health

_ Creating investment capital to decarbonize your buildings _ _ Article by TCI's CEO, Tim Cresswell _ On the journey to net zero for building owners have many challenges: access to capacity, capability, culture readiness, to transform, or corporate will. Arguably investment capital to fund net zero projects is the elephant in the room. No money, no journey. _ For over three decades I’ve spent my career developing over $500,000,000 in developing energy performance projects for the public sector. The essence of an energy performance contract is using the energy saved to [...]

_ SOFIAC, accelerating the pathway to net zero for public and private sector buildings. _ An Interview with Stuart Galloway, Executive Vice president / Ontario and Western Canada _ _ _ Marie Cresswell Who is SOFIAC and what do you do? _ Stuart Galloway, Executive Vice president / Ontario and Western Canada Stuart Galloway SOFIAC - we're enablers. Through our truly innovative investment solution, we enable clients to accelerate their energy transition and pathway to decarbonization. Simply put, GHG and energy reduction today rather than tomorrow. We invest time, resources, [...]

_ Warming Could Push the Atlantic Past a ‘Tipping Point’ This Century _ _ Source: nytimes.com _ The system of ocean currents that regulates the climate for a swath of the planet could collapse sooner than expected, a new analysis found. _ The last time there was a major slowdown in the mighty network of ocean currents that shapes the climate around the North Atlantic, it seems to have plunged Europe into a deep cold for over a millennium. _ _ That was roughly 12,800 years ago, when not [...]

_ ASHRAE Approves Groundbreaking Standard to Reduce the Risk of Disease Transmission in Indoor Spaces _ _ Source: ASHRAE.org _ ATLANTA (June 24, 2023) – ASHRAE announced the approval for publication of its highly anticipated airborne infection risk mitigation standard for buildings, bringing numerous benefits to occupants and promoting healthier environments. _ ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols establishes minimum requirements to reduce the risk of disease transmission by exposure to infectious aerosols in new buildings, existing buildings, and major renovations. Infectious aerosols are tiny, exhaled particles that can carry disease-causing pathogens and [...]

_ 2023 Annual OMC Conference Workshop - Ventilation Challenges & Strategies _ _ OMC Workshop – July 12-14, 2022 _ _ Increasing Ventilation – Three Schoolboards share their experiences. PDSB, RCDSB and DSBONE share insights on the lessons learned during a comprehensive ‘ventilation rehabilitation program’ that is designed to drive more airflow to under-ventilated classrooms and harvest energy in over-ventilated spaces. _ Panel hosted by Tony Cupido, Ph.D., P.Eng., Mohawk College, former Superintendent of facilities with Hamilton Wentworth DSB, Hamilton Catholic DSB, former AVP facilities McMaster University, former Chief [...]

_ 2023 Annual OMC Conference at the Deerhust Resort, Huntsville ON _ _ The OMC conference, held from July 11-14, was a highly anticipated event for school board facility officials. The theme of this year's conference was Facing the Future Together, to navigate new waters to re-emerge stronger and more collaboratively. _ _ The conference commenced on July 11 with an opening ceremony, where distinguished keynote speaker Elia Saikaly, Social Entrepreneur, Award Winning Film Maker and Global Adventurer emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration in the field of education. School board facilities’ officials were encouraged to think [...]

_ Lessons Learned - The Role and Importance of Ventilation _ _ Domenic Maniccia, Retired Facility Manager, GEDSB, Ed Advisor TCI _ What lessons can you share that impact the quality of the learning environment and improve ventilation in schools? The Pandemic has placed a greater emphasis on improved ventilation in schools. Many schools were not equipped with HVAC systems or had poorly ventilated systems. Facility Managers had to quickly search for ways to improve or supply new HVAC systems. Can you describe the duct sealing and HVAC optimization efforts you found [...]

_ Safety group will go to court if government doesn’t improve air quality in Ontario schools _ By:  Abdul Matin Sarfraz  _ Ontario School Safety (OSS) is considering legal action to force the provincial government to improve indoor air quality in schools and on school buses. They issued the threat after claiming multiple attempts to discuss this issue directly with the Ford government were ignored, the group said. _ “Ontario’s provincial government has failed its general duty to provide a safe, stable, and healthy working environment for children and youth, their caregivers, the education system [...]

_ Leadership, Communication & Experiential Learning at the Forefront of Peel SB Sustainability _ _ Sustainability in education requires a myriad of skill sets today: leadership, innovative and engaging communications, and experiential learning, as noted by staff at Peel District School Board (PDSB). In a recent interview with PDSB, Shahid Naeem, Manager, Energy and Sustainability, notes how important leadership messaging and modeling are to engage students and staff at PDSB. _ Photo Credit: Rashmi Swarup @PDSBDirector, Twitter Feed “The promotion of environmental sustainability within PDSB is a constant, year-round commitment, led by [...]