greenest-city-2020 / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Bike lanes in Vancouver
Lifestyle, location and commuting

Vancouver's goal of becoming the Greenest City by 2020

In our previous article we discussed the building trend in Vancouver known as Laneway Housing, where new homes are being created in backyards, accessed by lanes in the centre of city blocks. More densely populated neighbourhoods means more efficient use of city services, and a more vibrant and active local business com...

Passive House design Vancouver
Passive House

The city of Vancouver is actively promoting Passive House construction

Vancouver has set a goal of being the greenest city in the world by the year 2020. Some of the policies included in that plan are expanded public transportation, bike lanes, encouraging laneway houses for urban density and requiring all new civic buildings to be zero emissions. The city has also imposed upon itself a m...

Midori Uchi
Efficient home design

A new contender for the title of Canada's Greenest Home

Naikoon Contracting Ltd. is embarking on a new residential project that's expected to achieve some of the highest green residential construction standards in the country. "Our goal is to take current green residential building standards to the next level by employing some of the most advanced sustainable systems and ec...

Bike lanes in Downtown Vancouver
Choosing where to live

Urban living

Housing is an enormous source of carbon emissions, so it is also a place where we have tremendous room for improvement. This building guide will walk you through the steps than can help you minimize your personal emissions as much as possible, whether you are building, buying or renting. Keep in mind, this is not a sac...

Canada Greener Homes Grant 2022 - How to apply fiberglass attic insulation
Grants and incentives

Canada Greener Homes Grant 2022 - the "how to apply" guide - step by step

How and why to claim the Canada greener homes grant Buildings, including homes, account for 18% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. With the new greener homes grant the Government wants to encourage Canadians to make homes more energy-efficient so they can be more comfortable and more affordable to run, while also su...

ProductiveHouse in Montreal
Choosing where to live

Green living in the city

1. Life without a car. One of the nice things about living in the city is public transportation and proximity to services, which makes it possible to live without a car. Or at the very least, it can reduce the amount of driving you have to do. When choosing a place to live, check the walking distances from buses or sub...

Green Home Design - What makes a city livable
Choosing where to live

What makes a green home livable to you?

First published in SAB magazine. Kim Barnsley Is a senior architect at the Vancouver office of Perkins+Will. The way we live is changing. As both an architect and a resident of Vancouver, I am regularly confronted with how our cities are changing through urban densification and shifting demographics, to accessibility a...

$40k Interest-Free Loans for Green Home Renos, How to Apply Canada 2021
Grants and incentives

Greener Homes interest-free loan scheme 2021 Canada - the ultimate guide

The Canada Greener Homes Grant scheme is investing $2.6 billion over 7 years to help up to 700,000 Canadian homeowners across the country improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy bills with grants of up to $5,000 to make energy-efficient retrofits to their homes and up to $600 to help with t...

Aerial view of BRE Innovation Park Living City Campus
Lifestyle and environment

Seven experimental homes being built at the Living City Campus North of Toronto

The BRE Innovation Park (Building Research Establishment) that lies 15km north of Toronto will soon build a new series of houses in which emerging building products and technologies can be researched and enhanced. The Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) is run out of The Living City Campus at Kortright, ...

The Top Twelve Green Building Trends for 2020
Planning and Design

Find out what's trending in 2020 for Green Home Construction

Top Sustainable Construction Trends for 2020 There are always new green building products coming out that lead to more efficient, more durable or more eco-friendly homes. But most of what grabbed our attention this past year, and the things that we will see through 2020, are perhaps best described as sustainable constr...

Earth day celebrations for 50th Anniversary
Lifestyle and environment

50th anniversary Earth day 2020 taking place online

How & why we celebrate Earth Day, April 22nd Earth Day is one of the few globally celebrated days of observance in the world, with more than a billion people joining together in past years to show their support for environmental protection. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (learn the history here) ...