In this episode of What On EARTH Can We Do?, host Bri chats with Pam Goertzen, Executive Director of the Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA), about the critical role of sustainable building practices in Alberta's path to a low-carbon future. With Alberta’s rapid population growth fueling demand for new buildings, Pam discusses how the construction industry can innovate to meet the challenge of building fast, affordable, and low-carbon homes without compromising sustainability. They also explore the economics of green building, the importance of operational efficiency, and the potential for groundbreaking materials like recycled plastic to reshape the way we build.

Join us for an insightful discussion on how Alberta can lead the way in building sustainable, resilient communities while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Topics:

• Alberta's population growth and the demand for new buildings
• The environmental impact of the building sector and green building initiatives
• Challenges and opportunities in sustainable building practices
• Economic considerations for developers and homeowners
• Innovative materials and design strategies to reduce carbon emissions
• The long-term benefits of energy-efficient homes for both the environment and occupants

Guest:

• Pam Goertzen – Executive Director of the Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA)

Resources Mentioned:

• Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA)
• Canada Green Building Council
• Ecoplast Solutions

• Alberta's population growth
• Canada's population growth
• Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings

The What On EARTH Can We Do Podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation, a registered charity with the unique mission of accelerating environmental excellence by identifying and celebrating Alberta’s visionary leaders and by sharing best practices through the power of compelling educational narratives. 

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Thank You to Our Sponsors: A big thank you to our sponsors who make this podcast possible: Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, and City of Calgary.

[00:00:11] Bri H.: According to the Canada Green Building Council, residential commercial and institutional buildings contribute 17% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. They also state that building materials and construction likely bring that number closer to [00:00:30] 30%. Making the building sector Canada's third highest carbon emitter.

[00:00:57] With population growth across [00:01:00] Canada comes demand for buildings that serve our daily needs, such as residential homes, hospitals, and schools. Many of which will need to be built from the ground up.

[00:01:24] Pam Goertzen, Executive director of the smart sustainable resilient infrastructure [00:01:30] association, joins me to explore Alberta's path to a low-carbon future and highlight the role of green building initiatives.

[00:01:42] Pam G. (SSRIA): Oh, thanks so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here.

[00:01:57] So how does Alberta's recent [00:02:00] population growth affect the demand for new buildings and in turn, the need for sustainable building practices?

[00:02:23] So, I think, um, What we have to be careful for is that typically in this type of crisis, [00:02:30] the focus can turn away from, you know, long term sustainability or the environmental impact of our buildings in favor of, we need to build. Buildings really fast, and we need to build buildings affordably. Right? So I think it's more important than ever to really continue to promote the benefits of green building and and the opportunities that that presents.

[00:03:11] think A really great example is, , a multifamily unit. Building that was built here in Edmonton and North Glenora. It was actually built to passive house standards. So that means it's like, the highest kind of performance standard that buildings can achieve and and reach up [00:03:30] to, like, 90 percent energy use reductions in the building.

[00:03:56] I think it's, It's really providing [00:04:00] a great quality, affordable living option in a centralized neighborhood. So it's just checking all the boxes, giving people options, a really great living options. And that project happened because there was a group of developers that were committed to. You know, what they could do for their community and for the environment.

[00:04:41] So. That's just a really exciting one for me.

[00:05:09] So with these, I think. People have the misconception that, uh, renewable energy, alternative energy, anything related to building sustainably is really expensive and that stops developers from doing it. Maybe you can speak to the economics of it on both the resident and developer standpoint.

[00:05:34] There's definitely some truth to it right in that in in some of these buildings are just you have to put more materials in them to make them more energy efficient. And so there's a cost cost associated to that. But a lot of it actually is. I would say in kind of in that experience realm where.

[00:06:20] So I think in the ability to do more of that type of building and, and get that experience, and knowledge that will help, [00:06:30] that will help with the cost and bring the cost down. Ultimately there's economies of scale that comes into play too as well. So it, it's something that I think doing more of, we're going to resolve that issue.

[00:07:00] The occupant side is the, the operational cost. And so that component often gets left out when we're talking about the cost of a building. We're usually looking at what am I paying today to build this building? Not what is this building going to cost me over its 50 year, 100 year plus lifetime. And so I think that's a really important component too, when we're just looking at the uncertainty of the future.

[00:07:48] Bri H.: So I'll back up a little bit just to chat about. We've talked about population growth. We've talked about the affordability and economies of scale when it comes to building these buildings. [00:08:00] Right now in the current landscape, what are the average strategies that are currently being implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in Alberta, whether it's through retrofitting or in the creation of new development?

[00:08:50] The way that that's addressed is, can be through the design of the building, the materials that are used that go into the building, whether to make it more, [00:09:00] better insulated or airtight, and then how the building is optimized for energy use. The other. Component is what we call embodied carbon and that makes up a another percentage of the impact of our buildings.

[00:09:48] Particularly in the material side and again, I think the material side is another area where there's those opportunities for, um, for innovation in kind of what's going in those materials and how [00:10:00] they meet. Again, all those components of environmental impact, , and, , reducing the cost and making it making it possible to build faster.

[00:10:23] Pam G. (SSRIA): Yeah, absolutely. So if you start using so a great example, um, actually a company that you've had on your podcast [00:10:30] previously, Ecoplast Solutions, they use, um, recycled plastic that comes from plastic bottles.

[00:11:01] So there is a lot of, um, I guess, kind of investigation and innovation happening in how we, how we build or how we create those materials that then go in to, to, to buildings.

[00:11:24] Pam G. (SSRIA): I think I've touched on some of them already, but I would basically summarize the main [00:11:30] barriers, and there's probably more, but I'll go with my top three, um, would be money, know how, and regulation.

[00:12:09] That leads back up, like, if I had a chart, right, that would lead right back up to the cost. And then regulation, this will probably lead back to cost as well. But, , I think that the biggest issue on the regulation side. Is we, we kind of have a demand issue , , for green buildings, right? So there is just isn't a significant [00:12:30] demand, , which is typically created .

[00:12:57] The other side of it is with building [00:13:00] materials and traditional materials, Those are certified to meet building standards. That process is very lengthy and very costly. And so with with new materials being developed, largely by small, brand new companies, it's difficult for them to achieve those specific certifications.

[00:13:43] Build this building quickly, turn a profit and move on from it. And so, , there's just the drivers just really aren't there to help people move in that direction on their own. And it with the lack of that kind of regulatory incentive.

[00:14:05] And maybe we can talk about the importance of building that low carbon future, because I can hear some people potentially saying, well, we need these homes, we should just be building them as quickly as possible with ignoring sustainability, uh, because they need to be so fast and to, to counteract that line of thought, maybe we can chat about, you know, obviously, you know, [00:14:30] Emissions are associated with climate change and the repercussions of that, but maybe a two pronged approach of the impact of building a low carbon future for climate change mitigation, but also for the health of the people living in the homes and and also the economic health and the physical health.

[00:15:15] , so, I think that that's what differentiates the building sectors need to start to decarbonize way sooner or immediately is because. Well, just every time we build a new building that is not [00:15:30] meeting either net zero or starting to transition towards that, we're just exasperating the problem that we're going to have to deal with 25, 30, 50 years down the road.

[00:16:00] And so these newer developments, they don't have those trees to provide that canopy and lower the internal temperature of your home. So for the comfort of the people living there, having these trees to energy efficiency and sustainable building practice is integrated into the development, I assume is so important as 20, 30, 40 years down the road, we continue to experience these, the greater impacts of climate change with, with weather patterns and fire and flood and extreme [00:16:30] heat, um, to be comfortable as human beings.

[00:16:39] Pam G. (SSRIA): Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's You know, what I think is always interesting, too, is having worked in this kind of area of energy efficiency and buildings for so long, it's important to kind of step back and put yourself into, like, just an average consumer, average homeowner or building occupant.

[00:17:22] Consumers don't necessarily have the knowledge to to demand. A, a better product in the end. So there needs some [00:17:30] to be some support to kind of , push that along a little bit.

[00:18:03] As you can see, there's a lot of opportunity there. and. That's part of the work we're doing, too, is to help those people who are actively building the buildings and who really are representing this industry, learn how to do it, bring the cost down and, really, as we go, we're supporting the development of a whole subset of the economy, um, who's developing these [00:18:30] products and these innovations.

[00:18:54] There, there's hope there are people who are innovating, we just need a push, whether it be through policy and [00:19:00] regulation, uh, and just getting people to jump on this trend and continue to innovate together because the more people we have doing it, it's going to become commonplace and then everyone will do it.

[00:19:39] Bri H.: , I'm so grateful for you taking the time to join us on the podcast and chat about this extremely relevant and important topic as we move forward into the next 5, 10, 15, however many years.

[00:20:22] The government of Alberta, the forest resource improvement association of Alberta pathways Alliance, the city of [00:20:30] Edmonton and the city of Calgary.