By Ben Lipowitz, copresident Kolostat & Krome

Kolostat was immensely proud and thrilled to attend the BOMA & ASHRAE Toronto Joint Event, which was entitled “Planning for Rapid Net-Zero Carbon Commitment – Commercial Real Estate”.

The discussion was moderated by Jeff Ranson, VP of Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations at BOMA Toronto and comprised of some of the most well-informed and confident voices in the real estate sector, such as Lee Hodgkinson, Head of Sustainability and Technical Services at Dream Unlimited and Ali Hoss, VP of Sustainability and Innovation at Triovest.

The main takeaways from the panel were:

– Ontario alone has 18,000 buildings that must be decarbonized by 2040, meaning 1000 buildings each year.

– Landlords who wait to address decarbonization of their assets may be left behind and unable to catch up, potentially compromising the operations and value of their properties.

– Engineering groups have to be more innovative and less conservative when it comes to decarbonizing.

– Design build contracting is the way to move forward and accelerate decarbonization projects, while ensuring grant and energy savings.

It is uplifting to see leaders in the industry speaking with the same urgency and commitment that Kolostat and Krome do.