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HAPPY EARTH DAY

picture of a city scape with the earth imposed within it
Thank you to each and every one of you for caring about and helping to reduce Manitoba's carbon emissions!  Buildings account for 20% of Manitoba's Carbon emissions, mostly from how we heat our buildings.  Let's continue to work together to build needed change and resilience!

FEDERAL BUDGET

The federal budget tabled earlier this week contained a lot of new funding to support green technologies and energy efficiency. Some of the highlights include:
 
•Certain existing restrictions related to "geothermal energy technologies" have been removed, making them eligible for clean tech project funding (of up to $1billion over 5 years)
•The federal government will purchase "renewable electricity certificates" to ensure that all federal buildings are powered by 100% per cent clean electricity by 2022.
•The federal government will develop a framework for federal green bonds, with a goal of issuing $5billion of them in FY2021-22, and more after that. These bonds could fund green infrastructure, clean tech innovation, nature conservation, and other efforts to address climate change and protect the environment.
•$4.4 billion over five years to CMHC to help homeowners complete "deep home retrofits". These would be interest-free loans worth up to $40,000. The process would involve retrofits identified through an EnerGuide energy assessment. There will be special funding for low-income homeowners and rental properties that serve low-income renters, including cooperatives and not-for-profit owned housing.
•They reiterated their commitment to fund one million free energy audits and to provide up to 700,000 grants valued at up to $5,000 to complete energy efficient home improvements. These programs were first announced in the 2020 fall budget update.
•Funding for the home energy retrofit programs will be available starting this summer!
More details on new programs
Read about the budget via a Manitoban climate lense

HYDROGEN IN MANITOBA

Sustainable Building Manitoba Lunch & Learns Hydrogen & Manitoba's Energy Future

What is the future of hydrogen in Manitoba? From buses to buildings, hear from a variety of voices on implementation plans.

As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, what will they be transitioning to? Hydrogen-based technologies are one option, but how could that work in Manitoba?

Join us for an overview of the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada as well as a primer on producing and using hydrogen as an energy storage medium and a clean fuel.

We'll hear why Winnipeg Transit thinks a mixed fleet solution including fuel cell-electric and battery-electric buses is right for Winnipeg.

SBM MEMBERS GET 50% OFF

SPEAKERS:

Erin Cooke (Winnipeg Transit) & Lindsay Robinson (Crosier, Kilgour & Partners)

Get your ticket now!

LAST CHANCE TO ORDER

Eons ago an SBM Lunch and Learn meant eating a delicious lunch.

And now you have the chance to make it mean that again!!  Be sure to order by 4:30 tomorrow (Friday) to get the chance to enjoy these DELICIOUS options from Feast Cafe Bistro.
 

		Hydrogen image

Sundance - $12.95

Slow-roasted, shredded maple chipotle chicken, shredded lettuce, Bothwell cheddar, red onions, roasted corn & bean salsa, maple chipotle lime sour cream drizzle

Served on a traditional bannock or gluten-free corn tortilla (if requested).

The Gatherer - $11.95

Vegan chili, loads of veggies, assorted beans, shredded lettuce, Bothwell cheddar, red onions, roasted corn & bean salsa, maple chipotle lime sour cream drizzle

Served on a traditional bannock or gluten-free corn tortilla (if requested).

Member discounts do not apply to food. Orders close 4:30pm Friday, April 23.

Food from Feast Cafe Bistro

PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW!

BOARD NOMINATIONS - LESS THAN A WEEK

 

Pursuant to the Organizational Bylaws, this Call for Nominations for the 2021 Board Elections is being issued.

 

Nominations will be open until the end of day on Wednesday, April 28 of 2021

 

The election will be held at the Annual General Meeting on May 26, 2021 at 4:30pm and will be voted in by the membership.  More details on the Annual General Meeting to come but will be hosted virtually once more this year. Be sure to save the date on your calendar!
 

We are seeking to elect up to five new directors.
 

Time Commitment 4-6 hours/month:

  • Monthly Board Meetings
  • The Board typically meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 4:30 p.m., from September to June.  
  • Meetings are usually under 2 hours in length
  • Some decisions are made via email or voting between meetings.
  • Monthly Committee Meetings
  • SBM has 5 active committees that any member may be a part of and that Directors are required to sit on minimum one.  
  • Each meeting is about an hour.  

These committees are:

Marketing: helps to promote not only SBM, but sustainable building practices in Manitoba more generally

Programming: sets the topics and speakers for SBM’s Lunch and Learns, buildings tours and other events

Training: Supporting sustainable building training development in Manitoba with a special focus on being a repository of all the training across the province

Advocacy: working to lobby and campaign for necessary actions from government and corporations for Manitoba to be sustainably built

Partnerships: help to identify sponsors and to build relationships with others in the sector to strengthen our collective ability to build sustainably

Each committee must be chaired or co-chaired by a member of the board of directors.

 

In general, each Director is responsible for;

  • Helping to achieve the vision, mission, values and implementation of the strategic plan to meet SBM’s objectives and represent the organization accordingly.
  • Make and strengthen partnerships
  • Attending meetings and notifying when unable to attend. Active participation in the decision-making and work of the Board at and between meetings
  • Share relevant information for dissemination to broader community and to help inform decisions
  • Support membership recruitment
  • Sit on SBM committees - chair a committee (if required)
  • Secure minimum of one sponsor for the organization
  • Devoting sufficient time to complete duties 
Help ensure SBM is operating as outlined in organizational by-laws

All directors must be SBM Members in good standing.

 

Terms are for two years and directors can serve consecutive terms.

 

Nominations must be submitted by EMAIL (SBMelections@gmail.com) by the end of day on Wednesday April 28th 2021.

 

Please submit a 150 word bio and a link to your LinkedIn if you have it

 

More information on Sustainable Building Manitoba can be found on the website.

AGM

Be sure to mark your calendars for May 26th at 4:30 for SBM's AGM. 

More details to come!

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING TOURS

Sustainable building manitoba's annual sustainable building tour via Zoom
Every June SBM hosts tours of sustainable buildings.  This year we will be once again doing them over Zoom.

Is there a building you want to see?  Or maybe it is a building you want to show off!

Please take a minute to let us know about by filling out this short form.
SUBMIT YOUR SUGGESTION NOW

HOME CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

When the pandemic first began, industry activity slowed significantly. But as the summer went on and fall arrived, a shift in momentum came, and according to Lanny McInnes, CEO of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association, it hardly slowed down in the first quarter of 2021 or since; if anything, things have sped up as the province enters its second year of pandemic life with new build permits up 150% in Winnipeg

A rebound in housing stock would be good for the local economy, McInnes said, as it would create a more balanced and equal market. What really concerns him is the cost of building materials, which throughout the pandemic have skyrocketed, while supply on products such as lumber is low, creating a squeeze on an industry working in high gear to meet consumer demand.

Natural Resources Canada statistics show that between April 2020 and March 2021, the price per thousand board feet of softwood lumber increased by about 200 per cent. Oriented strand board costs about 350 per cent more now than it did in April 2020, the statistics showed.

Those increased costs add tens of thousands of dollars to typical home construction, and the volatility of prices and shortage of supply complicates matters for builders. Canadian Forest Industries magazine concluded in its report from the Montreal Wood Convention in March that there’s "no relief in sight" for the high prices as the repair and remodel market is expected to thrive in 2021.

Read whole story

INDIANA BELL TELEPHONE BUILDING

Now for something nifty from history....

In 1930 the Indiana Bell building was rotated 90°. Over a month, the 22-million-pound structure was moved 15 inch/hr, all while 600 employees still worked there. There was no interruption to gas, heat, electricity, water, sewage, or the telephone service they provided. No one inside felt it move.

People could still enter/exit the building thanks to an entryway that moved moved it, which connected to a special curved sidewalk.

- The move was because Bell bought the building but needed bigger headquarters. They planned to demolish it but that would've interrupted phone service for a big chunk of Indiana, which they didn’t want to do.
- They lifted the whole building with steam-powered hydraulic lifts, then set it on enormous pine logs. It was moved via hand-operated jacks, which pushed it over the logs 3/8" at a time. Once the building rolled far enough forward, the last log would be moved to the front.
- The rotation plan was conceived & executed by famous architect Kurt Vonnegut Sr (father of the famous author)
- The feat remains one of the largest building-moves in history.
- The building was demolished in 1963.

Three cheers to building innovation!

PODCAST RECOMMENDATION

Force of Nature - NPR Throughline
51:00

Rivers on fire, acid rain falling from the sky, species going extinct, oil spills, polluted air, and undrinkable water. For so long, we didn't think of our planet as a place to preserve. And then in the 1960's and 70's that changed. Democrats and Republicans, with overwhelming public support, came together to pass a sweeping legislative agenda around environmental protection. In today's episode, what led to Earth Day, and what Earth Day led to.

Listen here

SBM MEMBERSHIP

Sustainable Building Manitoba Membership, building a community of solutions

SBM members are a critical part of the advocacy, education and promotional work on sustainable building in Manitoba.

 

Remind yourself of all the member benefits.

 

SBM is proud to be the independent voice for Sustainable Building in Manitoba - which is only possible with your participation.

Help build a strong and engaged sustainable building community. 
Click Here To Get Your Membership Now

MORE EVENTS

For more events in our community that will expand your knowledge and add to your skills, please visit our events calendar.
 
Events Calendar!
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