Tom Patterson Theatre Stratford, Ontario
ELLISDON’S CLIMATE COMMITMENT
The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent and intense, and business as usual is simply not a viable choice anymore. As a leader in construction services, EllisDon is dedicated to driving positive change in the built world and working towards a more sustainable future. We are committed to reducing the carbon emissions generated by the construction process and the infrastructure we construct and operate This is why we have made it our goal for our operations and value chain (Scope 1, 2, and 3) to be Net Zero by 2050, with an interim milestone of reducing emissions by 42% by 2030.
These targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an independent global organization that evaluates corporate emission reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement and current climate science. We are also one of the early adopters of the Government of Canada’s Net-Zero Challenge. This ‘Made in Canada’ initiative provides a rigorous technical framework and is designed to encourage businesses to create and execute credible and effective plans to transform their facilities and operations to net zero emissions by 2050.
Our targets encompass our direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and the indirect emissions from our value chain (Scope 3), including embodied carbon in building materials, subtrade processes, and lifetime operational energy consumption of assets delivered by EllisDon. With the complexity of the construction supply chain our indirect emissions are challenging to measure, and consequently reduce, and we recognize this is an area where we have influence rather than control. Achieving our indirect emissions reductions targets by 2030 will not be easy, but at EllisDon, we do not shy away from hard tasks – it is what we do, and we are committed to tackling this challenge. The time for action is now, and we are proud of the critical decarbonization strategies we implement as we continue to educate ourselves and the industry. We are dedicated to enhancing the way we measure and understand our progress, and we will continue to work with our partners to lead our industry's transformation.
ELLISDON IS DRIVING TO ZERO EMISSIONS ACROSS:
BUSINESS OPERATIONS (INCL. CONSTRUCTION SITES):
Minimizing emissions from construction sites, assets, and products and services. This will include implementing efficiency measures and/or switching fuels to renewable resources for fleet vehicles, equipment and our offices.
THE MATERIALS PROCURED:
Leveraging supply chain, design and trade partners, and industry organizations to reduce the embodied carbon of the materials that go into the buildings and infrastructure we build, with a focus on structural materials, including concrete, steel, and timber.
THE OPERATION OF THE PROJECTS BUILT:
Assisting EllisDon clients to target and deliver near-zero emissions buildings by employing the entire building services value chain to provide innovative, achievable and cost-effective solutions.
EMISSIONS PROFILE
In the complex world of carbon accounting, the construction industry continues to struggle with a lack of complete data. EllisDon has dedicated considerable resources to comprehensively grasp where our emissions come from, how to effectively monitor them, and most importantly, strategies to minimize them. Having collected our third year of emissions data, our indirect emissions continue to make up the overwhelming majority (99%) of our footprint. This is primarily driven by the embodied carbon of materials, subtrade processes, and the lifetime operational energy of our completed building projects. Our direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) are audited and verified by a third-party consultant. Absolute values and an overview of the methodology for Scope 1, 2, and all applicable Scope 3 categories can be found on the EllisDon website.
For our direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) we have seen an increase in our absolute emissions year-over-year of 2%. This was not unexpected as we are seeing company growth, and fluctuations are common across the industry due to the nature of our work, as our energy consumption is heavily influenced by fluctuations in the type, location, local weather conditions, and construction phase of our projects.
What we are seeing is a slowdown in the increase in emissions, and carbon intensity per dollar revenue and per person hours worked. With reduction strategies actively being deployed on our sites, we expect to start seeing a turnaround in absolute emissions in the short term, even as we continue to grow as a company.
Recognizing this data collection is still very new to most industries, we continue to improve our processes to build awareness and internal understanding of what is driving our emissions and ultimately our decisions. We have dedicated the last year to developing and training a new AI-based data collection process. This allows us to get more granular, real-time data as our invoices come in, which is an important step in finetuning our data, communicating progress at all levels, and developing additional metrics and targets. Our next step is to finetune our Scope 3 data collection, starting with materials and subtrade processes.
70%
Fuel
1%
Natural Gas - Offices/Facilities
4%
Electricity - Sites
16%
Natural Gas - Sites
1%
Fugitive Emissions
8%
Electricity - Offices/Facilities
DRIVING TO ZERO EMISSIONS ACROSS BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Joyce Centre for Partnership and innovation Hamilton, Ontario
DECARBONIZATION ROADMAP
EllisDon is investigating and implementing multiple short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives to reduce our direct on-site emissions, as highlighted in the roadmap below (click image to enlarge).
In 2024, we piloted several decarbonization strategies and processes. These include:
WINDJAMMER LANDING:
PRESERVING PARADISE
EllisDon is a diverse business, and our holdings include the Travel and Leisure-recognized Windjammer Landing Resort and Residences in St. Lucia. This Caribbean gem is committed to improving the environment and its community and has implemented a Green Globes-certified ESG program focused on water, energy, and waste management.
IN THE OPERATIONS OF PROJECTS BUILT
EllisDon provides design, construction management, and operational services for high-performance buildings and infrastructure. Our projects and services contribute to the low-carbon building stock across Canada, and we are continuously looking for opportunities to help our clients better understand and reduce their assets’ operational emissions across their lifetime.
Saint Mary's University Halifax, Nova Scotia
PROJECT PROFILE
THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
Student Housing and Dining Project The University of Victoria Student Housing and Dining Project is the University’s first Passive House Project and one of the largest Passive House-certified projects in Canada. It includes two buildings: Cheko'nien House (Building 1) and Sngequ House (Building 2). This project reduces the University’s reliance on fossil fuels by transitioning to almost entirely electric power for the facilities.
EKO: YOU CAN’T BE GREEN UNLESS YOU’RE SMART
Technology is changing the way we design, build, operate, maintain and experience infrastructure. This technology, however, is often underutilized. To fill this gap, EllisDon found an opportunity and created EKO. This AI-driven digital twin platform creates a virtual “living” replica of the built environment by seamlessly integrating data from all primary building systems, customer-facing systems, the building information model (BIM), and the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
With EKO, our clients can utilize all the available data within their smart infrastructure, optimize the built environment, improve energy efficiency, avoid unnecessary costs, and, ultimately, enhance the end user’s experience. By integrating all data points, EKO becomes a platform that aggregates, organizes, and applies AI models to the data. It then automatically provides users with real-time information, insights, and tools to help enhance their operations.
The EKO Sustainability module provides predictive optimization models to enhance energy efficiency. These models deliver accurate energy demand forecasting, efficient control of building assets, and cost minimization, while maintaining occupant comfort. By analyzing this data, operations teams can also optimize a facility’s design, reduce waste, and implement smarter energy solutions.
EKO also improves equipment lifecycle through predictive maintenance and performance optimization. By monitoring usage patterns and wear over time, operations teams can identify potential issues before they escalate, extend equipment life and ensure energy efficiency, leading to reduced downtime, lower operational costs, and a more sustainable approach to resource management.
EKO has recently been implemented at the West Park Healthcare Centre project in Toronto, Ontario, where we are enhancing the end user experience through custom workflows and data collection to enable future energy savings. The automated energy saving model is currently in development at the facility, however, we are already identifying and implementing energy savings manually through the data EKO is collecting in the interim.
In 2024, EllisDon won the “Digital Twin of the Year” Award at the Construction Technology Forum in Dubai after successfully implementing EKO at a six-storey medical facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
GREENING THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
The sustainable construction and retrofitting of Canadian healthcare facilities presents a unique challenge. Uninterrupted energy delivery in healthcare facilities is crucial, requiring detailed planning for upgrades or retrofits. Sharing best practices across facilities can be challenging as hospital managers and building operators are often independent groups. EllisDon is bringing its decades-long experience in healthcare services and building operations to help support the greening of the healthcare system. EllisDon Facilities Services, is implementing technology and processes, including fault detection and diagnostics, that drive improved energy performance.
We are partnered with Greening Health Care to streamline information-sharing for sustainability improvements. Greening Health Care is a network identifying and evaluating retrofit and operational improvement opportunities.
At one of the EllisDon Facilities Services-operated facilities, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, several measures have been implemented to date to improve operations. These include:
- Optimizing operation sequences and overnight setbacks of Air Handling Units.
- Isolation of inactive steam pressure lines during summer months.
- Resetting of the boiler hot water temperature based on outdoor air temperature.
- Preheating the combustion air utilised by the steam boiler.
- Shutting off inactive hot water lines during summer months.
GREEN PATH SOLUTIONS (GPS)
While EllisDon’s new construction projects incorporate the latest energy-efficient features from the start, the existing building market also needs to be addressed to meet Canada‘s ambitious GHG reduction targets for 2030 and 2050. Recognizing the complexity and necessity of this transition, we introduced Green Path Solutions (GPS). This specialized service provides custom solutions that help clients navigate their path towards Net Zero. It leverages EllisDon’s extensive expertise in construction, project management, sustainability, energy performance, facility management, capital planning, and technology integration to deliver comprehensive and tailored strategies for carbon and energy reduction.
GPS is designed to help clients achieve their carbon and energy reduction goals through comprehensive and customized roadmaps at a building or portfolio-level. By integrating advanced digital tools, we leverage building data for improved operations and future upgrades. The creation of digital models and analytics helps optimize retrofit activities and maximize capital investments. Custom decarbonization plans are developed based on client targets and business needs, including financial analysis based on full carbon and economic life cycle considerations. Strategic retrofits are implemented to enhance building performance through targeted improvements, while deep energy retrofits involve comprehensive renovations aimed at achieving ambitious sustainability goals.
MATERIALS
The carbon embodied in our building materials is a significant driver of our total emissions profile. It is essential to EllisDon’s climate commitments to quantify the emissions associated with specific products, such as concrete and steel, and projects to drive reductions. We recognize the market for disclosing embodied carbon is still in the early stages in Canada. We are working with our clients, design partners, sub-trades, and suppliers to address the issue, improve awareness, and identify low-carbon solutions already available on the market.
We have engaged with our supply chain to identify gaps in current manufacturing processes hindering the production of low-carbon materials, and we are committed to continuing our collaborative efforts to remove obstacles and develop short-term solutions facilitating the transition a low-carbon economy.
EllisDon is actively engaged in initiatives focused on disclosing and reducing embodied carbon in the construction industry. These include platforms such as ContractorsCAN (Carbon Action Network), and efforts driven by the Canadian Construction Association. Through these platforms we aim to:
- Enhance transparency within the supply chain.
- Work with industry partners to deploy scalable solutions.
- Create tools and resources to help contractors accurately measure and monitor embodied carbon at their job sites.
- Promote cleaner production practices.
- Support policies prioritizing low-carbon building materials and build the market for sustainable products.
PROJECT PROFILE
PNE AMPHITHEATER
VANCOUVER, BC The new PNE Amphitheatre, part of Vancouver’s Hastings Park redevelopment, will host 10,000 spectators with an expansive vista of the North Shore mountains. Central to the design of the venue is its massive free-span timber and steel arched canopy, complemented by curving concrete hardscaping and seating. The project is designed to meet sustainability goals, targeting LEED Gold and Zero Carbon Standard – Design certifications, with a 40% reduction in embodied emissions.
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
Construction is a team sport, and collaboration is vital for delivering high-performance, low-carbon buildings and infrastructure. We must change not only how we conduct our own business but also collaborate with clients, partners, competitors, suppliers, and governments to drive systemic sustainability changes across the industry.
At EllisDon we do not shy away from a challenge and we’re committed to supporting the industry in this vital transformation.
CLIMATE-SMART BUILDING ALLIANCE (CSBA)
EllisDon launched the Climate Smart Buildings Alliance (CSBA or "Cas-Bah") to lead the transition to a net-zero building sector with partners from RBC and Mattamy Homes. CSBA's membership has since expanded to include champions from CIBC, Atkins Realis, Wesgroup, and Dialog.
CSBA functions as a think-and-do tank, initiating tangible action projects tackling barriers to sustainability. In the past year, CSBA hosted large solutions-lab events with stakeholders addressing issues such as the financing of commercial retrofits and mass timber insurance rates. Now, CSBA is initiating pilots and action plans to test new collaborative solutions to these challenges. In June, the Responsible Buildings Pact was launched, a cross-industry commitment with 35 signatory organizations, aimed at transforming business practices and cultures to consistently consider and use low carbon materials when viable. Additionally, we are currently rolling out pilots and research collaborations with multiple governments to support the development of low-carbon housing.
By collaborating to solve sustainability challenges now, we know EllisDon is helping to design the low-carbon building industry of the future.
EDG: OFFICE TO RESIDENTIAL CONVERSIONS
In a strategic partnership, EllisDon and Gensler have joined forces to leverage Gensler’s expertise in office-to-residential (O2R) conversions and EllisDon’s strengths in sustainable construction and building operations. Launched in 2024, this partnership – proudly named EDg, provides a key opportunity to boost housing supply, revitalize urban centers, and reclaim underutilized assets, especially in downtown areas grappling with post-pandemic shifts in work patterns. EDg’s goal is to maximize the Design Development process to meet the targets around schedule, sustainability, and quality.
The focus is on adaptive reuse: providing a fast, scalable, and carbon-efficient approach to repurposing Class B and C buildings. The goal is to accelerate conversions across Canada, incorporating decarbonization at every stage. We aim to ensure each project integrates retrofitting as an opportunity for decarbonization, putting environmental sustainability at the heart of the effort.
One active project EllisDon is working on is the Preconstruction estimates for the O2R conversion of 510 5th Street SW in Calgary. This 117,000 square foot building will provide affordable living spaces to downtown Calgary.
EDg has already identified opportunities in cities across Calgary, Ottawa, London, and Halifax, with several projects in various stages of development. Discussions are actively taking place with developers, landlords, and federal agencies to expedite these conversions, streamlining processes, and addressing potential barriers to accelerate the pace of transformation.
Palliser One Calgary, Alberta
Palliser One Calgary, Alberta
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
As a global construction services and technology company, EllisDon recognizes the environmental impact of our work. In combination with our efforts to reduce carbon emissions, we strive to continuously improve our environmental performance and minimize our ecological footprint.
Environmental stewardship is embedded in our core values, with a comprehensive program that considers pollution prevention, reduction of construction waste, water quality and management, and ecological preservation and restoration. These programs align with our broader commitment to sustainable development, allowing us to not only meet regulatory standards but also exceed them, all while contributing positively to the communities and clients we serve.
Porcupine River Bridge Timmins Ontario
ELLISDON’S ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS)
EllisDon’s environmental policies and processes help us meet, and exceed, our objectives and regulatory obligations. Our Environmental Management System (EMS) is maintained in accordance with international standards (ISO 14001:2015) ensuring comprehensive coverage of all major construction activities. Under the EMS, each project site develops an Environmental Management Plan (EMP), which identifies environmental aspects relating to their project that might require monitoring and/or controls. Once the project-specific Environmental Management Checklist is completed, our corporate environmental guidelines provide project teams with the knowledge to develop site-specific EMPs. For more sensitive or complex issues, our dedicated environmental team offers specialized support to project teams, ensuring effective mitigation and management.
General awareness of site-specific environmental concerns and associated controls is a key part of the project orientation for all workers. This awareness is regularly reinforced through training updates and our “Environmental Expectations” poster found on the Health and Safety boards at all sites. In addition, designated project team members undergo competence training, to ensure they understand potential environmental impacts, required controls, and performance criteria necessary to meet sustainability goals.
Our environmental performance is assessed through regular inspections, communication to senior management, incident reporting, and program audits. Our corporate software platform tracks minor and major environmental incident data and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), allowing analysis and trend identification. KPIs are shared with management and project teams to ensure mitigation measures are ongoing and proactive.
Christina Lake Project Alberta, Canada
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT IN EXTREME WEATHER
Construction operations continuously face increasing challenges from extreme weather events, a reality becoming more frequent and unpredictable due to climate change. From wildfires to hurricanes, droughts to severe thunderstorms, construction projects must be proactive and prepared to handle a diverse range of weather conditions. Through planning, effective mitigation strategies, and adaptation, EllisDon seeks to reduce the impact of climate change on our projects.
Extreme weather events can significantly impact air, land, water, and habitat quality around construction sites. These impacts often extend beyond the project boundaries, affecting neighbouring communities and ecosystems, including fish and wildlife habitat. In addition to environmental concerns, severe weather events can impact the construction schedule, strain budget, and compromise overall worker safety and performance.
By planning and preparing for extreme weather, construction projects can help mitigate human and environmental risks. To address these concerns a risk assessment is completed for each project. These assessments guide the setup of our construction sites, including the installation of appropriate erosion and sediment control (ESC) measures around sensitive areas, effective stormwater management systems, and protocols for safe liquid storage and handling. Ensuring all employees are trained in emergency response and preparedness plans is essential for reducing the risk of catastrophic environmental incidents and ensuring worker safety.
The Keeyask Hydroelectric Generating Station Manitoba, Canada
POLLUTION PREVENTION AND RESPONSE
SPILL MANAGEMENT
Environmental spills are one of the most common incidences resulting from construction. They are classified as the unintentional release of a substance that can adversely affect the environment, human health, or infrastructure.
EllisDon is committed to preventing environmental spills resulting from our construction activities. Through comprehensive training and spill response awareness, our goal is to capture all environmental spill incidents while reducing serious and reportable spills on all project sites.
Spill prevention and response plans are tailored to each site’s risks, with consideration for project location, scope of work and environmental sensitivities. This directs the operational controls and mitigation needed along with the location of response supplies.
We track both 'reportable' and ‘non-reportable' spills. 'Reportable' spills are those that must be disclosed to regulatory agencies, while 'non-reportable' spills are recorded internally. This system allows us to analyze the frequency, severity, and location of incidents, helping us spot trends and mitigate risks. We have seen an increasing trend in the reporting of minor environmental incidents, providing valuable insights into patterns to assist in preventing larger spill incidents.
The most common spills are minor equipment fluid and sediment releases, contributing approximately 70% of internally reported spills. The consistent capture of these environmental incidents provides data that supports the development of lessons learned, environmental toolbox talks, and ongoing alerts. These programs empower our teams to prevent avoidable environmental releases and further enhance site safety and environmental preservation.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Construction projects inherently generate waste materials requiring specialized handling. EllisDon has a corporate waste management plan that commences at the pre-planning phase of certification-based projects. In addition, accurately forecasting waste streams is essential to leading the construction industry's transition to a circular economy and setting new benchmarks for best practices. Our waste management strategy incorporates diverse recycling alternatives, clear and effective signage, continuous waste stream monitoring, and a dynamic approach adapting to evolving project needs.
Any unavoidable waste generation is sorted by waste stream and removed by registered haulers. Hauling companies are asked to provide supporting documentation including letters of attestation confirming the end-use of hauled materials, legitimacy of diversion, weigh bills, and/or waste diversion summaries.
EllisDon’s waste tracking is currently geared toward projects pursuing third-party certifications. Under these projects, we have consistently demonstrated the ability to meet and exceed the waste management targets set by leading certification programs like LEED.
We are using these projects to provide data that can be utilized to inform implementation on other projects. This broader approach allows for a more comprehensive baseline, leading to more accurate waste projections during early planning, enabling us to set ambitious, data-driven diversion and reduction goals for future projects.
WATER MANAGEMENT
Water management, including stormwater management, excavation dewatering, and concrete washout, is a critical aspect of construction projects. A proactive incident prevention approach is essential to ensuring water is managed responsibly on-site. The release of contaminated water into watercourses or sewer systems can be difficult to remediate, potentially causing ecological impacts and lead to regulatory action or fines. To address these concerns, EllisDon has implemented a range of measures, including:
Blue Water Bridge Canada / U.S.A. Border
Minimizing Disturbed Areas: Reducing the extent of land disturbance to limit erosion and sediment displacement. Stormwater Flow Management: Controlling the direction and volume of stormwater to prevent uncontrolled runoff. Erosion and Sediment Control: Implementing best practices to prevent soil erosion and contain sediment. Containment Ponds and Tanks: Using temporary ponds and tanks to store and treat water on-site. Water Quality Testing and Treatment: Regularly testing and treating water to ensure it meets environmental standards. Monitoring Groundwater and Discharge: Tracking the quantity of groundwater extracted and discharged to maintain compliance. Ensuring concrete trucks are equipped with on-truck enviro buckets or designated washout areas that capture wastewater and slurry. Surface and Groundwater Monitoring: Monitoring parameters such as turbidity, pH, and temperature, and water levels, to detect and address issues early.
As our construction services do not use a significant quantity of water, our primary concern is the water quality leaving our sites and protecting the aquatic environments in vicinity of our operations. Our Looby division has extensive experience working in and around watercourses. Their expertise in constructing large bridge projects while ensuring appropriate planning, mitigation, and controls are in place, serves as an exemplary model of effective water management.
ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AND BIODIVERSITY
Aligned with our core values, EllisDon is committed to minimizing negative impacts on the communities where we operate and maximizing positive contributions whenever possible. Protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems are key aspects of this commitment, as they play a vital role in maintaining the health and resilience of our planet, ensuring a sustainable future for all.
A common scenario on many of our project sites involves the nesting season of migratory birds. While we take steps to discourage birds from nesting within active work areas, we prioritize their protection when nests are established. In such cases, we create protective buffers and adjust our work schedules to avoid disturbance, allowing the birds to safely occupy the area until the nest is naturally vacated. This approach reflects our dedication to preserving local ecosystems and supporting biodiversity, even amid construction activities.
