Alumni & careers

by Will Adams

As the world observes a changing climate with a higher frequency and severity of adverse weather events, much of the infrastructure and building technology that has been relied on for decades is facing unprecedented tests of resilience, resulting in immense infrastructural damage and economic losses from the immediate repairs and the opportunity cost of forced spending on damaged assets in place of new investments. These infrastructural damages and economic losses signify the importance of climate-resilient infrastructure, capable of withstanding this increasing trend of extreme weather. Among the strategies to improve infrastructural resilience is net-zero housing, as it supports decarbonization and decentralized energy generation that disrupts overreliance on the energy grid. Net-zero housing is not mandated in British Columbia, yet the BC Energy Step Code has set ambitious goals for all new builds to be net-zero ready by 2032. Given these ambitious goals, there exists a big question mark as to how they may be attained as there is seemingly a disconnect between what is desired and what is being done at present to meet those desires. Part of this disconnect is inspired through a public misconception that pins sustainability and resilience against affordability, stating that the housing affordability crisis faced in BC would worsen if additional mechanisms were included in new builds. As increased up-front investment costs are shown to be paid off in folds by long-term energy savings among other substantial benefits, the narrative needs to shift towards how sustainability and resilience can help improve affordability rather than hinder it.

Given the disconnect between the goal of 100% net-zero ready new builds by 2032 and the lack of action being taken to attain it, I explore two main “pathways” forward for how greater net-zero housing could be realized, inspired by stakeholder mapping that shows governments and utilities companies as the primary stakeholders capable of influencing significant change. The first pathway involves mandating net-zero housing through building codes at the provincial/territorial and regional levels that have the jurisdiction to enforce building codes and would bypass the convoluted and opaque nature of updating the National Building Code of Canada in the short-term. Conversely, the second pathway would require utilities companies to shift their business model away from their century-old monopolistic practices towards one that has the potential of changing the way we generate and consume energy, is more aligned with wider sustainability and resilience goals, would facilitate a net-zero housing movement, and would allow them to stay relevant as an industry where the alternative is a death spiral caused by grid defection. I conclude by arguing that these pathways don’t need to exist in isolation and that the best pathway forward would likely include elements from each, along with complementary actions from secondary stakeholders that might not have the capability to influence the same level of change as their primary stakeholder counterparts, but contribute to their success, nonetheless.

 

by Joel DeMerrit

Today corporates, public institutions, governments, non-governmental organizations, and others are scrambling to understand and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These novel activities pose environmentally and economically fundamental questions to how humanity accounts for and assigns accountability to climate change. The methods we choose will influence the results and equity of this important chapter of human history. Creating material accounts of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions may be critical to meet the sustainability challenges of the modern era. This paper explores challenges in contemporary GHG accounting, analyzing methodologies to explore inherent flaws. The paper then introduces concepts from industrial ecology and actuarial practice in the context of how to improve the accounts and accounting process. GHG accounting is complicated in organizations with large supply chain emissions because of the high variability in data quality. The suggested methodologies may reduce challenges and increase the accuracy of GHG accounting. Improved accounting enables action towards the ultimate goal: to quickly and accurately identify value chain emissions to inform decarbonization action. The paper then explores some challenging scenarios likely to be found in real world practice, and considers the impacts on environmental and economic equity.

by Hayden Ord

To be announced at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Bernard Michael Pedemonte

The urgent need to decarbonize the Canadian aviation sector has brought sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into the spotlight as a short- to medium-term solution. This study assesses second-generation feedstocks, including municipal solid waste (MSW), used cooking oil (UCO), agricultural residues, and forestry residues, to estimate each Canadian province's theoretical capacity for SAF production by 2030. Notably, British Columbia’s abundant forestry residues, contribute to around 90% of its SAF potential. The potential in forestry residues is shared as well by Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, while Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island exhibit significant agricultural residue potential. Ontario showcases a balanced availability of feedstocks, distributing SAF yield among agricultural residues, forestry residues,
and MSW. These results highlight the diverse feedstock landscapes across Canadian provinces and offer valuable insights into leveraging each region's strength to contribute to the nation’s SAF production capacity. While theoretical, these estimates lay the foundation for refining practical availabilities through further research, guiding infrastructure investments, policy designs, and upscaling strategies to advance SAF in the short- to medium-term.

by Jake Qin

According to Greenhouse Gas Emission developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada, British Columbia is one of the top five provinces in Canada with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Between 1990 and 2021, there was an overall increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector, primarily driven by changes in vehicle type and an increase in freight travel[1]. Despite an 8% growth in total emissions from passenger transport, emissions from cars decreased by 45%, while emissions from light trucks, including trucks, vans, and SUVs, doubled. Emissions from freight travel saw a significant increase of 62%, with emissions from heavy-duty trucks nearly doubling and emissions from other freight modes rising by 13%. Therefore, the province of British Columbia launched the CleanBC Go Electric Fleets Program. This report serves as secondary research for the CleanBC Go Electric Fleets Program, utilizing the 2017-2022 vehicle population dataset published by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia for data compilation and analysis. The results revealed that during the period of 2017-2022, the number and proportion of electric fleet vehicles increased year by year. Although there was a small decline in the number and proportion of electric fleet vehicles in 2020, the overall trend was upward. However, it wasn't until 2022 that the proportion of electric fleet vehicles surpassed 0.5%. Diesel and gasoline remained the mainstream fuel types for fleet vehicles, with over 90% of fleet vehicles in each truck class being diesel or gasoline-powered, and the proportion of electric fleet vehicles did not exceed 1%.

by Blaine Standing

A common view amongst the scientific community is that the planet has shifted from the human sustaining Holocene period to a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene. A framework called the planetary boundary model has outlined nine environmental variables important to the maintenance of a viable Anthropocene. These variables have been highlighted to provide limits for a safe operating space on the planet. Waste disposal to landfills is a human activity that plays a substantial role in increasing the risk of exceedance of these boundaries, specifically in terms of its influence on climate change and changes in land use. Canada is the largest producer of waste per capita on the planet. Within Canada, Alberta is consistently the biggest culprit for this waste generation, approximately 30% of which comes from construction activities.

As the fourth largest construction company in Canada, Graham Construction has a significant opportunity to reduce its carbon and resource footprints by employing waste diversion techniques. One such approach to waste diversion, is the linking of waste outputs from construction activities to the material inputs of another firm, creating a collaborative partnership in which materials that would otherwise be disposed of can be upcycled or reused by other industries. This process, called Industrial Symbiosis (IS), is a subset within the broader subject area known as the circular economy.

Employing the principles of Industrial Ecology, this paper first, examines the material metabolism of two historical projects undertaken by Graham Construction in Alberta. Cardboard, concrete, aggregate, drywall, metal, and wood are identified as the greatest material contributors to waste generation within the company. A literature review to discover potential output-to-input material sharing opportunities is then conducted, with emphasis placed on upcycling these material outputs to retain most of their value. A list of existing companies in Alberta that show the potential to engage in IS partnerships is then generated. These companies and their locations are subsequently logged in Microsoft Excel where a tool for optimizing opportunities for material sharing is created. The tool considers the type of material output and the travel distance required for upcycling to take place. The overall purpose of this study was to initiate the integration of Graham into a network of firms with less dependency on geological mining of primary resources, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, decreased material supply and waste disposal costs, and reduced output to landfills, ultimately relieving some of the impacts that the construction industry in Alberta has on exceedance of the safe operating limits outlined in the planetary boundary model.

by Eagle Su

This study estimates the energy use and GHG emissions associated with the operation of PVT Heat Pump in commercial and institutional building heating systems (space heating and hot water) and the response to product selection requirements for retrofit projects. By selecting and simulating two scenarios, office building and hotel, in four Canadian cities with different climates and power mixes, the PVT HP was compared to four heating modes commonly used in current building retrofit projects: 1) condensing gas boilers, 2) gas heat pumps, 3) thermal storage electric boilers, and 4) low-temperature air-source heat pumps, We also investigated the heating energy self-sufficiency and carbon neutrality effect of each heating mode coupling with equal area of rooftop photovoltaic system. The results show that the combined system energy efficiency advantage of PVT HP is obvious, with an average COP increase 26%-60% than that of ASHP. the GHG emission reduction effect is also obvious, with Montreal and Toronto approaching near-zero GHG emissions in the office scenario. After offsetting PV and heating electricity, Vancouver realizes self-sufficiency in heating electricity in the office scenario and has surplus electricity to be used for other needs of the building, and the three cities except Calgary basically realize the carbon neutrality effect of heating emissions. PVT HP was ranked first in the overall evaluation by weighting and ranking six important factors considered in the selection of products for actual heating retrofit projects: 1) energy efficiency, 2) GHG emissions, 3) multi-functionality, 4) noise, 5) ease to install, and 6) climate adaptability. However, due to the limitation of roof area, the PVT HP system heating model is suitable for low-rise buildings with less than four floors.

by Ricardo Borjas 

Abstract: Despite being a human right, access to WASH systems remain unequal, unreliable, and unsafe to a significant portion of the world’s population. Progress towards sanitation is now being addressed more seriously, and one of the ways it can be measured is based on the adoption of systems that can provide safely treated effluents. For this research, a material flow analysis has been conducted on septic systems with the objective of quantifying the total amount of Nitrogen and Phosphorus that enter these systems as well as calculating the effluent of untreated resources that are released yearly into the environment.
To create the MFA the collected datasets were divided into developed and developing regions; wastewater was categorized into three main groups: Light Gray Water, Dark Gray Water, and Black Water. It was determined that 92% of total septic system usage corresponds to the developing world. It was also found that the black water effluent from the developing region represents 71% of total input of Phosphorus. In the case of total Nitrogen input, 70% comes from urine of which 56% corresponds to effluent in developing regions. The analysis of the data concludes that septic systems do not provide secondary levels of treatment. Even under ideal conditions, the efficiency of Nitrogen and Phosphorus removal in septic systems is 35% and 67% respectively.

 by Isaac Dekker 

Abstract: The terrestrial biosphere has acted as a negative (stabilizing) feedback to increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the start of the industrial revolution. However, the strength of this feedback under even greater elevated atmospheric CO2, nitrogen and phosphorus limitations, climate change, and other land-use and land-cover changes (LULC) remains an answered question in science. Here, the latest version of the Canadian Land Surface Scheme Including Biogeochemical Cycles (CLASSIC), which includes the implementation of a prognostic nitrogen cycle, is evaluated against observational data from the Duke Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment. CLASSIC was spun-up from bare ground, including simulated LULC, using site-specific meteorological forcing data and global historical nitrogen deposition and CO2 data sets. CLASSIC was then evaluated against observational data from the Duke FACE site under both ambient and elevated CO2 with the prognostic nitrogen cycle turned on and off, and with varying rates of pre-FACE LULC. CLASSIC was evaluated using a skill-score framework. For most years of the experimental period, CLASSIC with the prognostic nitrogen cycle turned on failed to sustain a net primary production (NPP) response to elevated CO2 consistent with observations. By contrast, CLASSIC with the nitrogen cycle turned off generally agreed with observations under both ambient and elevated CO2 with respect to NPP. CLASSIC incorrectly predicted the nitrogen uptake (fNup) response to elevated CO2 relative to observations. Model skill decreased with a faster rate of pre-FACE LULC when the nitrogen cycle was turned on but improved slightly when the nitrogen cycle was turned off. It is proposed here that a faster rate of LULC increases the size of soil organic matter pool too quickly in CLASSIC thereby increasing fNup. The simulated rapid uptake of nitrogen thus increases NPP at the start of the experiment to levels higher than observations. In terms of the NPP and fNup response to elevated CO2, it is suggested that biological nitrogen fixation (fNfix) should be made an explicit function of increasing atmospheric CO2 in CLASSIC. Future studies should evaluate CLASSIC at other FACE sites to better constrain both the impact of LULC and elevated CO2 on nitrogen cycle variables.

Primary Employment Post Program: PhD Student in Community Water Innovation Lab supervised by Dr. Kristian Dubrawski studying cumulative effects hydrology with the Yaqan Nukiy Band/Ktunaxa Nation, as a community partner. I met Kris during my first semester in the program where he taught CIVE 515, and was drawn to his warm energy and critical, yet hopeful, outlook on sustainability, particularly within a community context. If you are lucky enough to take a class with Kris, I promise the time you will spend with him is worth the price of the rest of the program.

by Pearce Jones 

Abstract: In this work, a conception of ecological design is developed that is grounded in Industrial Ecology (IE) and Two-Eyed Seeing. Ecological design, as a project of facilitating comprehensive well- being, is explored in relation to IE. Through considering the history of IE’s objectives, and various Western conceptions of ecological design, Two-Eyed seeing is identified as an important foundation for future design activities. By grounding ecological design in Two-Eyed Seeing, IE becomes a practice of modulating between Western and Indigenous ways of knowing. Future research directions are provided to further this work.

by Chiradeep Majumdar 

Abstract: Industrial ecology (IE) studies the relationships between human systems and nature. One element of IE is industrial symbiosis (IS), a concept that investigates mutually beneficial relationships among processes, organizations, and jurisdictions. Sector coupling (SC) can be considered as an expression of IS for energy systems. This paper investigates the behaviour of a simplified energy system, for space heating and transport in the province of British Columbia (BC). Energy system analysis is completed using OSeMOSYS, an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) specializing in capacity expansion and planning. Results of the investigation are discussed as well as conclusions, recommendations, limitations, and areas of future research.

Evaluating feasible pathways for FortisBC to decarbonize the BC energy sector using analytic tools and the lenses of Industrial Ecology

https://www.uvic.ca/ecs/info-for/faculty-and-staff/announcements/industrialecologyprofile.php

by Emily O'Dea

by Jason Scully 

Abstract: In the race to keep global temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius, the clean energy transition is as important as ever. Economic and energy supply breakdowns are crucial in determining areas for improvement, both in terms of total consumption and efficiency. This analysis is especially important for a country like Singapore; a city-state on an island with limited renewable resource potential, and a consistently growing economy with growth in associated energy demands. While Singapore has put forward governmental effort to reduce emissions and strive towards net-zero, that status is not being reached anytime soon, with Singapore's final demand energy being nearly entirely covered by natural gas and petroleum products. Promising trends include decreases in emission intensity, a shift from a manufacturing-heavy economy to a more commerce and service-based one, and associated energy demand decreases on a per dollar basis of total supply into the economy. Increases in solar power capacity will also help, although none of these solutions lead to a net-zero future. What is not so promising are trends of increased per capita energy consumption, increased per capita household electricity consumption and increased per capita household expenditure. In terms of Singapore's viewpoints on direction forward, they are very much in line with results from this paper. A dependence on international partnerships will be required, with sharing of regional grids and/or clean energy resources that are not available naturally in Singapore. This, along with technological innovation, give promise to a net-zero future, although this will not be happening soon. In the short-term, policy should be opened to demand-side management for electricity consumption, in which behavioural and technological solutions exist that have the ability to make multiple-percent reductions in total demand. Moreover, behavioural intervention policy in terms of electricity consumption could have trickle-down effects into other consumption habits, which in turn can reduce overall energy and electricity requirements for domestic demand from the economy. With consideration of demand-side management, and future options that exist with energy trade and innovation, Singapore has a chance to navigate through the energy transition successfully.

Dr. Nate Hagens from The Institute for the Study of Energy & Our Future (ISEOF), an organization focused on educating and preparing society for the coming cultural transition.

Keith’s diverse skills and knowledge have open-up opportunities for him to engage in a remarkably wide range of real world challenges and opportunities in science and technology, collaborative innovation capacity building, marketing, forestry, agriculture, mining, food, bio-economy, ecology, conservation, energy, water, ocean-marine, health, wellness, literacy, homelessness, affordable housing, infectious diseases, sustainability, and more. He has worked on projects in the public sector, private sector, First Nations, non-profits, and academia in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, the US and Africa. Keith has a BSc. (Biology) and MSc. (Forest Ecology/Science). Keith has been a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Professional Biologist (P.Biol.). He has operated as an independent consultant since 1996, based out of Victoria. He is a Master Practitioner, Lead Educator, and Mentor for the Challenge Dialogue System® (CDS) Network -http://www.challengedialoguesystem.net/