Speakers
Jessica O’Brien
Senior Technical Advisor – Sustainable Buildings, PSPC
Julie Matthews
Communications, BGIS
Katie-Lee Perrin
Sustainability Manager – RP1 NCR, BGIS
Soren Antosz
Deputy Director, Directeur adjoint – ecoGAC, Global Affairs Canada / Affaires mondiales Canada
Sessions Description
Decarbonizing building management of the Real Property 1 (RP1) portfolio is a priority for PSPC, BGIS and the Tenants. Moving from a linear economy to a circular economy is important for all of us to support Greening Government Operations. Minimizing building waste and the associated carbon requires an integrated approach with many Real Property stakeholders. This session will outline the different activities happening within the RP1 portfolio and how the circular economy is being integrated into building operations including: occupant engagement, cleaning, energy, waste, design and to construction management. Join PSPC, EcoGAC and BGIS to understand how we are moving …
Speakers
Blake Jackson
Director of Sustainability, NORR
Caroline Metz
Managing Director, Economics and Resiliency, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo
Phillip Brearton
Principal, Cion
Sessions Description
Urbanization shows no signs of slowing down, and while this offers many advantages under the hope of improving peoples’ lives, it is also occurring simultaneously with a changing climate. As cities intensify, pressures upon resources, infrastructure, and risks associated with a changing climate become exacerbated, especially for out most vulnerable populations. However, could the intensification of our urban environments offer an opportunity to catalyze change, and positive outcomes, to improve our cities for all inhabitants? This session will explore the intersection of urbanization, decarbonization, and human health, with a focus on reducing loss to life and property, through the lens …
Speakers
GHINA ANNAN
Principal, Decarbonization Business Lead, Stantec
Nicholas Ebbs
Senior Sustainability Consultant, Stantec
Rebecca Hagen
Section Manager – Emerging Programs, City of Ottawa
Sessions Description
In April 2021, The National Capital Commission (NCC) approved the Master Concept Plan (MCP) for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats into a diverse and vibrant residential community supported by retail and employment opportunities, capitalizing on direct access to two LRT stations. Stantec has evaluated strategies for achieving a net-zero carbon community including various targets for energy efficiency, employing targets set by the City of Ottawa’s High Performance Development Standards, and options for net-zero carbon district energy at the site, including ground source heat pumps connected to a geo-exchange field located at LeBreton Flats, as well as the possibility of connecting …
Speakers
Don Grant
Senior Analyst, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Sessions Description
For many years federal procurement has been seen as an opportunity to reduce environmental impact. Recently, with the adoption of two new standards under the Policy on Green Procurement – the Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction and the Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions – a number of new initiatives have been launched. This includes consideration of Scope 3 emissions, life cycle analysis, new policies on packaging and revisions to many of the tools that are the bread and butter of the trade such as standing offers and supply arrangements. Join us for a tour of the …
Speakers
Lindsay Allen
Climate Resilience Engineer, CBCL
Martino Fanfani
Director of Buildings, Ontario, CBCL
Paulina Pisarek
Sustainable Buildings Advisor, Global Affairs Canada
Samir Basaria
Manager / Senior Technical Advisor, Sustainable Buildings Program, Global Affairs Canada
Sessions Description
The Government of Canada has committed to making its operations climate-resilient by improving understanding of and taking action on climate risks. Join Global Affairs Canada and CBCL as they discuss their development of tools to support conducting asset-level climate change risk assessments for a unique international portfolio of embassies abroad. For English to French interpretation for this session, please follow the steps below: IN-PERSON: Click on the provided link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84918337773. Click the interpretation feature at the bottom of the video window and allow Zoom to access your audio. Mute the original audio and select the French language. If you don’t have a headphones, you can obtain …
Speakers
Bala Gnanam
VP – Sustainability, Advocacy & Stakeholder Relations, Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada)
Bonnie Penfold
Manager, SEEA Secretariat, ECCC
Laurna Strikwerda
Director, Project Development & Research, Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)
Olivier Cappon
Senior Director, CIET
Paul Cobb
Manager, Training Services, Climate Risk Institute
Sessions Description
Green Upskilling One of the most urgent requirements to take action on climate change within federal operations is to ensure that Canada has a green talent workforce in place. Whether you’re a student or entry-level candidate, or a mid-career or advanced professional, the Government of Canada needs all hands on deck to meet its ambitious greening agenda. As a relatively broad concept, ‘green skills’ breaks down into competencies of knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes that should be fostered by employees and employers alike. What sort of skills are needed today to build the real property portfolio of the future? What …
Day 2
Speakers
Drew Leyburne
Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy Efficiency and Technology Sector, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Duncan Retson
Assistant Deputy Minister, Science & Parliamentary Infrastructure, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Paul Loo
Director General of the Resilient and Innovative Communities Directorate, Infrastructure Canada
Sessions Description
The Government of Canada plays a dual role in real property as both regulator and owner-operator. As the regulator, Canada’s science departments have led the charge in the development of codes, standards, and national sustainability and adaptation strategies such as the Canada’s Green Buildings Strategy, National Adaptation Strategy, and the forthcoming Buy Clean Strategy for Canadian infrastructure projects. At the same time, federal researchers are working on solutions that can directly help real property be built and operated in a more sustainable manner.As the owner-operator of real property, real-life constraints such as available funding, program requirements, and public procurement policies …
Speakers
Carolyn Johanson
Practice Lead, Energy and Carbon Analysis, WSP Canada
Joseph Der
Senior Advisor, WSP
Paulina Pisarek
Sustainable Buildings Advisor, Global Affairs Canada
Samir Basaria
Manager / Senior Technical Advisor, Sustainable Buildings Program, Global Affairs Canada
Sessions Description
The Government of Canada has committed to net-zero operations from fleet and buildings by 2050. Join Global Affairs Canada and WSP as they discuss their development of a net-zero transition strategy for a unique international portfolio of embassies abroad and progress to date for leased asset data collection. The presentation will provide an overview of the strategy and its development, and discuss challenges and lessons learned that will be useful to participating property and fleet managers in developing their own transition plans and leasing plans.For English to French interpretation for this session, please follow the steps below:IN-PERSON:1. Click on the …
Speakers
Pablo van den Bosch
Director, Madaster
Tessa Vlaanderen
Circular Economy Lead, Dillon Consulting
Sessions Description
The session will delve into the connection between real estate management and circular economy. It aims to educate attendees on the practical applications of circular economy in real estate management and the positive outcomes that can be achieved.The session will also introduce attendees to innovative tools, such as building material registries, which can aid asset owners and managers in making informed decisions.The following is an overview of the presentation:Introduction to the significance of circular economy in achieving federal goals laid out in the Greening Government StrategyOutline and examples of circular economy practices in the building life cycleIntroduction to innovative tools, …
Speakers
Christina Schwantes
Advisor – Climate Risk and Resilience, WSP
Maria McGibbon
Manager, PSPC
Sessions Description
This session will introduce PSPC’s first ever Biodiversity Strategy and how it was created – including the novel approach developed to assess biodiversity at more than 160 sites across Canada. Participants will learn about the linkages between climate change and biodiversity, approaches to protect and improve biodiversity at real property sites, and decision-support tools to tailor biodiversity interventions to the diverse locations, needs and priorities of a national portfolio. The presentation will highlight lessons learned and next steps for the Biodiversity Strategy, including integration into PSPC’s business processes, and how existing climate change and sustainability information can be leveraged to …
Speakers
Matt Wager
Facility Manager – Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Sessions Description
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s largest owned facility, the 50,000m2+ Canada Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW), achieved its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets as outlined Federal Sustainable Development Strategy over two years ago. For 2019, annual greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption were reduced 3,885 tCO2e and 37,659 GJ from 2005 levels (48% & 26% reductions). This presentation will share some of the success factors that drove the massive reductions at CCIW which can be applied to other federally owned facilities. Some highlights include analyzing & interpreting energy bills, identifying & quantifying ideas to reduce emissions & energy consumption, collaborating …
Speakers
Clément Guénard
Senior Sustainable Design Specialist, WSP Canada
Kate Westbury
Heritage & Approvals Lead, Centre Block Rehabilitation Program, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Martin Sing
Team Lead, Sustainability and Energy, WSP & CENTRUS
Sessions Description
This session will explore the Centre Block Rehabilitation’s sustainability vision with a focus on embodied carbon and circular economy within the context of heritage buildings. The presentation will provide an overview of Centre Block existing conditions, heritage implications and the proposed design, and look at strategies the project team are adopting to reduce embodied carbon and support the transition towards a circular economy including: repurposing of existing buildings, reuse of steel, low-carbon concrete and the insulation of mass masonry walls. The session will provide insight into how the Centre Block project is tackling these issues, and lessons learned that can …
Speakers
Claudia Beauchemin
Manager National Centre of Expertise – Contaminated Sites, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Martine Lalande
Environmental Specialist, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
Sessions Description
There are currently 4,758 active Federal Contaminated Sites in Canada, some of which are at risk of impacts from climate change. As these impacts could result in increased mobility of contaminants or even re-contamination of previously remediated sites, identifying and mitigating these potential impacts has become a priority for the Federal Government. This presentation will provide an overview of what is currently being done by Federal Custodians to ensure that Federal Contaminated Sites are resilient to climate change. Notably, the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP), a government-wide program co-led by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Treasury Board of …
Speakers
William Duggan
Senior Project Engineer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
Sessions Description
Under the Greening Government Fund in 2019-20, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was awarded $596,000 over 3 years to upgrade the St. Lewis Office Space with envelope improvements, new solar-array system, and replacement of the heating system from oil fired to wood pellet biomass to reduce the carbon footprint of the facility. The upgrades to the building were designed to align with the Zero Carbon Building Performance standard.For English to French interpretation for this session, please follow the steps below: IN-PERSON:1. Click on the provided link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89046165905.2. Click the interpretation feature at the bottom of the video window and allow Zoom to …
Speakers
David Alloggia
Senior Environmental Policy Analyst, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
Sessions Description
An update on ‘Driving the Government of Canada’s Information Technology towards a measurable, low-carbon, circular future’, a joint project between Shared Services Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, and Natural Resources Canada that aims to provide data, information, and paths-forward towards more sustainable, circular IT, from data-centers to IT hardware.For English to French interpretation for this session, please follow the steps below:IN-PERSON:1. Click on the provided link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82909691369.2. Click the interpretation feature at the bottom of the video window and allow Zoom to access your audio.3. Mute the original audio and select the French language.4. If you don’t have a headphones, you …
Speakers
Bala Gnanam
VP – Sustainability, Advocacy & Stakeholder Relations, Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada)
Sessions Description
Abstract Being resilient means staying operational. With the increased frequency and intensity of climate-related events, owners and managers in all asset classes in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry must think about resilience in the context of operational capacity and business continuity. Buildings exist to serve one or more purposes, and those purposes drive value for owners and shareholders. Any event that could render the building inoperable for any period will impede or jeopardize the purpose of that asset. Landlords have fiduciary responsibilities towards their tenants and shareholders, and this arises from the expectation that buildings are operated safely, continuously …
Speakers
Charles Marshall
Engineer, Partner, DIALOG
Jean-Rock Tourigny
Senior Director, Greening Government Directorate, Real Property Branch, PSPC
Maria McGibbon
Manager, PSPC
Michael Mousa
Sustainability Consultant, Dialog
Sessions Description
Sustainable buildings provide significant economic, social, and environmental benefits to Canadians. There is substantial opportunity for impact to be gained by understanding the value these sustainable building co-benefits create – that is, the additional benefits that result from climate action, beyond the direct impacts of a stable climate. These include improved air quality, management of natural resources, and human and ecosystem health. Investment decisions on sustainability actions have traditionally been determined based on economic impact to capital and building operating costs alone. While climate action co-benefits are widely appreciated, their long-term value to the local and global community is generally …
Speakers
Laure Gérard
Senior Technical Advisor in Climate Change, Publics Services and Procurement Canada
Maeri Machado
Senior Manager, Sustainability, WSP Canada Inc.
Michelle Christopherson
Sustainability Advisor, WSP Canada Inc.
Sessions Description
Embodied carbon is a key greenhouse emission to consider as global efforts around climate mitigation accelerate. For real property assets, the decisions we make throughout an asset’s life cycle can have a big impact on driving down greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will explore embodied carbon by evaluating key influences around the life cycle of real property assets and offer real life lessons learned about how we can evolve our efforts to focus on the opportunities to advance carbon emission reductions.For English to French interpretation for this session, please follow the steps below: IN-PERSON:1. Click on the provided link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82411374047.2. Click …
Speakers
Alex Lawrie
Analyst, Public Services and Procurement Canada – SPIB
Demian Martin
Senior Project Leader, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Heather Auld
Senior Climatologist, Dillon Consulting Limited
Sophia Wong
Manager, Environmental Sustainability Office, PSPC/SPIB
Sessions Description
Climate risk assessments can range from a simple desktop screening needed to determine if climate change impacts will affect assets or program delivery, through to full and comprehensive climate change risk assessments intended to inform decision-making and the implementation of adaptation actions. This panel discussion will explore different approaches to assessing climate risk at the portfolio level in order to establish the appropriate level of assessment depending on the purpose. The first presentation will describe the pros and cons of differing levels of detail of climate information and accompanying services, with the objective of illustrating the iterative nature involved with …
Speakers
Nadine Gudz
Sessions Description
The climate crisis is often described as a crisis of leadership. In this closing keynote session, award-winning Sustainability Leader and Educator, Nadine Gudz will walk you through the sustainability leadership journey of one of the world’s sustainable business pioneers, Interface Inc. In addition to sharing stories and insights from her work leading Interface’s climate and sustainability strategy, audiences will be invited to reflect on their own leadership role, rethink leadership paradigms and practice more collaborative approaches to systems leadership.
