The Daniels Corporation (Daniels) unveiled its sustainability framework entitled, Daniels’ Decarbonization Roadmap, which outlines the company’s action plan for its next two development cycles.
The roadmap states Daniels’ goal of reaching Near-Zero Whole Life Carbon for all new communities starting development in 2026. The roadmap discloses a baseline level of performance, targets for maximum carbon emissions intensity, and a series of decarbonization tactics to be implemented to meet them.
The Decarbonization Roadmap illustrates the practices Daniels has begun implementing within its communities, including:
Electrification: Replace technologies and systems that run on fossil fuels with alternatives that run on low-carbon electricity to reduce pollution and carbon footprint. For example, geoexchange, air-source heat pumps and rooftop solar installations.
High Performance Ventilation Systems: Minimize energy required to provide and temper fresh air within buildings.
High Performance Enclosures: Efficient protection against the elements which reduces heating and cooling loads and maintains an ideal indoor climate.
Low-Carbon Materials: Thoughtful selection of construction materials with reduced carbon impact such as Mass Timber design and Low-Carbon Concrete.
Material Efficiency: Use of the minimum material quantity while maintaining performance through improved design and construction practices.
“Our Decarbonization Roadmap was developed as a direct response to the climate emergency that looms over us all,” said Adam Molson, Vice President of Rental Communities and Sustainability at The Daniels Corporation. “The real estate development industry is responsible for 58 per cent of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is a fact we can’t ignore. We take our role as a trusted leader in our industry seriously as we build communities for people today, and generations to follow. This roadmap is a demonstration of our commitment to lead on decarbonizing the production of new real estate and establishes an ambitious and achievable pathway where we will track and disclose our progress towards delivering solutions for climate responsible housing. We are calling upon other leaders in the industry to join us in taking bold steps to rapidly decarbonize their business.”
Daniels also unveiled the first phase of their 19-acre, low-carbon master-planned community, located in Brampton’s Mount Pleasant Village. Daniels MPV2 (MPV2) represents the first generation of Daniels’ Decarbonization Roadmap coming to fruition. With construction already underway, this community will feature condominium suites utilizing geoexchange, an energy-efficient system that uses the Earth as a thermal battery to provide low-carbon heating and cooling. The community will also include net zero, fossil fuel-free townhomes utilizing all-electric systems including rooftop solar panels that generate renewable energy.
“As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, the City of Brampton is committed to becoming more healthy, resilient and environmentally sustainable,” said Brampton Mayor, Patrick Brown. “Brampton is a leader in sustainability, and the Daniels MPV2 community is an excellent example of how we are enhancing our city with measurable environmental benefits that will have a lasting positive impact. We look forward to welcoming future residents to Brampton’s largest low-carbon master-planned community.”
Enwave is partnering with Daniels to implement reliable and sustainable energy solutions on site at MPV2, including geoexchange. In addition, Lafarge has partnered with Daniels to incorporate its next generation low-carbon concrete products throughout its portfolio. The MPV2 community is being financed with a Green Loan from RBC under the bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework.
“Enwave is pleased to partner with The Daniels Corporation on providing low-carbon, sustainable heating and cooling solutions to the MPV2 community using our Enwave GeoCommunities platform to provide energy-efficient geoexchange technology,” said Carlyle Coutinho, CEO of Enwave Energy Corporation. “With a shared vision of significantly reducing carbon emissions in the built environment, we applaud the multi-phase, data-driven approach to decarbonization announced in Daniels’ Decarbonization Roadmap. Through our partnership, Enwave GeoCommunities provides leading design and implementation of geoexchange solutions, enabling our ongoing collaboration to pave the way for further innovative, impactful, and scalable solutions and the development of low-carbon, resilient, and healthy communities.”
“At Lafarge Canada, we are on a Net-Zero journey and are excited about the critical role we can play in decarbonizing the building industry,” said Lara Yousif, Product Development Manager, Lafarge Eastern Canada. “But we cannot do it alone, we need leading construction partners like The Daniels Corporation. By using our ECOPact low-carbon concrete, collectively we will lower CO2 emissions significantly compared to standard concrete with no compromise in performance. Through this partnership delivering low-carbon construction solutions to the City of Brampton we can build progress for people and the planet.”