The workplace is evolving. Our buildings are decarbonizing. With furniture contributing up to 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions of a commercial building over its lifecycle, organizations must take a proactive approach to reduce this significant contributor to climate change. This presentation will explore the role of circularity in rebuilding the workplace and demonstrate the economic and environmental powerhouse of reuse & remanufacturing at scale. Participants will also learn about the role of office furniture in the circular economy, circular procurement strategies, and how organizations can maximize their assets through creative repurposing. About Our Speakers: Andy Delisi, Vice President of Sales at Envirotech - Andy is a seasoned executive in the commercial furniture industry, specializing in workplace wellness and sustainability. With over a decade of experience, his innovative vision has positioned Envirotech as a recognized industry leader. As a WELL AP and FitWel Ambassador, Andy's passion for eco-friendly, people-centric workspaces has led to numerous accomplishments, including being the dealer of choice for Canada's first FitWel-certified office. He has also authored three Continuing Education Units (CEUs) on sustainability in the built environment. Andy's unwavering commitment to sustainability and wellness continues to inspire the industry to elevate its standards and develop truly sustainable and wellness-focused workspaces. Norine Bevan, Director Furniture Advisory Services, CBRE - Norine has over 30 years of experience in the furniture industry through owning an office furniture dealership and then 7 years of consulting to interior designers, architects, and end users. With a flair for understanding creative design and a thorough understanding of corporate culture, Norine Bevan is the ideal partner for business owners and senior executives tasked with the challenging process of moving or revising interior business space. Norine Bevan streamlines the process of moving or managing interior space and maximizes time and efficiency always keeping the environment in the forefront.

The climate emergency has been declared. The World Green Building Council has stated that all new buildings are to be net zero operational carbon with a 40% reduction in embodied carbon by 2030. But, what can we do NOW to get there? We know that the decisions we make today will impact the carbon footprint of the buildings we design for their lifetime and we know that high performance buildings will play a significant role in the transformation to a low carbon economy. In Toronto, buildings account for about 60% of all carbon emissions and of the 323 cranes in the air, the vast majority are for residential projects - far more than any other North American city. Unfortunately, residential buildings have been the slowest to make the move toward low carbon design principles, so we wanted to see what could be done to change that. As key stakeholders in the development of residential buildings in Toronto, we want to understand why change is so slow, how we can come together to do something about it and ultimately aim to design buildings that are both affordable and sustainable. This presentation covers multiple insights on how we can get residential buildings down to net zero carbon. With the designer, developer, and contractor perspectives, we present a full picture of the opportunities and challenges to successfully plan, design, and build lower carbon residential buildings in Toronto based on a case study completed by a multidisciplinary team of people focused on low carbon solutions.

HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Our 1,600 team members collaborate across a network of 25 offices on three continents. To make indoor spaces as healthy and pleasant as possible, HOK’s interior designers are specifying more environmentally responsible products and finish materials. HOK is focused on three elements of materials where we can have the most impact: Embodied Carbon Green Chemistry Sustainable Sourcing Their 2022 targets for every Interiors project are: 85% to meet low-emitting certifications 100% of wood products to be FSC-certified 100% of office pantry equipment to be ENERGY STAR compliant 65% to include embodied carbon GWP data 65% to contain recycled content 50% to meet third party material health certifications At this session, HOK will share how they are aligning people, processes and tools to design healthy, sustainable interior spaces for all. About Our Speakers: Kelly Jordan has over 20 years of commercial interior design experience with both public and private clientele, including the design and renovation for corporate offices, retail banks, assembly and food service spaces as well as sensitive heritage restorations. Currently she is a firmwide leader for sustainable interior design with a focus on materials and their effect on climate change, human and environmental health. Through the completion of the Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building Program at the Parsons Healthy Materials Lab (New York City), Kelly has gained a deeper understanding of the toxicity of common interior materials and the basics of green chemistry. As a passionate advocate for sustainability, she is spearheading the development of ARIDO’s (Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario) Sustainable Design Guidelines and Education Series. Sara Garisto is a designer dedicated to creating spaces that bring forth exciting and new environments. She has a creative and respectful work ethic, forming designs that are both grounded and engaged through research and iterative design processes. Sara has three years of experience working in the industry, with a background in workplace, residential and cultural design. Her work focuses on creating inclusive and accessible spaces that succeed in both form and function. Taylor Welsh has been working in the design industry for nearly a decade and has gained a broad range of experience in corporate, hospitality, retail and healthcare projects. She excels at finding creative solutions to unique design challenges and synthesizing complex information, and is focused on creating spaces that are human centered and driven by sustainability.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) allow consumers and businesses to make more informed decisions about the environmental impact of the products they purchase or produce. By providing a standardized, transparent, and science-based assessment of a product's environmental impact, EPDs help to promote sustainability and reduce the environmental footprint of products throughout their life cycle. In this webinar, learn from Travis Dahl at One Click LCA to better understand what is required to complete an Environmental Product Declaration and how to streamline the process. EPDs are essential for the rapidly growing field of life cycle assessment (LCA) / embodied carbon modelling in the building industry. Don't get left behind on this massive trend! This webinar will also support building designers and sustainability professionals looking to better understand where the product data comes from for your LCA projects.

Build beyond zero begins to draw the story of how we can transform our built environment to meet the challenges of the climate crisis while making positive change in the way we treat other humans and planetary ecosystems. Dealing with emissions at the level of kilograms of CO2e is important, and Build Beyond Zero delves into the numbers in a meaningful way. But we didn't end up in a climate crisis because of emissions, this has happened because of the way we think about our fellow humans and the planet we share. Addressing the climate crisis requires matching data-based building performance with an over-arching concern for how we treat each other. About Our Speaker: Chris Magwood is obsessed with helping reverse climate change by making carbon-storing buildings that are also healthy, beautiful, efficient and inspiring and assisting others to do the same. In 2022, Chris joined the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Embodied Carbon initiative within RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings team. In 2019, he helped to establish Builders for Climate Action, and has been leading development of the BEAM carbon estimator tool for low-rise construction. He is working closely with many levels of government to develop embodied carbon benchmarks and regulatory programs, and helping developers and builders figure out how to reverse climate change with their buildings. Chris has authored seven books on sustainable building and is co-editor of the Sustainable Building Essentials series from New Society Publishers. His new book, Building Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon-Smart Architecture, is co-authored with Bruce King and published by Island Press.

The Carbon Leadership Forum issued the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Challenge in the fall of 2021. A group of leaders from MEP firms responded to the Challenge and collectively established a Commitment for you to join. Moving forward, this group of leaders will be responsible for convening signatories around a common goal. The MEP 2040 Challenge: “All systems engineers shall advocate for and achieve net zero carbon in their projects: operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040.” Many MEP design firms and manufacturers are already responding to this Challenge. This session will feature founding members of the MEP 2040 Challenge, as well as local MEP firms rising to the challenge to speak about their commitments.

Designing high performance building envelopes is an essential component in the low carbon building design process. Traditionally, building envelopes are selected based on aesthetics, costs, and impacts on energy use. However, building envelopes can be responsible for large amounts of upfront carbon emissions. Entire lifecycle approaches to building design should incorporate implications of both operational and embodied carbon when selecting envelope systems. In this event, our speakers will provide insights on embodied carbon in building envelopes, and provide input on ways to approach building envelope design and construction from a whole-building lifecycle carbon perspective. Meet Our Speakers: Kelsey Saunders, Building Scientist, RDH - Kelsey Saunders is a Project Manager and Building Scientist at RDH Building Science and has been in the building science field for nearly 10 years. She holds a Bachelor of Architectural Science and a Master of Building Science degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a Certified Passive House Designer and a LEED AP in Building Design and Construction. Kelsey’s work is focused on early stage building enclosure consulting on new construction projects across North America with a particular specialty in low carbon buildings both in terms of operational and embodied carbon. She takes an enclosure-first approach to low carbon design and has worked on many Passive House, Net Zero Carbon, mass timber, and prefabricated panelized enclosure projects. Scott R Armstrong, Senior Facade Specialist, WSP - Scott is passionate about buildings: their design and construction, ongoing performance, deterioration and failure, and, ultimately, their renewal. His projects have spanned commercial, institutional, heritage, recreational, residential, and neighbourhood development in Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. A LEED Accredited Professional, past Secretary and Board member of the CaGBC Greater Toronto Chapter, a Building Science Specialist (BSS), and Certified Engineering Technologist (CET), Scott successfully bridges the traditional gap between Architectural and Engineering disciplines and is frequently invited to speak publicly on topics such as enclosure design, high performance building design, and existing building retrofits.

A significant player in the whole building carbon life cycle, the contractor’s perspective on embodied carbon accountability is one we don’t hear all that often. Rather than waiting for clients and RFPs to require this shift in focus, we’re thrilled to bring you two unique perspectives from two Pan-Canadian construction companies leading this charge of their own volition. We’re going to hear about what has motivated this call to action, the processes they’ve initiated and some early lessons learned and pain endured. The format will allow for two brief presentations and a Q&A period where we invite our viewers to engage in this important conversation—one that we hope to continue in next year’s programme as well.