The
Toronto City Summit Alliance's commercial building energy initiative, the tenant segment of Greening Our Workplaces, part of the larger
Greening Greater Toronto, will kick off on March 26, a little more than 24 hours before Earth Hour, with a meeting between
Brookfield Asset Management and its main tenants at
First Canadian Place, including the
Bank of Montreal and Bay Street law firm
Gowlings.
"Brookfield is committed to the sustainability of its Toronto properties and has registered all of its buildings with the
LEED EB:OM program," says Stefan Dembinski, Brookfield's senior vice president of asset management for eastern Canada. "We understand that many of our tenants are seeking to reduce their environmental impact and as a result we are looking to partner with them to achieve our mutually beneficial sustainability goals."
According to the TCSA, who will be presenting the business case for commercial greening at the meeting, the initiative includes retrofitting, reducing carbon emissions, and ensuring that the whole thing is driven by both landlord and tenant.
According to TCSA, commercial buildings account for more than 30 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the GTA, consume 37 per cent of the city's electricity and 17 per cent of its natural gas. They suggest that one of the major barriers to improving commercial building efficiency is a lack of communication between landlords and tenants.
The March 26 meeting will be the first of five such meetings between major commercial landlords and their Toronto tenants.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Stefan Dembinski,Brookfield; TCSA