This year I attended the Canada Green Building Council’s National Conference in Vancouver. The conference was a whirlwind of activity, starting with the Annual General Meeting on the Tuesday night. A networking event was held that evening in the exhibition area to break the ice. I’ve found these a great way to make connections. The big move the conference made this year was to only serve vegetarian food, except the Gala Dinner which had salmon, to lower the carbon footprint.
The conference also aided in business to business meetings which I took advantage of during the two days. I heard about new products and ideas for moving sustainability forward in operations of buildings as well as methods of construction.
The first day I enjoyed a session on innovative technologies, that sometimes are ahead of the current codes, and how artificial intelligence helps with site monitoring; a session on active buildings, the urban strategies to interconnect autonomous energy surpluses, and the considerations for a sustainable building structure that is dynamic and the purpose for its whole life; and a session on Life-cycle Analysis and the tools to help determine the embodied carbon of construction materials.
The evening Gala Dinner was a great way to celebrate the leaders in sustainability. Later that night, Alberta was represented well on the dance floor with a fantastic DJ.
The second day started off with a Women in Green “Leading with Purpose” breakfast that was uplifting and presented encouraging messages to move social equality forward. Sustainability is a principle that considers ecosystems, natural resources, human development, economy, and society. Diversity in leadership is definitely on the rise and still needs advocates to continue the boost.
I took in a session on a restoration project in the Greater Toronto Area along the East harbour that will help with the storm water drainage in the area as well as add transit stations to a 10 Million square feet commercial space and 2 Million square feet living space; a session on an alert system that monitors projects while under construction that helps reduce the energy used and reduce damages that can be caused by temperature fluctuations; and a session on the many sustainable rating systems that are no longer just for buildings, but for sites, wastes, resilient design, human health within buildings, and systems that raise investor confidence.
The last evening of the conference I went to an after party at Mahoney and Sons along the pier where I got to say a few good-byes to the fantastic people I met. It was a great way to end a jam-packed few days.
