Latest news with #Frameworks
Bloomberg
28-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump's Preliminary ‘Napkin' Deals on Trade Face Scrutiny
Frameworks. Preliminary accords. Tariff deals. Trade agreements. These are just a few of the words used to describe what President Donald Trump is inking with economies like the European Union, Japan and a handful of others on the homestretch before his Aug. 1 deadline. Deborah Elms of the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore offered another: the napkin deal.
Hamilton Spectator
17-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Make high-efficiency the new norm
Helping builders with the transition to healthier and more efficient homes is the goal of Frameworks, a new innovation exchange in the region. Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR) launched the initiative in partnership with Grand Valley Construction Association (GVCA). The idea is to build off of the experience gained from the Evolv1 project in Waterloo, a commercial building that is not only energy efficient, it creates more energy than it consumes. It was the first office building to receive the Zero Carbon Building Design Certification from the Canada Green Building Council. 'We came to understand that this kind of building – net zero emissions or highly efficient – doesn't necessarily come with an added price tag. Or if there is an added price tag, there can be a reasonable return on investment,' said Allan Taylor, manager of innovation at SWR, noting the completion of the Evolv1 project put them on the trajectory to the new Frameworks program. 'We went out to the community to [determine] how we could see more of these kinds of buildings built.' After searching within its own network, SustainableWR began building this new relationship with the GVCA. The partnership worked because it allowed them to connect with the building industry and learn about the industry's challenges when it comes to sustainability and the likes of net-zero buildings. SWR says the collaboration is a significant step forward for the Waterloo Region's construction and development sectors, predicting it will play a key role in navigating emerging standards and technologies in the built environment. With the initial idea in place, the participants started building the program, identifying three challenges the industry had faced. 'We've learned that this isn't a lack of information in the industry. There's a ton of information out there, almost too much, and it's more about curating that knowledge so that it can be easily integrated into the local industry,' said Taylor of the first hurdle. The second was the absence of a network of people who work or want to work on greater sustainability. He said the new program will provide that network and allow those taking part to connect, collaborate, problem-solve and build a common understanding. The third and final challenge was creating an integrated design process in the local industry. 'We know that for these kinds of projects, it's very important for all of the players to come together at the beginning and align around the objectives, assess the challenges inherent in reaching those objectives, and try to problem-solve them upfront,' said Taylor. Taylor told The Observer that the overall goal of the Frameworks program is to satisfy those three challenges in the market. Following this, the program was accepted for funding through the Implementation Readiness Fund by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Taylor said that starting out can be overwhelming, noting that SWR had to go through it as a team to learn and curate the best practices to share with the building industry. 'That's why it's been so helpful for us to have our executive advisory committee that's made up of champions from across the industry,' said Taylor. 'We have a developer, an architect, a couple of engineers, a building sciences professional, the head of the GVCA and the head of a construction company, and together, we've been meeting with them regularly to help understand the industry, shape this program and our priorities.' With so many moving pieces and players – the construction sector alone has many facets – a coordinated program was needed to boost the sustainability efforts when it comes to new builds, he explained. 'Bringing together industry and policy makers to help us better understand our targets and how we get there, and to provide input from industry expertise and experience, along with community goals into larger policy processes. The Frameworks program has the potential to be valuable to a range of those involved in the building process. SWR identified four key groups: developers and building owners, designers and consultants, builders and contractors, and government and utilities. 'We also understand that there is a significant number of secondary, what we call the secondary audience, that surround this industry or engage in it as real estate property managers, end users and tenants, material and equipment suppliers, etc.' The Evolv1 building was the first commercially viable net-positive building in Canada and the first to be certified by the Canada Green Building Council. The success of Evolv1 inspired more projects like it. A recent example is the Southwest library in Kitchener, which has received the same zero-carbon rating as Evolv1. Taylor said he hopes that Frameworks will continue to inspire more projects for these types of technology. He added that Frameworks will also potentially change the building and construction industry. 'I really hope that we can see many more projects and opportunities come up where we can find mutual value for financial, environmental and community benefit from buildings,' said Taylor, adding that the goal is to see such efficient building become the new normal. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Entrepreneur
13-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur UK's London 100: GaiaLens
GaiaLens is an AI-powered Sustainability Analytics Platform for institutional investors and financial services firms Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Industry: Sustainability GaiaLens is an AI-powered Sustainability Analytics Platform for institutional investors and financial services firms. Co-founded in 2021 by Gordon Tveito-Duncan (CEO) and Seb Kirk (Chief Operating Officer), the idea for GaiaLens was developed whilst co-founders were at City University, London, emerging as an effective, transparent and easy-to-use solution for asset managers. GaiaLens is led by a group of finance professionals, technologists, and academics who firmly believe that economic value creation can and should be combined with environmental stewardship, social inclusion, and sound governance. Acknowledging the frustrations of asset managers using other ESG rating platforms such as MSCI and Sustainalytics, where methodologies were often opaque, GaiaLens' innovative platform offered a suite of tools to help investors fulfil their ESG needs, including sustainability reporting, investment screening, and deep-dive research capabilities. GaiaLens has experienced significant growth over the past 12 months, having recently been named as an innovator transforming sustainability in finance in the ESGFinTech100 for the third year in a row. GaiaLens was also awarded funding from Fintech Scotland, which will fund the development of its Greenwashing Analytics solution, designed to help investors evaluate the greenwashing risk of funds and companies. Challenging the traditional 'one size fits all' approach to ESG reporting, GaiaLens has also developed a unique 'on-demand' reporting solution that provides ESG analysts instant access to its sophisticated AI-powered reporting system. It acts as a digital ESG analyst that can support investors throughout the ESG investment lifecycle and has saved them significant time. Sustainability Frameworks is the first module to be released by the technology team at GaiaLens, giving analysts access to the latest, highest quality ESG data available and generating SFDR, TCFD, EU Taxonomy and UN SDGs reports (and more) for portfolios/funds in a matter of seconds. Three further products, namely a GenAI-powered PDF Chatbot, a Greenwashing Risk Assessment tool and a Customisable Reporting tool, will expand the sustainability analytics platform further in the first half of 2025.
