Blog

Our May 2021 Newsletter is now available! Inside: Exploring the homeowner retrofit journey, our DiscoverEE presentation and more! https://mailchi.mp/15199f6d8390/may-2022-newsletter

As with many complexities in life, when it comes to home decarbonization, two seemingly opposing things are true at once.   First, we need to do this.  Energy used in the operation of BC homes accounts for 12% of the province’s total carbon footprint…in urban areas like the City of Vancouver, that accounts for 60% of… Read more »

Our April Newsletter has the latest on what the OPEN Team has been up to this month! Check it out for details on our upcoming event, and for some exciting project updates: https://mailchi.mp/e1862d676bc1/april-2022-newsletter  

So, two things happened last week that were big, and somewhat unexpected for me. The first was that I went to a net-working event. It was crazy. Going into a room with the intention of touching people (hand shakes, hugs, elbow bumps) and something I was sure that had gone the way of cruise vacations-… Read more »

Check out our March Newsletter! Inside – a recap of Building Benchmark BC Year 2, a new way to view the Icebox Challenge, and some exciting industry updates. This month, we are also welcoming some new OPEN team members. Look for the signup link in the footer – https://mailchi.mp/dbb3595a3599/march-2022-newsletter  

This year, in addition to the Annual Report, we wanted to do something special for our program participants and recognize the hard work they’ve put into Building Benchmark BC. As such, OPEN Technologies presents the Building Benchmark BC Awards!  The inaugural Building Benchmark BC Awards recognize excellence in improving building, climate, and energy performance across… Read more »

OPEN Technologies is welcoming some new additions to our team at the end of this month!  This includes OPEN co-founder, Dave Ramslie, who will be joining us full time as Chief Operating Officer on March 28th. Dave’s work at OPEN will be to support Donovan and the rest of the team in product management and… Read more »

The second annual report for Building Benchmark BC is live at buildingbenchmarkbc.ca! A steadily growing number of British Columbia building owners are positioning their properties for forthcoming standards in building energy and carbon management by voluntarily reporting their emissions and energy use through the Building Benchmark BC program.  The Building Benchmark BC Year Two Annual… Read more »

Our February newsletter is now available! Inside: BBBC Year 2 Report coming soon, the latest on the Icebox Challenge, and some exciting career opportunities. Look for the signup link in the footer – https://mailchi.mp/8dbf63048865/february-2022-newsletter

Our first newsletter of 2022 is now available! This month, we’ve seen a major expansion for BuildingPathfinder.com, an we couldn’t be more excited to share it. Look for the sign-up link in the folder to get updates for 2022: https://mailchi.mp/7f8ea889e334/january-2022-newsletter  

We are pleased to announce that one of our favourite legacy projects has seen a major scope expansion. The PathFinder tool, which has been helping users to test building design scenarios for their operational energy and emissions for several years, is now being complemented by the Embodied Carbon PathFinder. This free web app will now… Read more »

Our last update of 2021! This month, we are excited to announce our CMHC award, some new and noteworthy industry updates, and wish all of our followers a happy holiday season. Look for the link in the footer to signup for 2022: https://mailchi.mp/187267b5eefe/december-2021-newsletter

OPEN Technologies’ Affordable Housing Navigator is one of fourteen projects to receive implementation funding through CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge. As watchers of this space may recall, in May 2021 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) awarded OPEN Technologies $200,000 to develop a proof of concept for an Affordable Housing Navigator.  The CMHC Housing Supply… Read more »

It’s been a busy Fall for OPEN Technologies, and we’ve got some exciting updates in our November newsletter, including our move (back) to Gastown, the Icebox Challenge feature at COP26, and an ACEC Award of Excellence for ThermalBridge.ca. Read more: https://mailchi.mp/8087ba5eb6d9/november-2021-newsletter, and look for the sign-up link in the footer to receive monthly updates!

Check out our July Newsletter! This month, we are welcoming some new faces to the OPEN Technologies team, as well as highlighting a number of new and noteworthy industry resources and reports. Click on the link to view: https://mailchi.mp/4056662ac1a9/july2021, and look for the signup link in the footer to subscribe!

Our June 2021 newsletter is now live! This month we are featuring the latest additions to Building Benchmark BC, and our funding award from CleanBC! Check it out, and look for the sign-up link in the footer: https://mailchi.mp/90518e65a85d/june2021  

Our newsletter for May 2021 has the latest on Building Benchmark BC, our CMHC award, and the Nova Scotia debut of GRID through Efficiency Nova Scotia! Click on the link to check it out, and look for the sign up page in the footer: https://mailchi.mp/2554bda74389/may2021

Nova Scotia building owners and managers will soon have one-click access to detailed information on how their buildings are performing, helping them lower their properties’ greenhouse gas emissions. They will do so because in March we licensed our GRID benchmark and disclosure software to EfficiencyOne—the non-profit organization operating in Nova Scotia as Efficiency Nova Scotia.… Read more »

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently shortlisted OPEN Technologies as one of 21 organizations to receive funding under the first round of its Housing Supply Challenge. The federal crown corporation awarded us $200,000 to tackle a critical challenge to affordable housing supply: How can affordable housing providers reduce the number of cancelled projects… Read more »

If you are reading this, chances are that your work is related to the built environment in some way, as a builder, designer, property manager, energy efficiency advisor, policy maker, or advocate. And if you’re not terribly familiar with this young company called “OPEN Technologies” (ie. us), then you may find yourself wondering … “okay,… Read more »

By the end of this decade, B.C. will have cut greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings by 40 percent. Guess how the province will do it? CleanBC, the province’s climate action plan, outlines a range of policies and actions intended to drive down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help bring B.C. closer to its target… Read more »