THE BULLFROG
WINTER 2017
IN THIS ISSUE The impact you’re making: 2017 in numbers | p.2 In your own words: An artist and a novelist talk about their support for green energy | p.7 Green recipes: Chocolate torte and cranberry sauce for the holidays | p.14
OUR LATEST COMMUNITY PROJECTS FROM SOLAR ART TO WIND TURBINES >p.4 Pictured here: A bullfrog helps celebrate the launch of a solar project on the Haida Heritage Centre with the Skidegate Band Council in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. The bullfrogpowered community (you!) helped fund the solar project. More on p.5.
SPREADING THE WORD
THE DIFFER
True to our name as the small animal with a big voice, Bullfrog has participated in more than 110 events across Canada this year! Just a few ways we helped spread the word:
Together, the bullfrogpowered community has Below, take a look at some highlights over the
WITH SUPPORT FROM YOU, COMMUNITY, TO DATE BULL MORE THAN
3.8 MILLIO OF GREEN
We bullfrogpowered WE Day Toronto in September 2017.
6.6 MILL
OF GREEN NAT
The 2017 JUNO Awards were bullfrogpowered for the 10th straight year! And CARAS chose Bullfrog Power’s green fuel for the JUNO Express powered by VIA Rail Canada.
For Canada’s 150th in July, we partnered with Canada C3, an expedition to e ngage Canadians in a deeper understanding of our land, our peoples and our country.
700,000
OF GREEN
ONTO OUR ENERGY SYS
1.3 MILLION Musician Tara MacLean bullfrogpowered the recording of Atlantic Blue, her latest album, as well as the concerts on her East Coast tour this summer.
Longtime supporters Sam Roberts Band chose Bullfrog Power’s green energy for all Canadian shows on its TerraForm tour.
OF
WE’VE ALSO PROVIDED FU
13
COMMUNITY-BASED RENEW ACROSS The Calgary International Film Festival, a long standing partner of Bullfrog, chose green energy for the festival again in 2017!
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We partnered with the Vancouver Aquarium to bullfrogpower its AquaVan 150 tour with green fuel. The tour brought aquatic learning programs to students across the country.
ENCE YOU’RE MAKING helped advance renewable energy in Canada by leaps and bounds. past year—all made possible through your commitment to a cleaner future.
THE BULLFROGPOWERED FROG HAS HELPED PUT
LEADING THE WAY Bullfrog continues to blaze a trail as an influencing voice for renewable energy. This year, we were recognized:
ON MWh ELECTRICITY
In B Corp’s 2017 Best for the Environment, Best for Workers and Best for Governance lists; As an Emerald Award recipient by the Alberta Emerald Foundation as a small business demonstrating a significant ongoing commitment to the environment and social responsibility; and As the first and only Canadian CDP-accredited (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) renewable energy provider.
LION GJ
TURAL GAS
A YEAR OF FIRSTS In 2017, the Bullfrog community helped:
0 LITRES
N FUEL
TEMS, DISPLACING OVER
N TONNES CO2
UNDING TO MORE THAN
30
WABLE ENERGY PROJECTS CANADA.
GIVING BACK Making Canada a better place means giving back to our community as well as working toward a clean energy future. Here are just a few ways we gave back in 2017:
launch the first community solar garden in Canada (Nelson Solar Garden in B.C.);
February 28: WWF-Canada’s Polar Bear Dip, where several brave Bullfroggers plunged into Lake Ontario to fundraise for Arctic wildlife research and preservation. April 9: We joined the annual CN Tower Stair Climb—for the 10th year in a row—to fundraise for WWFCanada. June 26: The opening of our Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund Legacy Room (pictured above), a place where conversations about reconciliation are encouraged. Our Legacy Room serves as a constant reminder for staff and guests of Bullfrog’s commitment to reconciliation. 1,390: Meals donated to Second Harvest through fundraising efforts by Bullfrog staff this year. Bullfroggers also fundraised for The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Moorelands Community Services.
launch the largest solar installation in the City of Winnipeg (FortWhyte Alive Solar Project in Manitoba); and
launch our first community project partnership with a Métis community (Northern Village of Green Lake in Saskatchewan). THE BULLFROG BUZZ | 3
THE NEWEST
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
FROM SOLAR ART TO WIND TURBINES Bullfrog has now supported more than 130 community-based green energy projects across Canada! Below, take a look at some of the most recent projects that have launched—thanks to your support.
Ellershouse Wind Farm nearly doubles in size—thanks to you! In June, Ellershouse Wind Farm in Nova Scotia unveiled three new wind turbines, thanks to support from the bullfrogpowered community. The wind farm now has seven Enercon E-92 wind turbines operating with a total capacity of 16.1 MW—which is enough energy to power almost 5,000 Nova Scotian homes. In addition to supporting the launch and expansion of the wind farm, Bullfrog Power sources the green power produced by the facility for its Maritime customers.
Bullfrog and Beau’s toast green energy in Ottawa Ottawa-based Just Food is a grassroots nonprofit working to promote and ensure local food security. In partnership with Beau’s Brewing Co. (who is bullfrogpowered!), and on behalf of the bullfrogpowered community, we provided financial support for a 10 kW rooftop mounted solar system. The solar array will help lower the costs of Just Food’s sustainable farming education and food equality initiatives. Just Food launched the solar installation in October with a community celebration—complete with a tasting of bullfrogpowered beer from Beau’s.
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Haida Gwaii now home to new “solart” installation In August, the Bullfrog community provided funding for a solar array on the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate, B.C. This 100 kW solar project incorporates a “solart” installation that houses a battery backup to power the facility when there is not enough light for the panels to generate power. As a result, the Haida Heritage Centre will rely less on diesel for its electricity. The “solart” component of the installation projects images of the two clan symbols of Skidegate First Nation—an eagle and a raven—from a fallen longhouse onto the Haida Heritage Centre.
FortWhyte Alive launches Winnipeg’s largest solar project
Winnipeg is home to FortWhyte Alive—a nature centre, wildlife refuge and education facility housed on 640 acres of urban green space. In October, FortWhyte unveiled the largest solar project in the city: a 60 kW installation made possible with support from Bullfrog Power and Investors Group, a bullfrogpowered customer.
The project will generate enough solar power to match 50% of the electricity consumed at FortWhyte Farms. In addition to the project’s environmental benefits, the solar power generated by the array is expected to save FortWhyte Alive approximately $350,000 in energy costs during the 30-year lifespan of the panels!
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RIC RICHARDSON Mayor, Northern Village of Green Lake Saskatchewan The Northern Village of Green Lake, located 300 km north of Saskatoon, hopes to become a leader in renewable energy. Thanks in part to a partnership with Bullfrog Power, the Northern Village of Green Lake now has a 96-panel solar installation on its community centre. A successful launch
Planting the seed
We received a lot of positive media attention from the launch of our solar project, but I found it was more important for the project to be a good news story in our community. Our citizens feel like they’re part of the project—and they are. It gives them a reason to smile more.
This project is important because of the foundation it lays for future education and support for renewables in the community. We see it as planting the first seeds of renewable energy for the future.
Overcoming challenges Funding was one of the main challenges we encountered when developing the solar project, and Bullfrog Power helped play a part in overcoming this challenge. Another challenge was encouraging public support for the project, which involved educating the community on the benefits of renewable energy. We have learned that growing public support requires a combination of research, education and canvassing.
Connecting to the land Aboriginal communities believe in connecting with their land and heritage. I believe that in northern Canadian regions, we notice the effects of climate change more so than in the southern regions of the country. In the Yukon, for example, we have been seeing the effects of climate change for decades. We’ve seen increased frequencies of bug infestations, milder winters and changing game patterns.
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We are also showing people the ability to harness nature for power as well as for improved economic and employment opportunities. In the north, Green Lake is now being regarded as a leader in renewable energy. The impact is especially noticeable among the younger generations. Our school is educating students about the solar project and its benefits, and now students are studying the practical and theoretical elements of renewable energy. Our young ones are even looking into renewables as a career opportunity. We’re extremely appreciative of supporters like Bullfrog. With your help, we hope to continue growing renewable energy in our community for years to come. The Northern Village of Green Lake recently launched a new solar installation thanks in part to a partnership with Bullfrog Power. The project is the community’s first step in an effort to invest in renewable energy in what is hoped to be a larger solar initiative that aims to eventually provide much of the electrical power needs of the village.
My writing process involves reading and researching until characters and scenes begin to emerge. Sometimes a story begins with a character who nudges me toward the research I need to support the story. The inspiration for the The Umbrella Mender came from a set of memoirs written by my greatuncle, Dr. Barclay McKone—a pioneer in TB medicine in Canada. Researching that time period also unearthed historical accounts of Indigenous communities in Canada. Some information I found was devastating: history about residential schools, for example, that we weren’t taught in schools. I’ve just finished the first draft of a new novel. I’m too superstitious to say much about it, but I can tell you that it’s about music and that I’ve been studying piano myself to support the research. I’m pretty chuffed to have learned Bach’s Prelude in C!
CHRISTINE FISCHER GUY Christine Fischer Guy is a novelist and writer in Toronto who has bullfrogpowered her home since 2008. In 2014, Fischer Guy published her first book, The Umbrella Mender—a fictional retelling of a real-life tuberculosis epidemic in 1950s Moose Factory, Ontario. Here, she speaks with Bullfrog about how she writes and why she chooses green energy.
Years ago, I worked on a project that showcased hydrogen as a renewable energy source for homes. That project convinced me that we need to be moving away from fossil fuels, so when I heard about Bullfrog Power, I knew it was something I wanted to support. We need to vote with our dollars about energy production and the future we want to build for the generations after us. > christinefischerguy.com
David Gillanders is an Ottawabased visual artist who joined the bullfrogpowered community in 2013. Gillanders has exhibited widely in North America including in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and Chicago. He is also an Educator at the National Gallery of Canada. Here, he speaks with Bullfrog about his approach to art and why he chooses green energy.
DAV I D G I L L A N D E R S
To me, art is about creating a language. Artists invent their own visual vocabularies—creating images that contain meaning based on the subject, the medium and the idea behind each piece. As an Educator for the National Gallery of Canada, I’m responsible for developing educational programs and didactic materials for art exhibitions—for adults and young people alike. We recently reimagined our galleries of Canadian and Indigenous art to provide a more complete story of art in Canada, with a full integration of the two collections. I first heard about Bullfrog from my brother in Toronto, who bullfrogpowered his home a few years before I did. My wife and I were talking about it in the car one day and we decided to sign on. The more people who choose Bullfrog Power, the more renewable electricity is produced—that’s a step in the right direction. I am always working on new art. Next year, in fall 2018 I will exhibit my newest work at Galerie Trois Points in Montreal. > dgillanders.com
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Dressing up your home for the winter
As the colder weather sets in and the snow starts to fall, many of us seek solace in the warmth of our homes—and how our abodes look and feel play an important role in how comfortable they are. Below, bullfrogpowered Urban Barn’s Lisa Poirier shares a few tips for changing up your home’s look to make your winter cocooning more enjoyable. Bring the outdoors indoors Add some foliage to your setting for the season in the form of potted plants such as firs. Less is more—so use a few accents to bring a nice, “woodsy” feeling to your space. Décor touches Add a few décor accents such as candles, a lantern for ambient lighting and a few serving trays. These options will create an inviting space and tie everything together to complete the room’s look. Bring on the toss pillows Tosses are a great way to cozy up a space. Grab a few different sizes to add layers to the setting. Animal print tosses are a great way to bring that cabin feeling right into your home. Throw on a throw A winter retreat isn’t complete without a knitted throw. Throws add to the room’s ambiance and they’ll keep you warm on those cold winter evenings! When you’re not using a throw, drape one over your chair or sofa for styling. Urban Barn joined the bullfrogpowered community in 2009.
> urbanbarn.com
LUSH: TURNING OCEAN PLASTIC INTO PACKAGING To help combat ocean pollution, bullfrogpowered LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics is partnering with the Ocean Legacy Foundation, an international non-profit focused on researching and cleaning up ocean waste. The two organizations have teamed up for an innovative solution: Ocean Legacy operates plastic collection expeditions, removing harmful waste from the marine ecosystem, and LUSH purchases the plastic for use in its 100% recycled plastic bottles and pots. With 25 tonnes of plastic removed from the Pacific Ocean so far, it’s an initiative that could make some waves! > lush.ca 8 | THE BULLFROG BUZZ
SODEXO: Sustaining food for the future Founded in France in 1966, Sodexo is a global food services provider with more than 425,000 employees in 80 countries worldwide. Sodexo is bullfrogpowering its Canadian offices and warehouse as part of its goal to reduce global carbon emissions by 34% by 2024.
Sodexo is also a founding partner of the International Food Waste Coalition, which works to reduce food waste throughout the food services supply chain. Here in Canada, Sodexo is piloting a new program with York Landing, an Indigenous fly-in community in northern Manitoba. The Good Food Machine program brings indoor hydroponic garden towers to teach children and community members how to grow, harvest, prepare and cook with fresh greens. Says Katherine Power, Vice President Communications and Corporate Affairs at Sodexo Canada: “We know fresh produce is tough to grow and exorbitantly expensive to buy in the North. We’ve installed two greenhouse towers in the community school and two more in the health centre. Students and community members are caring for the food they will eat. The Good Food Machine program helps people learn about nutrition and healthy living and experience the flavours of fresh produce, which they don’t usually have access to.” “The pilot project is being funded by Sodexo’s Stop Hunger Foundation as part of Sodexo’s commitment to a sustainable, better tomorrow for everyone.” > Sodexo.ca
A BREWERY INSPIRED BY THE OTTAWA VALLEY Whitewater Brewing Company takes its name from the Ottawa River—worldrenowned for its incredible white-water adventures. It was these adventures that kept bringing three friends back together year after year. The three friends drew on the landscape as inspiration—and founded what would become Whitewater Brewing. “We use local ingredients to inspire our flavour profiles,” says Whitewater co-founder Chris Thompson (Fun fact: two of the three co-founders are named Chris Thompson!). “For example, we forage for wintergreen for our Jack Frost's Demise brew.” On choosing green energy with Bullfrog, Thompson says: “Since the beginning, we wanted to do more to limit our environmental impact. The rugged Canadian landscape is our playground, and it is important to us that we help protect it.” > whitewaterbeer.ca
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BULLFROGPOWER YOUR VEHICLE WITH
GREEN FUEL Bullfrog Power is proud to announce an innovative new renewable energy option for your car: green fuel! We're experiencing a revolution in transportation—but not all of us are ready for our new EVs just yet. Bullfrog’s new green fuel product is the next best thing—putting sustainable transportation within your reach. Our green fuel works the same way as our other green energy products: we inject green fuel into the Canadian fuel system to match the amount of conventional gas you use. There are no changes at the pump—you fuel up your car as you always have, but we ensure green fuel goes into the system on your behalf. The really cool part is Bullfrog’s green fuel comes from used cooking oils from restaurants and kitchen facilities, and waste streams from food and feed manufacturing. With Bullfrog’s green fuel, you can reduce your travel-related emissions, support an innovative new technology and join the green transportation movement. You’ll also receive a bullfrogpowered badge (see below) to show your car is running on 100% green fuel!
Learn more at bullfrogpower.com/green-energy/green-fuel/
Pictured: green fuel badge you receive with purchase.
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UNILEVER STRIDES TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY GOALS Since 2011, Unilever Canada has been one of the largest purchasers of green electricity in Canada with Bullfrog Power. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is the global organizations' roadmap to double the size of its business while reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. In the past year, across its global operations, Unilever has made a number of important sustainability strides. Here are just a few highlights of Unilever’s global energy-related sustainability progress:
43% Reduced global greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of production. Compared to 1995, this represents a 66% reduction in absolute terms.
37% Reduced global water consumption per tonne of production. Compared to 1995, this represents a 77% reduction in absolute terms.
31.6% Portion of total energy use generated from renewable resources (compared to 15.8% in 2008, and 63% of all grid energy used).
John Coyne, Vice President of Legal and External Affairs, and champion of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in Canada, was recognized by the 2018 Delta Clean50 for Unilever Canada's sustainability progress.
> Unilever.ca
A spiral effect Even though we’re in a small community in Knowlesville it’s important to have a reduced impact. I’m very proud that energy from the sun is currently the only thing powering our school. This solar array on our community centre—that the Bullfrog Power community helped fund—is important to us for many reasons. One of those is commitment. Thematically, the community has become very forwardfocused, choosing how they want to run and power their community centre. This commitment is inspiring other decisions in the community, creating a spiral effect.
TEGAN WONGDAUGHTERY Co-Founder, Knowlesville Art and Nature Centre, New Brunswick
Limitations often force you to be creative Another reason is education. Instead of having to be taught about renewable energy in the curriculum, our students are living it. Some of the students actually live in off-grid houses, and they end up teaching staff about elements of the array—so there’s a neat inter-generational thing happening here. Our students understand the importance of things like turning off the lights, and conservation and they’re often the ones leading the charge.
The solar project is also promoting creativity. Because we rely solely on renewable energy, we have to think about how we can do things more efficiently. For example, a fall craft project with the students that used to rely on an iron (and electricity) to press leaves between wax paper transformed into a felt leaf mobile project (requiring no power!). The transition was inspired by the students. Limitations often force you to be creative and the problem solving process can be really inspiring.
Solar is the norm for our students Solar power isn’t new technology and it’s becoming much more accessible. Now we have a working example to show our community that solar power is possible here in rural New Brunswick. Our students’ families are wondering how they can bring it to their own homes. Solar is the norm for our students, and I’m hoping they grow up implementing and improving on this amazing technology. The Knowlesville Art and Nature Centre is a community hub located 100 kilometres NW of Fredericton, NB. Housed in a community just shy of 100 people, the Centre is an inspiration for sustainable living by running on 100% renewable energy. In 2015, the bullfrogpowered community helped fund solar panels for the Centre’s roof. THE BULLFROG BUZZ | 11
! d n i F Word CLEAN
RECYCLE
EARTH
RENEWABLE
ENERGY
REUSE
ENVIRONMENT
SOLAR
FROG
SNOWFLAKE
GREEN
WIND
MITTEN
WINTER
REDUCE
Z E S U W I
R E E H W R
G E A N K V
S P D R V K
N M J U T I
O O I Q C H
W X N Y G E
F V C M F R
L S O L A R
A N Z X E B
K G S S Q A
E A T O R E
C G R E N E
K A N Q Y X
N T E R H J R Q
E U S E R E S K
X E W X C I Q Y
R C L Y N B I M
W L C W T K I O
R L P M I T E X
E O B U T N T N
N B N E N I D Q
E E N M M H K N
O E R G E M V K
E G N G E N B E
N F X K Y U T U
W A B L E F G C
X H A W G W K T
CLEAN
Spot the differences!
EARTH ENERGY ENVIRONMENT FROG GREEN MITTEN REDUCE RECYCLE RENEWABLE REUSE SOLAR
Missing in the seond picture: sun's nose; solar panel on home; turbine blade; owl; fox's tail; tree; arrow sign.
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GREEN
ENERGY
GURU
EVOLVING ENERGY STORAGE FOR A CLEANER FUTURE With new advances in energy storage technology, the way forward to a clean energy future is becoming increasingly clear. Battery storage technology continues to evolve, causing attention to shift to the dropping price of energy storage. Why is the price of battery technology dropping? Technology pricing is different from commodities such as oil because the cost of producing the equipment drops as demand increases. We’ve already seen the case with solar power—and the same phenomenon is beginning to occur with battery technology. Energy storage has already attracted a lot of attention. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, launched one of its “moonshot” projects—called Project Malta—with the aim to store clean energy on a large scale using Tesla's Nevada gigafactory salt (see diagram below). This theoretical system—designed by Nobel Prize-winning Stanford physics professor Robert Laughlin—stores electricity as heat (in the form of high-temperature molten salt) and cold (in a lowtemperature liquid similar to the antifreeze in your car). The energy stored in salt can be kept for days or even weeks until it’s needed.
The next step for Project Malta is to build a megawatt-scale prototype plant—but Alphabet isn’t the only company trying to solve the energy storage puzzle. Tesla is building its gigafactory in Nevada to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles. Competitors around the world, most notably in China, are also looking to produce batteries on just as large a scale. In Canada, Ontario company Hydrostor is storing energy by using electricity to compress and drive air into large, inflatable air accumulators. When the energy is needed, the system reverses the air flow, driving the air through a generator that converts the stored energy back into electricity. In the months ahead, we’ll bring you more energy storage news as the industry comes closer to solving this important piece of the clean energy puzzle.
ENERGY STORAGE USING MOLTEN SALT
1
Collects
Renewable energy is collected from wind or solar farms on the grid and is sent to Malta's energy storage system.
2
Converts
The electrical energy that is collected drives a heat pump, which is a machine that converts electrical energy into thermal energy by creating a temperature difference (hot and cold).
3
Stores
The heat is stored in molten salt, and the cold is stored in a chilled liquid.
4
Reconverts
The temperature difference is reconverted by a heat engine back into electrical energy. (A heat engine is the reverse of a heat pump: it's a machine that takes hot and cold and converts it back into useable energy.)
5
Distributes
Electricity is sent back to the grid when it is needed.
Image source: X Development LLC
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green HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE This recipe for homemade cranberry sauce is brought to you by bullfrogpowered Sanagan’s Meat Locker. In the words of Anne Hynes, Sanagan’s Head Chef, the sauce “adds a festive touch with its lovely jewel tone colour. Cranberry sauce goes well with roast meats like chicken, pork or duck, makes a great addition to sandwiches, and can even be served with cheese on a charcuterie platter.” Makes approximately 4 cups.
Ingredients 1 lb cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
2 cups water
zest of one small orange (optional)
1 ½ cup sugar
Preparation: 1. In a saucepan combine cranberries, water, sugar and a cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. 2. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for five minutes or until berries burst. 3. Remove lid and continue to simmer for five more minutes or until sauce has thickened. 4. Turn off heat and add orange zest. Cranberry sauce or jelly is best made the day before you plan to serve it.
> sanagansmeatlocker.com
BLACK BEAR CHOCOLATE TORTE This chocolate torte recipe, submitted by bullfrogpowered Muskoka Roastery, is a dark, delicious dessert option for the holidays.
Ingredients ¾ cup sugar
16 oz (480 ml) dark 70% chocolate, melted
1 cup hot brewed Muskoka Roastery Black Bear coffee
6 eggs 6 egg yolks
1 oz (30 ml) bourbon
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 pound butter
Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 175°C (325°F).
5. Add raspberries and fold well.
2. Prepare an 8-inch springpan with butter or vegetable Pam.
6. Pour mixture into springpan and place at centre of oven with a drip pan underneath.
3. Melt butter and sugar; mix well. Add coffee, bourbon and melted chocolate; mix until smooth. (In mixer, with hand electric beater or by hand.) 4. In separate bowl, beat eggs and yolks until frothy. Add to chocolate mixture and beat until it becomes thicker.
7. Bake for one hour. The cake will still be a bit wobbly in the centre. 8. Cool and unhinge the pan. Refrigerate until time to serve. 9. Serve cold. Enjoy!
*Serve with fruit and/or bourbon-infused fruit if desired, and enjoy with a delicious cup of Muskoka Roastery Coffee.
> muskokaroastery.com 14 | THE BULLFROG BUZZ
Bullfrogs in Toronto get up close and personal with nature during a tour of Evergreen Brick Works.
Ric and Rose Richardson recently paid a visit to the Bullfrog office in Toronto! Ric Richardson accepted a Clean50 Award on behalf of the Northern Village of Green Lake and its newest solar project. (Ric is the mayor of Green Lake—flip to page 6 to read more!).
In June, Bullfrog launched its Downie Wenjack Fund Legacy Room, a project of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. The Fund’s goal is to continue the conversation about the legacy of residential schools, and help the healing process through a combination of awareness and education. Pictured left to right: Greg KIessling, co-founder, Bullfrog Power; Bear Standing Tall, Nehiyaw of Onion Lake Cree Nation; Ron Seftel, CEO, Bullfrog Power; and Mike Downie, co-founder, Downie-Wenjack Fund.
Bullfrog Power CEO Ron Seftel met with environmental pioneer Jane Goodall during the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Jane Goodall, renowned for her groundbreaking research of chimpanzees, is featured in the documentary, Jane. The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada is bullfrogpowered!
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Here are just a few of the many organizations that choose green energy with Bullfrog Power. Bullfrog Power thanks all of its customers for choosing green energy!
HELPING CANADA REDUCE ITS ECO-FOOTPRINT WITH SUGAR SHEET PAPER Did you know that the ancient Egyptians wrote on paper made from the papyrus plant as far back as 2500 B.C.? To meet the environmental goals of its clients, Vancouver’s Royal Printers have reinvented this process with Sugar Sheet paper: office and printing paper manufactured using the waste from sugar cane fibre. Sugar Sheet looks and performs to the same quality standards as paper made from trees without a premium cost. Sugar Sheet paper also helps consumers minimize their environmental impact: a 2017 TruCost life cycle assessment concluded that every two boxes of Sugar Sheet copy paper saves one tree and 68 kilograms of carbon emissions. > royalprinters.com
EXPLORE THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY WITH DELOITTE In its recent article, “Powering the Future of Mobility,” bullfrogpowered professional services firm Deloitte examines how we will mobilize ourselves in the future— from technological advances in automobiles to societal shifts in how our cities are built and run. According to Deloitte, technological advances in fields such as EV efficiency and smart city infrastructure will revolutionize the way businesses and citizens travel. For the full article, go to dupress.deloitte.com. > deloitte.com
COMMUNITY NATURAL FOODS CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY Calgary-based Community Natural Foods has been bullfrogpowered since 2009—and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in August with a retro-themed country market. Festivities included live music, seminars and local vendors and artisans. Since launching, Community Natural Foods has grown from one bulk food store to three grocery stores across Alberta, serving more than 20,000 customers every week. Congratulations! > communitynaturalfoods.com
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JUST US! TAKES ON COFFEE LEAF RUST AND SUPPORTS SOCIAL EQUALITY In 2013, a coffee leaf rust epidemic in Nicaragua devastated the crops of producer co-ops partnering with Just Us! Coffee Roasters. To help the recovery, Just Us! supported the increased cost of production stemming from the co-ops’ low yields, and used extra funds to help replant trees that died in the epidemic. This year’s crop will be the first to be harvested since the trees were replanted. “Just Us! began with social and environmental justice at its forefront, not coffee,” says General Manager Joey Pittoello. “In order to promote and maintain this goal, Just Us! uses coffee as a vehicle for that change.”
CRAFT BRINGS LOCALLY SOURCED FARE TO TORONTO Bullfrogpowered CRAFT Beer Market, founded in Calgary in 2011, just opened its newest location in downtown Toronto. CRAFT Toronto will feature more than 160 draught beers—the largest selection in Canada—along with a menu focused on dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
> justuscoffee.com
“There are great things happening with craft beer in Ontario and we look forward to being a part of the community and helping to grow the craft beer scene in Toronto,” says P.J. L’Heureux, President and Founder of CRAFT Beer Market. > craftbeermarket.ca
HELPING GREEN ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSIONS The printing profession is one of the oldest in the world—and according to bullfrogpowered Taylor Printing Group (which has offices in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, New Brunswick), the last 15 years of technological advancements have helped significantly reduce the environmental impact of printing. In addition to choosing Bullfrog Power, Taylor Printing Group uses responsibly sourced materials, vegetablebased inks and chemical-free processes—pushing the envelope (pun intended) for sustainable printing. > tpgi.ca
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green index
Bullfrog Power thanks all bullfrogpowered organizations for choosing clean, green energy. List current as of Nov. 14, 2017
VISIONARY
>40,000 MWh or >280,000 GJ or equivalent combination*
6 ON shopping centres (common areas), 2 AB shopping centres (35%), 1 N.S. shopping centre (50% of common areas), 1 B.C. office property (35%) and the Toronto regional office
Crown Royal Distillery in Gimli, MB and bottling and distillation in Valleyfield, QC
VANGUARD
Unilever Canada head office, all sales offices and 2 ON manufacturing sites
20,000 - 39,999 MWh or 140,000 - 279,999 GJ or equivalent combination*
99 branches in B.C., AB and ON and all facilities in N.S., N.B. and P.E.I.
AMBASSADOR
10,000 - 19,999 MWh or 70,000 - 139,999 GJ or equivalent combination*
541 Co-operators Financial Advisor offices across Canada, 4 Co-operators General Insurance Company offices in AB and N.B., the Co-operators Life Insurance Company office in SK, and The Sovereign General office in AB
EMISSARY
All Canadian ATMs (4,548) and in-branch digital displays (7,321)
MEC head office and Montreal office, B.C. and ON distribution facilities and 21 stores in B.C., AB, MB, ON, QC and N.S.
Entire operations, including Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
4 Copy & Print production centres and entire flyer printing operations and Staples Business Advantage head office and e-commerce web services
Shaw campus, Barlow Building and national distribution centre
OLG Casino Brantford (LEED), OLG Slots at Georgian Downs (LEED, 60%), digital signage and peripherals (ON), PlayOLG.ca and PlaySmart.ca websites
5,000 - 9,999 MWh or 35,000 - 69,999 GJ or equivalent combination*
Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change - Head office (135 St. Clair Ave. W.) and main lab facility
STEWARD
Munich Re Centre, Toronto, Munich Re of Canada, Vancouver Regional Office and Temple Insurance Canada, Calgary
Toronto office Calgary and Mississauga offices
Public common areas of KRP Properties - Greater Ottawa Region
1,000 - 4,999 MWh or 7,000 - 34,999 GJ or equivalent combination*
MOKSHA YOGA 21 ON, 6 B.C., 4 AB, 2 QC, 2 N.S., 1 SK, 1 MB, 1 PEI and 1 NL location 1 MB location 3 B.C., 2 ON and 1 MB locations
black + pantone 341
Investors Group Winnipeg head office and Mackenzie Investments Toronto (Simcoe St.) office A portion of businessrelated travel
Manulife Bank’s national network of more than 850 ABMs and Manulife’s Vancouver, GTA and Ottawa real estate offices and global headquarters (common employee amenities)
Brewery Two distribution trucks
black and Kitchener, Toronto Montreal offices gray
Square One Shopping Centre and Rideau Centre locations
Offices and all 40 chocolate shops
white
Toronto office Calgary and Ottawa offices
4 AB locations, 1 B.C. location, home office, distribution centre and entire EV charging network
Canadian manufacturing and distribution
Langley facility and Caldeon facility (50%)
Roastery and cafe
Calgary district office and yard, Building 5 and Ross Grieve Centennial Learning Centre at PCL’s North American headquarters
Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton offices never use green leaf with white or gray typo
N.S. branches & ATMs
Vancouver and Burnaby offices
All Canadian offices New mailing system installations
Western Canadian offices
never use with outline stroke
Common areas, food court and offices
25 Winnipeg stores
Kortright Centre for Conservation Restoration Services Centre (LEED) and head office
Winnipeg headquarters and six offices across Canada
Siemens Canada headquarters and Trench Limited Pickering offices
Mississauga printing facility
5 ON, 4 B.C. and 2 AB locations
Pickering store (LEED 50%)
National office
50%
partners HERALD
500 - 999 MWh or 3,500 - 6,999 GJ or equivalent combination*
The Lowe-Martin Group - Toronto production facility Upper Canada Forest Products - Offices in B.C., AB and ON Burnbrae Farms - Burnbrae Farms Free Run Omega 3 Eggs, Naturegg Simply Egg Whites and Nestlaid Eggs Christie Lites Burnaby, Calgary and Toronto offices Office Coffee Solutions/Mindful Snacks - All locations; Entire fleet Craft Beer Market - Beer operations D+H - 2 ON locations Hotel Blackfoot - Meeting rooms and executive floors Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada - London chapel and suites (LEED) Excel Homes - Homes under construction South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre TAS Your Credit Union Ricoh Canada - Distribution centre eBay Canada DCR Systems Group 50% of fleet Westin Harbour Castle - Lobby and Chartroom Bar Metro Toronto Convention Centre - Administrative offices and electronic signage Sodexo Canada Ltd. - Canadian offices and warehouse Environics Homes by Avi Whitewater Brewing Company Lakeside Brewpub Pete’s Fine Foods - Entire fleet KingSett Capital - Head office Pacific Gateway Hotel - Meeting spaces Crombie REIT - Parking garage lighting and EV charging stations in Scotia Square, Halifax Egg Farmers of Canada All listings are bullfrogpowered with green electricity only, unless otherwise indicated.
ELSE supports Haida Gwaii solar project Bullfrog helped support the launch of Haida Gwaii’s newest solar project in B.C. (see page 5)—but another partner supporting the Haida Gwaii project was ELSE Canada (Emerging Leaders in Solar Energy), a volunteer-driven not-for-profit made up of young professionals, students and solar advocates dedicated to building community-based solar. ELSE engages students and young professionals through networking opportunities and hands-on project opportunities—whether they are in Nepal, Nunavut or Ontario. ELSE worked with corporate sponsors to facilitate the donation of equipment and funds for the Haida Gwaii solar project, and plans to continue working with this community—and others—on future projects. > elsecanada.ca
Tides Canada collaborates with Bella Bella for environmental research Tides Canada is a national bullfrogpowered charity that supports more than 2,500 social and environmental initiatives across the country. One such initiative is a partnership with Qqs Projects Society, a nonprofit on the island of Bella Bella, B.C. The two organizations have collaborated on initiatives such as bear research, salmon monitoring and youth science outreach. Bullfrog is also partnering with Qqs to launch a solar project on the island.
indicates green natural gas purchase only, unless accompanied by another green energy purchase indicates a green fuel purchase only, unless accompanied by another green energy purchase indicates a purchase of both green electricity and other product(s) indicated
> tidescanada.org
*Green index tiers are based on annual financial commitment to green energy.
To view a full list of bullfrogpowered organizations, visit bullfrogpower.com/greenindex.
AND NOTEWORTHY Less Emissions is now the official offset provider of Air Canada Air travel is a wonderful benefit of modern life—but we all know it creates harmful emissions. Less Emissions, a Bullfrog Power Company, helps people and organizations mitigate their travel emissions quickly, effectively—and with the highest quality offsets in Canada. Less is now Air Canada's official offset provider. If you're booking flights with Air Canada online, watch for the option to offset your travel emissions with Less! > less.ca OFFICIAL OFFSET PROVIDER OF
a
Bruce Trail celebrates its 50th The bullfrogpowered Bruce Trail Conservancy celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Bruce Trail this year with a photo contest that attracted submissions from nature lovers across Ontario! Congratulations to Sonya Richmond, the winning photographer, and to the Conservancy for its impressive milestone in helping preserve Canada’s oldest marked footpath. Photo by Sonya Richmond
> brucetrail.org
company
THE BULLFROG BUZZ | 19
GREEN ENERGY news Could blockchain technology help modernize our power systems?
Global energy storage grows elevenfold
Renewable energy employed 9.8 million globally in 2016
As small-scale renewable energy sources (such as rooftop solar) become more affordable and widespread, discussion grows for a decentralized power grid—where both utilities and consumers produce and sell electricity. Blockchain, a relatively new digital technology that enables decentralized recording of transaction data between many parties, may enable this evolution of the grid and facilitate real-time energy trading.
The world has come a long way in growing and developing means to store excess power generated by sources such as wind and solar. In 2012, just 0.34 GW of energy storage was installed globally. As of 2017, 4 GW of storage has been installed—an elevenfold increase! The growing uptake of storage technology can be partially attributed to decreasing battery costs (read more in our Green Energy Guru story on page 13).
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the renewables sector employed nearly 10 million people worldwide last year. Solar photovoltaic generated the most jobs at 3.1 million, followed by liquid biofuels, hydroelectric and wind. Overall, jobs in renewable energy are up 1.1% since 2015, and the Agency estimates the figure could reach 24 million by 2030.
Canadian government opens Arctic research station The Canadian High Arctic Research Station, located in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, facilitates research on a variety of Arctic issues, including the impacts of climate change on nearby landscapes, waterways, animals and plants. Opened in October 2017, the Station includes a traditional knowledge centre, plant growth chamber and genomics lab.
China builds world’s largest floating solar installation 166,000 solar panels are now floating above a repurposed, artificially-flooded former coal mine in Huainan, China. According to a feature by TIME Magazine, the benefits of floating solar panels include: up to 10% increased efficiency due to lower temperatures; cleaner panels thanks to lack of dust and dirt around the installation; and the use of underutilized expanses of water on which to install them.
ABOUT BULLFROG
Canadian High Arctic Research Station campus
Bullfrog Power, Canada’s leading green energy provider, offers renewable energy solutions that enable individuals and businesses to reduce their environmental impact, support the development of green energy projects in Canada and help create a cleaner, healthier world. As a Certified B Corporation, Bullfrog Power meets higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Thousands of individuals and businesses in Canada are doing their part to address climate change and air pollution by choosing green energy with Bullfrog Power. Sign up easily, quickly and affordably at bullfrogpower.com.
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[email protected] and let us know. Thanks!
the bullfrog buzz Bullfrog Power Inc. Vancouver 134 Abbott Street, Suite 304, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2K4 Calgary 1206 20 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB T2G 1M8 Toronto 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 701, Toronto, ON M5V 1R9 Ottawa 428 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 0R8 Halifax 1883 Upper Water Street, Suite CB202, Halifax, N.S. B3J 1S9
bullfrogpower.com
[email protected] 1.877.360.3464
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