Delivering Climate Change Commitments- How Campuses and Developments do it
Event Information
About this Event
Presentation Abstract
The urban environment is a significant contributor to climate change but it is also increasingly experiencing the effects of a changing climate. As the population grows and continues to urbanize there is more pressure on urban centers to accommodate new development but also to adapt to the changing climate. Governments and the private sector have developed policies and targets to respond to these challenges with many adopting targets of carbon neutrality by 2050.
This talk focuses on how large scale developments such as campuses, new communities and infill developments are responding to these targets and the changes that are being made and need to be made to our infrastructure and buildings to meet these targets and changes.
The talk will explore case studies including the University of Toronto’s plan for meeting its goal of carbon neutrality, discussing the changes that need to happen to historic buildings, centralized energy systems and integration of new technologies. The talk will discuss the process, technical evaluations, business case development and preferred options. The talk will also review how this process can be used in other climates and contexts including Cairo and public housing in New York.
Speaker Bio
Cameron Thomson is Arup’s global technical sustainability leader. He is also an Associate Principal in Arup’s New York office and leads its Energy and Sustainability team.
With over 19 years of experience he works on projects across the scale of the built environment developing sustainability and resiliency approaches for buildings, major infrastructure, community plans and corporate governance projects. Cameron is focused on the intersection between human centered design, resource efficiency and technology to deliver scalable solutions across the City spectrum.
He is currently working on projects ranging from net positive retail stores, net zero University campus plans and Climate Action Plans for various North American cities.
He has worked with Waterfront Toronto for over 10 years evaluating their sustainability approaches, the University of Toronto and several district energy projects in the GTA.
