PAQS 2018 – SYDNEY AUSTRAILIASUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REPORTSUBMITTED BY IAN DUNCAN – CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF QUANTITY SURVEYORSIntroduction
Since the establishment of the sustainability committee it has been understood that the main focus of
the subject matter in the reporting has been the Sustainable Construction. This includes the use ofenvironmentally friendly materials, energy efficiency, proximity to public transport, ventilation, waste
management etc.
One cannot, however, ignore the broader definitions which includes environmental, economic andsocial sustainability which are, in many ways, controlled by the policies established by officials we electto our governments. Essentially we control our own destinies and those of our descendants.
In my research on line I came across an article on the University of McGill website named “What isSustainability?” This article was provided by University of Alberta office of sustainability. Please find acopy attached which I think you will find useful.

Canadian Governing Bodies
Canada has three levels of government. We have the Federal government which represents Nationalinterests. Then we have Regional or Provincial Governments which govern the affairs of the Provincesand Territories. At the local level we have the Municipal Government which represents the local
interests of each city, town or municipality.
Each three of these levels of government get involved, in some way, in effecting sustainability in thecountry.

Sustainable Construction
In Canada we have a National Building Code and many Provinces have their own regional or Provincial
Building Code. The local Municipalities employ the Building Officials who are responsible to issue
Building Permits and insure code compliance.
Over recent years we have seen Positive Trends emerging from all levels of construction practices.
Building code revisions have recognised the need for change based upon emerging sustainable
initiatives such as:
Increases in levels of thermal insulation values in order to conserve energy. (Very important in colderclimates).
Because of these increasing levels of if insulation and the move to reducing air infiltration through doors
and windows buildings have become tightly sealed with the risk of not having enough ventilation or
oxygen to sustain life. The Ontario Building code has, for example a relatively new requirement for allresidential buildings to include for a 24 hour Heat Recovery Ventilation System installed to ensure
adequate ventilation.
Many cities in Canada have introduced their own Green Building Policies which include specificrequirement over and above those of the building codes. Examples of these requirements include:
Green Roofs to new buildings.
Bird glass to the upper levels of high rise buildings in cities like Toronto. This is the introduction of fritted
or embossed glass to the window at the higher levels to discourage migratory birds flying into them.
There are literally thousands of birds which die every year through not recognising that the glass isshowing just a reflection of the sky.
Storm water management systems which restrict the flow of storm-water and hence prevent erosion ofrivers and streams.
There is an increasing trend to increase the number of Net Zero Energy Buildings being constructed. In
some regions Net Zero is being used as a marketing tool by developers of new homes.
LEED Certification through the Canadian Green Building Council is being more and more recognized ashaving long term advantages in energy savings, enhanced working conditions and reduced absenteeism
by workers. Even though there is an initial cost premium in adopting LEED principles when constructing
a building developers are finding that they are often able to command premium rents for these more
ecofriendly structures.
One example of what Canadian cities are doing for sustainable building practices is the City of VancouverLand Use and Development Policies and Guidelines. (See copy attached).
Overall, it would appear that the sustainable building initiatives are being made by Cities across Canada
which is most laudable.

Elephants in the RoomCanada likes to be thought of as being environmentally responsible and caring nation. We do have ourfair share of tree huggers and environmental activists, many of whom do influence policy changes forthe good of the planet in the name of sustainability. While sincere efforts are being made forsustainable policies at the municipal level there are some disturbing issues at the National and Provincial
level that exist and although many are obvious, the environmental impacts are often ignored.
Unfortunately we do have some fairly substantial “Elephants in the Room” which contradict the Nation’sGreen Image.
Alberta Oil Sands
The largest of these are Alberta Oil Sands which continues to wreak havoc on the environment. At PAQS
congress in Edmonton in 2008 one of the optional activities was to take a flight over the Oil Sands toview the open pit mines. Soon after that congress tours or the Oil Sands ceased and observation flights
restricted due to the negative publicity.

Rising production of tar sands oil is the biggest driver of the increase in Canada's greenhouse gasemissions.
Linked to the oil production is the ongoing planning of the proposed oil pipelines across to the Pacific
Coast and down to Texas which have been recently approved by the Canadian Government after facing
severe opposition from the Provincial Government of British Columbia, the indigenous population of theregion and environment groups across the country.

Syncrude Aurora Oil Sands Mine/Credit: Elias Schewel.

Hell on EarthOil, gas and coal are multi-billion dollar businesses, yet every year fossil fuel companies get billions in tax
breaks and handouts. In a world that’s shifting to cleaner sources of energy, those subsidies don’t makesense—especially when they work against the other actions we’re taking to fight climate change.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have promised to stop subsidizing fossil fuels inCanada. But the federal government’s latest budget actually locked in some fossil fuel subsidies foranother 10 years. The same Government purchased all interests in the TransCanada Keystone andoverruled opposition from the Provincial Government of British Columbia to push the project through allin the name of the mighty dollar.

AsbestosI was surprised to discover that it was only this year, 2018, that laws came into effect to ban themining of Asbestos in Canada and use it in the manufacturing of building products. Although it has been
illegal to use asbestos in building products since the 1970’s. It appears that it was unsafe for Canadiansbut it did not matter if Canada exported it elsewhere.

Electrical Power Generation
Electrical Power Generation policy in Canada is, frankly, a mess.
In Canada the slang term for electrical supply is “Hydro” So when you get your bill from your local
electrical provider it is your “Hydro Bill” This is probably due to the fact that the majority of the electrical
power generated (almost 59%) is from Hydro Electric dams which is very sustainable. There is still 34%of our power generated from non-sustainable sources such as Nuclear, Coal and Gas. Of the 7% nonhydro renewables we have wind, solar and tidal sources of energy.
You can see that Canada still has a long way to go. In fact economic forces and subsidies on fossil fuels
have stalled the investment of wind and solar power.

Carbon Taxes and Environmental Subsidies
Three of the major provinces Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are going up against the Federal
Government’s carbon tax policies which are designed to reduce carbon emissions.
The new PC provincial government of Ontario has cancelled the rebate incentives on the purchase ofelectric and hybrid cars. They are also cancelling vehicle emission test on private vehicles. Subsidies onenergy efficient appliances, furnaces, home solar and wind generation are all being cancelled.

South of the BorderNotwithstanding the environment failings of Canada, to me, the more terrifying developments are thoseemerging from our neighbours from the South, the USA, and the current White House appear set on
accelerating the demise of the planet.
Some of their policies affect me directly, such as the return of coal mining and its use in manufacturing
directly down wind of my home in Ontario.
In 2017 the Trump administration proposed a 31% cut to the EPA's budget to $5.7 billion from $8.1
billion and to eliminate a quarter of the agency jobs. However, this cut was not approved by Congress.
The USA withdrawal of the Paris Agreement this year is also of great concern for The North Americancontinent and the world. Luckily the rest of the world are not following their example.
Donald Trump has begun the process of rolling back carbon pollution standards for vehicles following ameeting with automakers in Detroit, Michigan.
The list continues while storms increase in intensity, seas rise and the planet warms.

Respectfully Submitted

Ian B. Duncan PQS(F) MRICS
Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors

What issustainability?
Sustainability means meeting our own needs withoutcompromising the ability of future generations to meet theirown needs. In addition to natural resources, we also need socialand economic resources. Sustainability is not just environmentalism. Embedded in most definitions of sustainability we also findconcerns for social equity and economic development.

Where does the term come from?
While the concept of sustainability is a relatively new idea, themovement as a whole has roots in social justice, conservationism,internationalism and other past movements with rich histories.
By the end of the twentieth centuries, many of these ideas hadcome together in the call for ‘sustainable development.’

The Bruntdland Commission

Did you know?
Adopting sustainable
practices, whether large orsmall, can have significant
impacts in the long run.
If every office worker in theUnited Kingdom used one
less staple a day by using
a reusable paper clip, 120
tonnes of steel would besaved in one year.2

In 1983, the United Nations tapped former Norwegian prime
minister Gro Harlem Brundtland to run the new World Commission
on Environment and Development1. After decades of effort to raise
living standards through industrialization, many countries werestill dealing with extreme poverty. It seemed that economic
development at the cost of ecological health and social equity
did not lead to long-lasting prosperity. It was clear that theworld needed to find a way to harmonize ecology with prosperity.
After four years, the “Brundtland Commission” released its
final report, Our Common Future. It famously defines sustainable
development as:

development that meets the needs of thepresent without compromising the abilityof future generations to meet their own needs.1
The Commission successfully unified environmentalism withsocial and economic concerns on the world’s development agenda.
Sustainability is a holistic approach that considers ecological,
social and economic dimensions, recognizing that all must be
considered together to find lasting prosperity.
–1–Brought to you by:Three pillars of sustainability3
What would a sustainable world look like?
The world community
adopts sustainable
development
1979
First World Climate
Conference opens up thescience of climate change
1987
Brundtland Reportconsolidates decadesof work on sustainable
development
1992
Rio Earth Summit rallies
the world to take action
and adopt Agenda 21

Environmental Sustainability
Ecological integrity is maintained, all of earth’s environmental
systems are kept in balance while natural resources withinthem are consumed by humans at a rate where they are able
to replenish themselves.
Economic Sustainability
Human communities across the globe are able to maintaintheir independence and have access to the resources that theyrequire, financial and other, to meet their needs. Economicsystems are intact and activities are available to everyone,such as secure sources of livelihood.
Social Sustainability
Universal human rights and basic necessities are attainable
by all people, who have access to enough resources in orderto keep their families and communities healthy and secure.
Healthy communities have just leaders who ensure personal,
labour and cultural rights are respected and all people areprotected from discrimination.
–2–1993
Convention on Biological
Diversity puts the precautionary principle to work
1997
Kyoto Protocol takes thefirst step toward stopping
dangerous climate change
2000
With Millennium Development Goals, social justicemeets public health &environmentalism
2006
Al Gore brings climatechange to the mainstream
with An Inconvenient Truth
2012
Rio+20 takes stock on
2+ decades of efforts at
sustainable development

Sustainability at the University of Alberta
The definition of sustainability is broad, and the world is a big,diverse places. For sustainability to remain a relevant, useful
tool, it is important that it adapt to the local context. In 2010,
the Academic Advisory Committee for the Office of Sustainability
at the University of Alberta put together a working definitionof sustainability for our institution.
Sustainability is the process of living within the limits of available
physical, natural and social resources in ways that allow the living
systems in which humans are embedded to thrive in perpetuity.
The University of Alberta is committed to a continuous effort toinstill sustainability into the many aspects of university life, on
our campuses, in our institutions, and in the larger communityof which we are part. Sustainability is rapidly making its way
into teaching and learning, research, outreach, and the operations
that support them.

UAlberta’s Sustainability Plan
In 2012, the university crossed a major milestone by approving
its first Sustainability Plan. It collates the many strategic goals,initiatives and practices that will guide the university towardsustainability leadership. A variety of different processes plansand people contributed to the development of the Sustainability
Plan, including student, staff and faculty engagement at manylevels. For example, the plan followed an award-winning
student-initiated public deliberation with all stakeholders on
campus called Deliberation on Campus Sustainability. The
document itself is a comprehensive guide, but also an engine
for discussion to drive sustainability forward into the future.

Why sustainability?
The motivations behind sustainability are often complex,
personal and diverse. It is unrealistic to create a list of reasons
why so many individuals, groups and communities are working
towards this goal. Yet, for most people, sustainability comes
down to the kind of future we are leaving for the next generation.
Sustainability as a value is shared by many individuals andorganizations who demonstrate this value in their policies,
everyday activities and behaviours. Individuals have playeda major role in developing our current environmental andsocial circumstances. The people of today along with future
generations must create solutions and adapt.
–3–“ Never doubtthat a small
group ofthoughtful,committed
people canchange theworld. Indeed,
it is the only
thing thatever has.”– Margaret Mead

Sources:
1.

“Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development”. UN Documents. n.d. Web. Retriev ed 27 June 2013. < http://www.un-documents.
net/ocf-02.htm>

2.

Horton, Jocelyn ed. “Mad About ... Tropical Rainforests.” Friends of the Earth. Jan 2003.
Web. Retrieved 27 June 2013. < http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/rainforest_mad_about.pdf>

3.

United Nations General Assembly “48. Sustainable development: managing and protecting our common environment “2005 World Summit Outcome. 24 October 2005. Web.
Retrieved 27 June 2013. < http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/487/60/
PDF/N0548760.pdf?OpenElement>–4–