Priorities
Carbon reduction
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to progress towards a science-based net-zero target, aligned to credible third-party standards.
Climate risk and resilience
Evaluating climate risk and increasing the resilience of our portfolio to the physical impacts of climate change.
Nature and ecological systems
Promoting the restoration and regeneration of nature, actively improving the ecological systems that support our business.
Climate resilience is not just a necessity; it’s a commitment to safeguarding our future. Our work at North Harbour demonstrates this dedication, as we are proactively addressing sea level rise and enhancing the area’s infrastructure to protect both the environment and the community.Craig Watters, Chief Operating Officer
Environmental Initiatives
Energy-as-a-Service: Solar Power Partnership Lowers Costs and Emissions
In 2024, Concert Properties partnered with AltCrest Energy, a Toronto-based renewable energy firm, to install the first solar power system in our Ontario operations.
AltCrest supports the real estate industry’s transition to net-zero by deploying low-emission energy systems—such as rooftop solar photovoltaic—using an energy-as-a-service business model. Instead of selling solar panels to a building owner, AltCrest invests in the costs to do it on the owner’s behalf. The client (or tenant) then pays AltCrest for the renewable energy produced by those panels. This approach eliminates upfront capital expenditure and, as long as the energy generated is cheaper than grid power, reduces the organization’s ongoing energy costs. Additionally, the building owner can lower their emissions and may achieve further savings through renewable energy credits.
Our project, which involves a prominent industrial building in Ottawa, has an added twist. As a large Class A energy customer, the tenant’s energy costs from the local utility depend on its proportion of energy peaks relative to the overall Ontario grid during five peak periods throughout the year. Leveraging AltCrest’s energy-as-a-service model, we developed a system design where energy drawn from the panels during those peak measurement periods would decrease the tenant’s reliance on the grid—a method referred to as “peak shaving”—thus reducing overall utility charges. Furthermore, we capitalized on a new incentive program from the Ontario government called Save on Energy, which provides financial incentives for large energy users to peak shave and use less energy at times when the grid needs it most.
Designing for Climate Resilience
North Harbour is a mixed-use, master-planned community on 12 acres of waterfront in North Vancouver. Site preparation and construction on the first of four phases began several years ago and we expect to complete it by early 2026.
As a condition of the original rezoning, Concert Properties was required to make significant off-site infrastructure improvements, including work to protect the area from future sea level rise. The project involved upgrading Kings Mill Walk Park, as well as making improvements to the shoreline and portions of the Spirit Trail, a 35-kilometre public greenway running through the property.
Concert Properties obtained the required approvals for this climate resilience work from the Port of Metro Vancouver and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The backbone of the project, which began in the fall of 2024, involves modifying the Spirit Trail to serve as a dyke along the shoreline, raising both it and Concert Properties’ development by approximately one-and-a-half metres. As part of the sea level rise flood management initiatives, we will also modify the shoreline to incorporate habitat areas for fish and other aquatic life with riprap revetments—rock barriers that help stabilize the shore.
New Bald Eagle Nesting Pole Ready for Occupancy
It takes many actions, big and small, to protect the integrity of urban ecosystems during and after construction. A case in point is the work we undertook at our North Harbour community to relocate a bald eagle nest—a project that started before development began in 2020 and finished in 2024.
Several trees on the lot earmarked for Phase 1 were in poor health and had to be removed. A pair of bald eagles were nesting in one of those trees, so we set out to devise a nest relocation plan and obtain a permit for the work under the provincial Wildlife Act from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
In 2019 and 2020, Concert Properties worked closely with representatives from Squamish Nation, the City of North Vancouver, Hancock Wildlife Foundation and North Shore Eagle Network, as well as biologists from Keystone Environmental, to complete these tasks. In the summer of 2020, the team waited until after the birds had left the nest on their northern migration, then cut down the tree and installed a temporary nesting pole in a Cottonwood tree several blocks away. When the eagles returned, they began using the temporary site, as planned, while we moved ahead with Phase 1 construction. During this time, Keystone Environmental monitored the eagles’ use of the temporary pole and reported findings to the Ministry as prescribed by our permit.
As Phase 1 work advanced, we installed a permanent nesting pole at the water’s edge on the Bewicke Park Spit, near the original nest’s site. In 2024, as construction in that area concluded, we prepared the pole for use by the eagles in 2025. While we await their return, the City of North Vancouver will maintain the temporary pole until it can determine whether it will continue to be needed.
