We’re happy to announce that as of today we are a certified B Corporation!
B Corps are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. Its kind of like LEED, but for businesses. For more info, visit www.bcorporation.net
We’re very proud to announce the promotion of Jack Cui, Jason Packer, and Erica Letchford as Associates of Recollective! Associates are senior staff who have a stake in the company and who provide strategic leadership and vision. We look forward to growing together with our new Associates into a “Living Future“.
We’re happy to announce the result of a collaboration we’ve helped initiate between the City of Vancouver and UBC Continuing Studies: New Energy Modelling Courses!
Energy modelling is how we simulate the energy performance of a building before its built, using advanced engineering software. This is a powerful tool, as it allows us to optimize the building design and run several “what-if” options in a effort to save money and energy. People who do this work are called Energy Modellers.
British Columbia, and Canada in general, lacks energy modelling literacy and capacity. For many, especially real estate developers, energy modelling is seen as a kind of black magic, requiring the skills of an entrusted hyper-specialist for which there are few. The software can be incredibly complex and the outputs strange to understand, even contradictory at times. Yet it is the results of these models (predictions of how much energy the building will consume) that cities create bylaws around, and that developers make million dollar decisions by.
The problem is that, depending on which energy modeller does the work, you get different results! There are also so many different ways to simulate a building correctly, but which will again give you different results. You also get different results, depending on which software is used! As we all know, “Garbage in = garbage out”. In other words, if you feed the energy model with the wrong inputs, you’ll get the wrong outputs. With so many variables, how can we trust the results of these models? Luckily, there are guidelines issued by ASHRAE and the US and Canada Green Building Councils, but these are not complete.
We need some consistency on how energy models are done, as well as how energy modellers are trained. Most energy modellers learn on the job, often reading the online tutorials, with little supervision or mentorship. We also need to grow the number of energy modellers to meet the growing demand.
And finally, we need to grow the energy modelling literacy in the building industry, especially among real estate developers, architects and mechanical and electrical engineers. These people need to know the basics of modelling, so they know how to ask the right questions, and interact with the energy modeller in the right way to get what we all want – a high performance building that saves money and energy.
We believe the following UBC courses are the first step to address the aforementioned challenge. We hope many people will take the courses so that energy modelling capacity and literacy (at least in Vancouver) will grow.
To register, go to: cstudies.ubc.ca/energy , or call 604.822.5042
EarthWork Day is about celebrating Earth Day by walking the talk.
Last year, SES Consulting, Recollective, Puls
Part 1: Ideas Pitch – Friday March 22, 5pm at HiVE
Between March 22 – April 22, groups are to begin coordinating to plan their ideas so they’re ready to implement on April 22. Check out the videos from the 2012 EarthWork Day Ideas Pitch here!
Part 2: EarthWork Day – April 22, 9am at HiVE
We start at 9am at the HiVE (128 West Hastings, Suite 210), split up our various folk into small teams, each company gives each employee a budget of $22 per person to hit the street or their computers and make a difference. (For individuals not part of a participating organization, you can play with us too! Just show up with $22 and/or your volunteer time.)
Anyone and everyone are welcome to join, or create your own version! Please spread the word! If you’re a business / non-profit interesting in participating, please send an email to action@earthworkday.org and we’ll add your logo and weblink below. Also open to individuals!
Twitter / Flickr / YouTube Hashtag: #earthworkday
Aaron has over a decade of experience in the Lower Mainland construction industry in both the commercial and residential sectors. Upon completion of his Architectural Technology diploma, he swung a hammer renovating houses on the North Shore before moving into the field of building envelope consulting as a Project Technologist and then as a Project Manager for a construction management and contracting firm focusing on residential retrofit construction.
His interest in sustainability was sparked in 2007 when it became clear that the future of the BC construction industry must be driven by green building science and the leadership role our region has an opportunity to seize as technology and building practices shift along with our societal philosophies. Aaron attained his LEED GA designation in 2011, and is pursuing his AP status while working to contribute to the transformation in how we perceive and construct our built environment.
Interns are short-term volunteer positions for gaining LEED / green building experience. If you are interested in this, please check out our Internship Program.
