• Swap out your old bulbs when they go out for LED bulbs
• Unplug unused electronics that use passive energy
• Make draft stoppers for doors and other spaces that let in cold air
• Install solar panels to charge your EV
• Organize an Energuide Home Evaluation
• Use a heat pump for heating/cooling
• Install solar panels
• Use electric baseboard heating
• Use a tankless, heat pump, or solar hot water heater
• Turn off gas fireplace pilot light in summer
• Replace gas appliances with electric
• Install energy efficient lighting
• Improve home insulation
• Install energy efficient windows
• Wash your laundry in cold water
• Install efficient faucets, shower heads, low flow toilets
• Wash your laundry in cold water
• Use a clothesline to dry your clothes whenever possible
• Volunteer for an Eco Committee for your strata/rental
• Make sure your firewood is harvested sustainably

This beautiful green roof is located at Vancity’s Mount Tolmie Community LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certified branch at 100-1590 Cedar Hill Cross Road in Saanich, BC. The building, owned by Tri-Eagle Developments, is also LEED Gold certified.

Institutions like Vancity are re-defining and inspiring a new corporate culture by being committed to building healthy communities and improving the well-being of their members and staff.  As a financial cooperative, they leverage financial tools and resources to support community organizations, not for profits and businesses that share the values of building a more equitable future with a reduced impact on our environment.

They invest internally and externally in green building projects; transportation solutions; green products and services; and clean technologies like waste, water, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Their leadership in reconciliation, socially responsible investment options (fossil fuel free), and programs like their Vancity enviroFUND (an impact investment program focused on Lighter Living for organizations who want to lighten their ecological footprint and advance sustainable lifestyles) are just a few examples of how they continue to challenge the status quo.

Do you feel inspired?  Contribute to making this the norm at your workplace by taking the lead to encourage change. Set-up systems to reduce waste, energy use, and encourage lower carbon transportation and consumption to help your staff and community live lighter.

Start conversations with people you know. Exchange ideas to explore the impact of food, transportation, goods, housing, leisure and personal well-being on your daily lives. Understand the context for change for your organization and to start action. You may find that you already have more allies than you expect. By supporting local businesses and organizations doing the same, everyone wins.

Dark Sky International is a worldwide non-profit organization that offers education and solutions for combating light pollution both residentially and commercially. Many institutions are now adopting Dark Sky compliant lighting.

Programmable controls make it easy to turn off lights and maximize the energy saving benefits of heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. One west coast company leading the way with integrated building controls, has sustainability rooted in all aspects of their corporate culture.

Reliable Controls is a multi-award winning firm that offers simple, flexible, and sustainable controls which balance comfort, efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions of commercial buildings all around the world.

Unlike other manufacturers, their products have been intentionally designed to be backwards compatible, and are designed, produced, and manufactured at their Victoria, B.C. main headquarters.

The quality of their products and services, has earned Reliable Controls the reputation and brand recognition of having the most satisfied customers in the building automation industry.

When we think of pollution, we tend to think of air, water, and land pollution. However, light pollution is often overlooked, and is having serious environmental impacts on humans, wildlife, and our climate.

“The introduction of artificial light probably represents the most drastic change human beings have made to their environment,” according to research scientist Christopher Kyba. “Near cities, cloudy skies are now hundreds, or even thousands of times brighter than they were 200 years ago.”

In addition to disrupting natural sleep-wake rhythms, glare from artificial lights is having devastating effects on many bird species, sea turtles, trees, insects, and amphibians.

Every year millions of birds die colliding with needlessly illuminated buildings and city towers due to artificial lighting. This can also cause birds to migrate too early, or too late, and miss ideal climate conditions for nesting and foraging.

Solutions include switching to motion activated, sensor controlled lighting that only comes on when and where it is needed. Lights can be shielded, pointed downwards, and made to be no brighter than is necessary to maximize their effectiveness. Blue light can be minimized to prevent confusing artificial light for daylight.

Did you know there are people who have never seen stars in the night sky due to excessive artificial light pollution?

What does the community of your dreams look like to you? Imagine how it would look, smell, taste, sound and feel. Imagine living in a cozy, quiet, energy-efficient home, in an active and inclusive neighbourhood where the cost of your monthly utility bills are a fraction of conventional rates, food gardens and nature surround you, walking, biking, car and tool sharing are the norm and your neighbours truly know and support you?

Imagine members of this community having opportunities for economic exchange and support with skill sharing and time banking. Perhaps more importantly, the community will focus on creating deep resilient social connections while providing a wide array of shared activities. All of this in a community made of diverse groups of people that allows residents to live life fully regardless of age, education or other background differences.

This is the vision of a Vancouver Island father and his young son for a neighbourhood in the Cedar area of Nanaimo. They are bringing action to their intention, with the creation of what could become one of the most ecologically sound, livable, cost effective, friendly communities in the world, setting an example for what’s possible internationally.

In addition to social benefits, it will have independent self-sustaining systems for water, heat, electrical, sewer and food production, plus long term cost savings that benefit both the planet and residents. Inspired about what’s possible?

Visit Futures Forward to learn more.

Water is a finite resource that we often take for granted. To survive, humans need a reliable freshwater source. Increased population density in our communities puts pressure on streams, lakes, and aquifers for meeting our water supply needs.

Rainwater as an alternate source reduces the pressure on these water sources by returning it locally through outdoor uses or an onsite wastewater treatment system.

During a rainstorm, much of the rainwater runs off as storm water especially in urban areas with impermeable surfaces. On small coastal islands, as much as 80% of rainwater is lost as runoff to the ocean due to lack of soil absorption and infiltration. Rainwater harvesting systems allow us to capture fresh water and store it for later use.

Rainwater harvesting can:

1) Reduce the strain of increasing development on conventional freshwater sources like community water systems and aquifers, especially in dry seasons when water use is high demand. These rainwater harvesting systems typically meet outdoor water needs for watering plants and gardens (irrigation).

2) Provide the primary water supply to private homes and businesses in rural areas instead of a well – especially where:

• there is no other readily available fresh water source
• groundwater yields are too low to fulfill water needs (combined system of groundwater and rainwater)
• traditional systems may be far more expensive to install
• groundwater has naturally elevated salt or metal content
• traditional resources have become contaminated.

3) Reduce storm water flooding and resulting erosion by collecting and storing the rainwater for later use (active harvesting) or by intercepting runoff, slowing it down, and letting it infiltrate into the ground (passive harvesting).

Remember that all the water on our planet is ALL that we have.