SmartSteps - Business Tools for Sustainability

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SmartSteps - Business Tools for Sustainability

SmartSteps is a program of tools, technical assistance and information to help your business become more eco-efficient and more competitive. Our goal is to help you find specific, cost-effective actions you can take to reduce the amount of materials and energy your business uses.

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Current SmartSteps Projects

Waste Reduction Pilot Project with Park Royal Mall Metro Vancouver and Park Royal Shopping Centre officially launched a waste reduction pilot with an event called The Great Trash Tip where two garbage compactors were tipped into the parking lot at Park Royal and examined by Metro Vancouver staff. The event also coincided with Canada’s Waste Reduction Week. The waste reduction pilot began in September when a waste composition study of the shopping centre’s garbage was first conducted at the North Shore Transfer Station. Once completed Metro Vancouver will provide Park Royal with an inventory of the contents of the centre’s garbage containers. Metro Vancouver Director Marvin Hunt, chair of the region’s Waste Management Committee said “The best way to reduce garbage is to not have garbage in the first place We are very pleased that Park Royal is demonstrating the necessary leadership in the business community to help us achieve our goal of Zero Waste.” The current inventory of Park Royal’s garbage will serve as a benchmark that can be used to design a more comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program at the mall. Both the Region and the Shopping Centre hope the project will lead to significant reductions the amount of waste sent to landfill when it is inspected again several months down the road. Metro Vancouver hopes to take the lessons learned at Park Royal and apply that learning as a model that can be applied at shopping centres right across the region. Park Royal has expressed a commitment to integrating green practices into its operations and is working towards becoming the first sustainable regional shopping centre in Canada. To achieve this, the shopping centre has adopted a framework of sustainability principles that it uses to inform everyday decisions. More information on Park Royal’s commitment to sustainability can be found at www.sustainableparkroyal.com
Materials Banned from garbage as of January 1, 2008 Certain items are banned or restricted from the garbage. They are either recyclable or hazardous. Banning recyclable materials helps meet our goals of minimizing waste and maximizing reuse, recycling and energy recovery from solid waste. Banning hazardous items from the landfill is good for the environment.
Limited Time Offer - Disposal Ban Bin Labels for Commercial Haulers As part of a trial program, Metro Vancouver is providing material ban bin labels at no-cost to commercial haulers within the region. Requests for labels should be addressed to: Attention: Disposal Ban Bin Labels @ business_services@metrovancouver.org All requests should include the number of labels required, a contact name and number together with complete shipping information. It is recommended that, where possible, haulers start with labelling “problem” bins as the program is not able to supply labels for all the refuse bins within the region. Additional details of the trial program are included in the recent program announcement. Material Bans Bin Label for download

News

Competition Bureau and CSA develop a guide to provide best practices for making environmental claims about products.

The Competition Bureau and the Canadian Standards Association have developed this guide to provide best practices for making environmental claims about products. The main message is that claims should not be vague, but should be as detailed as possible. Claims should be measurable, substantiated, verified and realistic. Although the guidelines are not law, a company would be wise to follow them to avoid any complaints or prosecution for making false and misleading claims.

Environmental claims: A guide for industry and advertisers

ecoENERGY Retrofit incentive now includes larger buildings

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced recently that its ecoENERGY Retrofit incentive has been expanded to include a wide range of businesses and public institutions that own, manage, or lease buildings with 10,000-20,000 square metres of floor space. Under the program, eligible parties can apply for federal funding to invest in energy-saving upgrades (i.e. installing efficient lighting, building automation control systems, upgrading heating, ventilation, and cooling systems). The maximum incentive is $50,000 per project and $250,000 per recipient over the duration of the program. For a retrofit project to qualify for an incentive, the building must be at least five years old and have been occupied for the last three years. Also, a pre-project energy audit must be completed for each building by a qualified energy efficiency evaluator. Once a project proposal is accepted, the project must be completed within the following 12 months (18 months in the territories). The program is scheduled to run until March 31, 2011. The current application period runs until February 27, 2009. For more information contact NRCan 1-877-360-5500.

small and medium organizations

BC Hydro's "How to green your office holiday party"

Avoid the eco-hangover that comes with an indulgent and wasteful office holiday party. Go green, from the way you decorate, to stuff you eat and how it's served.

BC Government sets Greenhouse Gas Targets for 2012 and 2016

The BC Government has reviewed and accepted the recommendations of the Climate Action Team (CAT) for interim greenhouse gas reduction (GHG) targets, establishing a GHG reduction target of six per cent below 2007 levels by 2012 and 18 per cent by 2016, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced today.

Press Release Nov 25, 2008