The Sustainable Building Advisor Certificate Program is a ninemonth, specialized training program, designed to enable graduates to advise employers or clients on strategies and tools for implementing sustainable building. It is offered through a collaboration between Seattle City Light and Seattle Central Community College. Open the link below to view the brochure.
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Courtesy of Wendy Avis, Climate Change Coordinator, Environment Canada Ottawa, Ontario, August 25, 2004– Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a $350M fund for the development and demonstration of clean technologies, today announced a call for Statements of Interest (SOIs) as part of its sixth round of funding. The closing date for SOI submissions is October 6, 2004. The call for SOIs invites entrepreneurs to make initial applications that are simple and straightforward. The SOI phase is designed to provide SDTC with a good sense of proposed technologies without imposing an arduous application process. Applicants who comply with SDTC’s selection criteria will be invited to submit a proposal. Response to SDTC’s clean tech fund has been impressive since its first call for SOIs in April 2002. In five calls, SDTC has received more than 806 Statements of Interest from consortia applications representing over 2,500 companies and organizations. The total request for funding has been $1.5 billion, and consortia members have offered $3.7 billion in leveraged financing. Applications have been received from across Canada in 57 technology categories, each of which has relevance to all primary economic sectors within Canada. To date, SDTC has allocated a total of $72 million to 37 projects. That amount has been leveraged with an additional $208 million in funding from other project partners for a total project value managed by SDTC of $280 million. This represents a 3:1 ratio of industry-partner contribution to SDTC investment. “If the response from our past five rounds is any indication of the high level of interest, we are confident that there will be an excellent response to this round as well. Our extensive review of previous submissions has revealed an increasing depth and quality of applications from the development community. This is partly attributable to the effort the SDTC team puts into working with entrepreneurs to strengthen their applications at the SOI and proposal stages, and to connect with partners. As a result of our joint efforts, the sustainable development technology infrastructure in Canada is beginning to build momentum. Clean-technology development is a growth area in the global marketplace and Canada has the opportunity to become a leader, said Vicky J. Sharpe, President and CEO, SDTC. ” We aim to meet the needs of entrepreneurs not only with funding support, but with support and guidance on taking their technology to market. Our objective is to de-risk clean technologies to attract downstream private-sector investment and increase their likelihood to attain market entry, while ensuing economic and sustainable development benefits across Canada,” added Sharpe. In addition to directly interacting with entrepreneurs, SDTC has been working on their behalf to encourage the financial community, in particular the venture capital community, to pursue investments in clean technologies more aggressively. At the same time that SDTC is advocating for a culture shift in this community towards increased investments, it is also encouraging governments to focus their clean-technology investments in what is the weakest link in Canada’s innovation chain: the pre-venture capital gap also known as the development and demonstration stage. For further information about the call for Statements of Interest (SOIs) and the new online SOI application system, go to www.sdtc.ca. and select the Funding/Application Advice menu option. SDTC Sustainable Development Technology Canada is an initiative created by the Government of Canada that operates a $350 million fund to finance and support the development of clean technologies that provide solutions to issues of climate change and air quality, and that deliver economic, environmental and health benefits to Canadians. An arm’s length, not-for-profit corporation, SDTC bridges the gap in the innovation chain between R&D and commercialization, helping clean-technology developers move their products and solutions through the development and demonstration phases in preparation for commercialization. SDTC’s mission is to act as the primary catalyst in building a sustainable development technology infrastructure in Canada. For more information, please contact: Andrée Mongeon Director of Communications Sustainable Development Technology Canada Tel: 613.234-6313 ext. 224 a.mongeon@sdtc.ca www.sdtc.ca
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The goals of the newly formed BC Sustainable Energy Association are: – To help British Columbia become a world leader in the generation and use of sustainable energy. – To promote the use of sustainable energy to the people of British Columbia for electricity, transportation, industry, and all other uses. – To provide a forum through which members can meet, share ideas, and develop joint initiatives, supported by up-to-date information and technical research. – To speak with a strong collective voice to municipal, provincial and federal governments and other agencies on issues concerning the development of clean, renewable, efficient energy in BC, and the reduction of British Columbia’s greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. – To provide one-stop shopping for information on B.C.’s sustainable energy resources. – To form local chapters throughout BC, so that members can organize locally. Check out their website for more information.
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Follow the link below to view the announcement for the LEED for Contractors Seminar.
• document: LEED for Contractors Pamphlet • in detail XlnkS6A5

COASTAL MANAGEMENT Background The Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Program provides funding for targeted research to better understand Canada’s vulnerability to climate change and to provide information necessary for the development of adaptation strategies. Funding for this program is provided by the Government of Canada’s Action Plan on Climate Change. In the context of the Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Program, the goal is to understand the system and its response to a changing climate. This requires not only examination of how a system may be sensitive to climate but also the process of adaptation (who adapts, to what, and how) and the extent to which adaptation can minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits. Adaptation in this context refers to deliberate intervention in a social, economic or biophysical system in a way that maintains or improves the viability of that system under variable or changing climate. The Impacts & Adaptation Program is managed by the Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Directorate in the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. Further details about impacts, adaptation and vulnerability research and the Impacts & Adaptation Program can be found at: http://adaptation.NRCan.gc.ca. Scope of Work to be Funded We are now soliciting LETTERS OF INTEREST (LOI) for research in the area of climate change and coastal management. Note: Proposals that fail to include steps to analyze the implications of future climate change will be declared ineligible and removed from further review. Topics of research that may be addressed include: Topic 1: Bay of Fundy, the Arctic, and Quebec marine coasts Projects that examine the vulnerability of sensitive areas of the marine coasts of the Canadian Arctic, Bay of Fundy, and Quebec. Projects may incorporate sea ice and wave climate changes (as they affect the coastline), extreme events, and / or warming-induced thaw subsidence in the north, and should address as many aspects of the coastal environment as practical. Critical thresholds in the system should be identified, and projects should incorporate potential monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits. As well as examining impacts, all projects should include analysis of the adaptive capacity of the region or system to reduce the social, economic, and environmental risk (i.e., the susceptibility to loss based on exposure) of changes to the coast. Projects should be based on recent research where available and build on current adaptation, which may consider policies (e.g., land use change), technological approaches, roles of stakeholders and / or government, as well as costs, benefits, barriers, and incentives to change. Topic 2: Comparative case studies of coastal management approaches or strategies currently in use in Canada and their capacity to address issues raised by climate change These may include approaches that use local or traditional knowledge. Research must identify, where applicable, the roles of the private sector, governments, residents, landholders, and other stakeholders. Barriers or incentives to change in the approaches and policies should also be considered in light of multiple stresses on coastal management. The time dimension of the policy process should be considered. Topic 3: The implications of maladaptation for coastal management Maladaptation may include, for example, poorly designed responses to water level changes such as the promotion of development in high-risk locations. Projects should examine individual and community perception of the value of coastal resources, and the perceived risk climate and water level changes present to this value as a factor in understanding the process of adaptation (i.e., who adapts, how, and why). Research projects can address the issue on a national, regional, or local basis except where noted. Research should provide information or knowledge that can be applied to the development of adaptation options or strategies for the particular sector, community, or region. Researchers are encouraged to consult and work with decision-makers or stakeholders at the earliest stages of project development and to incorporate local or traditional knowledge where appropriate. Proponents are advised to check the database of previously funded impacts and adaptation research also posted on the Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Program web site to ensure their LOI does not duplicate work completed to date. LOI must clearly demonstrate that the proposed research: 1. Focuses on identifying impacts and the process of adaptation in the context of climate change, and; 2. If part of a larger project, will result in unique and additional results. The research should employ the most up-to-date techniques. In addition, the Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Program does not support projects whose only purpose is: · To design, establish, or maintain monitoring; · Database development and/or maintenance (at the same time, we expect you to store results in modern databases that can be easily accessed by others and linked to other databases), and; · Public outreach activities. Funding and Project Duration There is $500,000 available IN TOTAL for all projects in this call. Funding amounts requested from the Impacts & Adaptation Program can range in size from $5,000 to a maximum of $200,000 per project. The Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Program will fund up to 50% of the total cost of the project. Projects are expected to provide matching support from other sources. Costs that cannot be covered by the Program include those for capital items with a lifespan of one year or more (e.g., computers), travel to conferences, and overhead in excess of 15% of project costs. Overhead will not be paid to projects in federal government agencies. Projects cannot include profit-making initiatives. Successful proponents who are external to the federal government will be required to enter into a Contribution Agreement. Federal government proponents will be required to sign a Letter of Agreement. A template can be made available on request. Projects should have a start date no earlier than December 1, 2004 and must be completed by December 31, 2006. However, the duration of projects should be based on the scope of the research and can range from 3 to 24 months in length. Eligible Recipients Eligible recipients include members of Canadian organizations such as: educational and academic institutions; government agencies (federal, provincial, territorial, regional, municipal; First Nations); businesses and industries and their professional associations; not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations; community groups (aboriginal communities or organizations, voluntary groups, community organizations, associations and institutions). Proponents must demonstrate that they have the capacity and capability necessary to deliver the project. Process Proponents are requested to submit a letter of interest for each research project they want to be considered for funding. LOI will be evaluated by the Impacts & Adaptation Technical Committee. The criteria for this review will include: · The contribution of the project to addressing the gaps identified; · Research methodology; · Feasibility of meeting objectives within the stated time frame; · Project budget, and; · Proposed partnering/stakeholder involvement. Successful proponents will be requested to submit a full project proposal. In some cases, the committee may recommend refocusing, or perhaps consolidation of two or more LOI where this would increase the impact of all components. All proponents will be notified of the status of their LOI in writing within eight weeks of the closing date for this call. At the full proposal stage, we will request a number of proposals the cumulative requested funding of which is twice the funding available. Successful proponents will be asked to submit a full proposal by close of business ten weeks following notification of the results of the LOI review. The proposals will be subject to full peer review, and the resulting ranking will form the foundation for Impacts & Adaptation Technical Committee recommendations for funding approval by an interdepartmental executive committee. Format of Letters of Interest Applicants must use the template provided; the LOI must not be longer than 3 pages, single-spaced. PLEASE NOTE: do not reduce margins to less than 1.27cm / 0.5” or use font size smaller than 10 pt. Letters of support from stakeholders and partners are not required to accompany the LOI, but will be required with the full proposal where appropriate. Submission Deadline Completed LOI must be submitted by the close of business September 17, 2004. Letter of Interest and any questions should be directed to: Ryan Schwartz Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Directorate By phone: (613) 947-4878 By fax: (613) 992-0190 By email (preferred method): adaptation@NRCan.gc.ca By mail: Ryan Schwartz Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Directorate Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada 601 Booth Street, Room 236 Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8
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