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Water conservation is becoming increasingly important, even in water-rich Canada. Through water efficiency, like the reuse of greywater, each home contributes to a water-efficient community while reducing infrastructure costs.

A successful evening on September 20th for all involved! Over 80 people attended a dinner where we focused on a case study of one builder’s approach to achieving a total water solution.  Rosehaven Homes has been a leader in working with York Region and East Gwillimbury to exceed the sustainability checklist of East Gwillimbury. City Council is taking note and looking at some of the innovative ways this has been achieved.

The agenda for the evening was:

• A look at a new way of how water efficiency is measured in the US using the HERS H₂O water scale Steve Bade, Executive Director of RESNET
• A look at a specific builder’s achievement of these water objectives and beyond in East Gwillimbury;
• A discussion about how success is achieved and measured, including the new H2O Scale from RESNET
• Looking under the hood at some of the technologies used to achieve a total water solution, including the new Greyter greywater recycling system;

The Sustainable Housing Foundation is generously supported by Enbridge and their Savings by Design program and by the manufacturers of sustainable building products and services that were on display at this event.

On August 30, 2018 The Sustainable Housing Foundation was pleased to co-sponsor the opening of the Rosehaven Discovery Home in East Gwillimbury. Over 40 people attended the grand opening including the Mayor of East Gwillimbury Virginia Hackson. Rosehaven Homes, in partnership with Enbridge’s Savings by Design and the municipality of East Gwillimbury, is taking a leading role in creating energy and water efficient homes that are Better Than Code.

The sixth annual Green Builder Challenge™ Golf Tournament was held June 7 at Flemingdon Golf Club. Thirty golfers participated in a great tournament with a delicious BBQ lunch and plenty of fun prizes for all.

The 2018 annual Sustainable Housing Foundation Green Builder Challenge™ Golf Tournament was held at the nine-hole Flemingdon Park Golf Club on a beautiful sunny day in early June.  Eight foursomes set out after a lovely BBQ lunch on the outdoor patio and returned to the patio bar for networking and prizes by 4 pm. Golfers included builders, contractors, manufacturers, designers and evaluators. We appreciate the sponsor companies that help make this event a success.

Look beyond the prescriptive and restrictive trending “brands” of energy efficient housing like net zero. Discover how you can build low carbon, high performance houses that are not only attractive and comfortable but sustainable as well — built better than code.

Ninety housing industry experts enjoyed a dinner and presentation on how to build low carbon homes that are better than code and are marketable to consumers as stylish and comfortable.  Keynote speaker Bruce Manwaring of Enbridge kicked off the dinner with a presentation about achieving the trifecta of building energy performance: low carbon emissions, affordability and resiliency. Sue Swing of Dow and Trudy Puls from ROCKWOOL presented the preliminary monitoring results from Empire Communities’ three energy efficient test houses (TEETH) — specifically the hybrid basement insulation systems that eliminate moisture management problems at a reasonable cost.

The Sustainable Housing Foundation Board undertook a review of its strategic plan during the fall of 2017 with the assistance of experienced business consultant Fred Pidsadny. The process resulted in a refocused mission and vision statement.

The process of developing a new, focused strategic plan involved several working sessions during which the Board took a hard look at what the Foundation had accomplished in the past and the vision for the Foundation’s future. After the visioning process, the Board looked at how the environment the Foundation operates in has changed, as well as the challenges and the opportunities ahead. Most importantly, the Board also asked: what resources are available to tackle these objectives?

View the board member profiles.

The Sustainable Housing Foundation Board, in conjunction with board members from CRESNET (Canadian Residential Energy Services Network) undertook a campaign to lobby opposition MPPs at Queen’s Park about the Liberal government’s move to bring in compulsory Home Energy Rating and Disclosure (HER&D).

In the spring/summer of 2016, a select group of board members from SHF and CRESNET developed a campaign to lobby some of the Conservative critics about the compulsory Home Energy Rating and Disclosure (HER&D) program the Liberal government was proposing. This was in response to several meetings and communications with Ministry of Energy staff that had made it apparent that the government was moving forward, under their Green Energy Act, with this initiative.  The Board had some strong reservations about the approach the government was taking and felt that the opposition MPPs needed to be made aware of some of the industry’s concerns.

MPP John Yakabuski

John Yakbuski

PC Energy critic
MPP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke

MPP Lisa Thompson

Lisa Thompson

PC Environment and Climate Change critic
Huron Bruce