SSG creates an online sustainability toolkit for co-ops

SSG created an on-line resource providing guidance and assistance to co-ops and credit unions on how they can embed sustainability strategy development; measurement; monitoring, and reporting within their organization. All resources in the Toolkit present ideas through a co-operative lens and link practices to co-operative social responsibility. The toolkit was produced as part of a Canadian Co-operative Association project and was funded by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) and the federal government's Co-operatives Secretariat.

Check out the sustainability toolkit here:

Sustainability Solutions Group releases fully transparent and open source greenhouse gas modeling tool for communities

Communities increasingly address climate change through local government policies and actions. Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG) is further supporting these efforts with the release of GHGProof - a powerful yet easy to use, fully transparent and open source model that enables local governments to measure greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and costs ($) resulting from potential land use policies.

Local governments are a powerful force in climate change mitigation. They can influence up to 50% of community GHGs by regulating land use, density and the location of growth. With GHGProof, governments can compare GHGs and public and private costs of present land use patterns with those of possible future scenarios. Advantages of this approach include:

* It’s comprehensive: Each scenario considers the impact of land use changes on building energy use, transportation behaviour, waste generation, agricultural land use and forest cover.
* It’s straightforward : GHGProof uses straightforward mapping and spreadsheet tools so that it’s easy to learn, edit and use to get the functionality you need, specific to your community.
* It’s policy-relevant: Communities can use the model to establish or monitor greenhouse gas reduction strategies and targets to meet legislative requirements such as British Columbia’s Bill 27 – Green Communities Act.
* It’s accessible: GHGProof’s outputs communicate greenhouse gas implications of land use changes in visual, straightforward manners. They can help inform decision making, build public accountability, strengthen funding proposals and meet legislated climate change-related requirements.
* It’s free and open source: GHGProof is licensed through Creative Commons as an open source tool. The model and its user guidebook can be freely accessed, edited and shared for non-profit purposes and a community of users offers support.

GHGProof is ready to help your community make land use planning decisions that will reduce environmental impacts, and improve community health and livability. Contact SSG today for more information or try it out here.

Sustainability Solutions Group is a national workers co-operative with offices in Vancouver, Gibsons, Montreal, Toronto and Tatamagouche. SSG's services include sustainability management systems, sustainable buildings and community planning.

Contact: Jesse Dill
jesse@sustainabilitysolutions.ca
(604) 740-7088

SSG offers carbon neutral course in Victoria

Cutting through the hot air: a course on carbon neutral buildings

Victoria BC, June 21, 8:30am - 12:30pm

Carbon neutral? Net zero energy? Zero energy building? Offsetting?
Getting confused yet! Architecture 2030, the Living Building Challenge, One Planet Living, and many governments are encouraging and requiring a move toward carbon neutrality in buildings.

This course has been created for owners, operators, and designers exploring what carbon neutrality means in the context of building and neighbourhood design and operation. We will explore the rapidly evolving concepts of carbon neutrality in the global climate change movement, and how they relate to policy and practice specific to the building sector. Several case studies will be examined and discussed in detail, and tools and resources useful for evaluating and assessing carbon neutrality will be shared. This course will be taught by Lindsay Cole and Yuill Herbert of Sustainability Solutions Group.

For more information, and to register, please click here.

SSG presenting on the Vancouver Convention Centre

Join Lindsay as she presents about the sustainability journey of the Vancouver Convention Centre - West. The Vancouver LEED Users' Group is hosting the meeting on May 28 2010, 12-1pm. Click here for more information.

SSG joins TheChange!

TheChange is a media platform for sustainability engagement. We are 1 of 30 founding local organizations selected to participate in TheChange's launch, and the only co-op! Check out www.thechange.com to see how we're participating!

SSG 2009 Sustainability Assessment

SSG's 2009 sustainability assessment is now available! SSG takes stock of its work, its members, its progress and all of its ups and downs annually. 29 indicators show you how we did in 2009 and help us set directions for 2010 and beyond! Let us know what you think!

http://bit.ly/bPCyM3

~Jeremy

Vancouver Convention Centre recognized by SAB magazine

The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion is getting a lot of press these days. Sustainable Architecture and Building magazine recently recognized it as being one of the 10 best green buildings of 2010. SSG helped lead the team that pushed this building past the LEED Gold target to achieve Platinum.

Check out the rundown, here:
http://www.sabmagazine.com/winners-2010.html

-Jeremy

Relative impacts of measures to reduce GHG emissions

LEED Platinum for Vancouver Convention Centre

The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project (VCCEP) was awarded LEED Platinum, the highest level of certification by the Canada Green Building Council. SSG was the sustainability and LEED consultant for VCCEP. The certification was awarded seven days before VCCEP hosts 7,000 journalists for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.

VCCEP includes more then 400,000 square feet of indoor space. Highlights of the sustainable features include:
• A six acre “living roof”, one of the largest of its kind in the world, home to 20 varieties of plant life. The
roof is pollinated by local bee hives and was designed to provide a nesting ground for local birds.
• A foundation designed to recreate a natural shoreline for marine life.
• A seawater heating and cooling system that makes the convention centre one of the most energy efficient
buildings in Vancouver.
• Treatment of black-water for re-use in irrigation of the roof and in flush toilets.

SSG has worked on more then 40 sustainable building projects including the first LEED certified building in Canada and three Platinum-level projects including VCCEP, the Vento in Calgary and Currents in Ottawa.