Let's Be Upfront: The Daniels Corporation Talks Embodied Carbon

Daniels is a purpose-driven real estate developer, and builds inclusive and sustainable communities to create a better future for all. Real estate development affects the way people live and shapes how communities come together, and Daniels has spent over 39 years investing in community development, affordable housing, food security, arts and culture, and sustainable building practices.

Daniels has recently refocused their approach to sustainable development, and are on  a mission to decarbonize the real estate development industry in the GTA by focusing on the whole life carbon emissions of the homes they build. By focusing on whole life carbon, they can quantify the true scale of the  impact of the development process, and take accountability by quantifying, disclosing, and taking steps to drastically reduce our emissions.

In early 2023, Daniels published their Decarbonization Roadmap, which measured and disclosed a baseline level of performance while establishing emission reduction targets and commitments. Most importantly, it provides an actionable pathway to decarbonization while challenging what sustainable building truly means in the context of global climate goals.

This presentation will cover Daniels’ findings in developing their Decarbonization Roadmap, key next steps on deploying it, and how they are shifting the corporate mindset from treating sustainability as philosophical value into a value-add that drives good business.

About Our Speakers

Adam Molson - VP, Rental Communities & Sustainability, The Daniels Corporation

Adam has grown with The Daniels Corporation since 2008, taking on a variety of roles prior to becoming Vice President, Rental Communities and Sustainability. Adam leads the Daniels Gateway Rental Communities division in the creation and management of purpose built communities that allow residents to love where they live. On the sustainability front, Adam is leading the process of transforming Daniels into one of Toronto’s leading low carbon developers. This work includes the recently released Decarbonization Roadmap, which outlines how Daniels plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% from baseline performance. The Roadmap involves re-engineering building designs to utilize all electric heating, cooling and hot water systems and piloting high performance envelopes such as Passive House, all while reducing the embodied carbon emissions released from the construction process.

Meghan Wilson - Senior Manager, Sustainability, The Daniels Corporation

Meghan is a Senior Manager with The Daniels Corporation, a GTA-based residential developer and builder with a mission to build inclusive and sustainable communities to create a better future for all. Meghan played a key role in the development of Daniels Decarbonization Roadmap, and works collaboratively through all stages of the development process to support the design and construction of low-carbon communities, executing on the ambitious corporate goals to decarbonize the GTA real estate development industry. Her passion for sustainability drives innovation, finding solutions that push the traditional constraints of real estate development to build a greener future.