Committed to Green

Did you know that this affordable housing project is also targeting significant sustainability goals, including Zero Carbon initiatives, Mass Timber construction and Solar Energy capturing?  From the beginning of the building design process, we have been working with both a sustainability and a solar energy consultant ensuring that increasing our energy efficiency and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions have been factors in every major design decision.  As well, we have been tapping into learning opportunities provided by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). 

CAGBC encourages green building by supporting the people who design, construct and operate buildings.  In their words: “by transforming our communities with zero-carbon green buildings, we can put Canada on a path to a more sustainable future”.  So, over the past few months, The Working Centre has been learning a lot about how we can reduce the carbon footprint of this affordable housing build by choosing to install appliances and systems that aren’t powered by fossil fuels, maximizing our capture and use of solar energy, and reducing our use of concrete. 

What’s up with concrete you ask?  Well, “the production of Canadian cement and concrete products resulted in the emission of 11,689 kilo tones of greenhouse gases (GHG) in 2008. Cement production is identified worldwide as a major GHG source (1.5% annually in Canada and 7% worldwide).” As such, we are excited to let you know that the new building for St. John’s Kitchen will integrate mass timber (wood) construction with a highly insulated building envelope.  This design decision, combined with all of the other energy efficient choices we are making, means we are well on our way to meeting the sustainability goals of this building project.