A growing topic in modern PPE use and design is ensuring that equipment matches the physical attributes of a diversifying workforce.

Robin Skillings, writing for OHS Canada magazine, purports that Canada is in the middle of a serious skilled trades shortage, a sentiment echoed by many employers and industry leaders today across a breadth of environments and locations. Exacerbating the issue, more than 250,000 Canadians are expected to enter retirement soon. These trends mean that more gender diversity will be seen in previously male-dominated industries and these recruits will be seen as assets while the old guard exits workplaces.

A report for REMI Network, a self-described “news and information source servicing the real estate management industry,” outlines that business sectors historically dominated by men, such as construction and other such trades, are seeing an increase in gender diversity. “Around 170,000 females, twenty-five percent of those in the industry, are employed in hands-on roles [in these sectors],” the report states. It notes that the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) fears that women entering these industries may find their PPE to be either uncomfortable or ill-fitting, which will mean that it cannot protect them to the extent that it should.

Skillings’ piece cites a 2016 study for the American Journal of Industrial Medicine which, much like the REMI Network report, found that “a majority of female construction workers reported fit problems with many types of PPE including gloves, harnesses, safety vests, and work boots.”

Steps are being taken by PPE outfitters to consider these factors when designing workplace equipment. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blog post puts forth that truly equitable PPE “considers workers’ gender, race, age, shape, and size,” as well as factors like disability, occupational settings, and more.

In an article for occupational safety and health magazine EHS Today, Sayanti Basu reports that proper fit and comfort will ensure PPE is more widely adopted in trades and workplaces. “Incorporating flexible materials into mask production such as thermoplastic elastomers creates a final product that is soft to the touch and can stretch to fit different people.” This in turn minimizes discomfort. Basu also states that lightweight material can also aid in building higher filtration in breathing masks so that workers in trades where this protection is necessary can mitigate the build-up of carcinogens and heat in the material. Improvements like these go hand in hand with the notion that equitable PPE considers the bodies of all workers.

As part of its mandate to conduct research and recommend measures to prevent work-related injury and illness, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) looks at anthropometry, the study of the human body’s measurements and proportions, and how it relates to PPE. “It is important that anthropometry databases and other information used to develop PPE are based on measurements that are representative of current working populations,” the CDC blog post writes. Research by NIOSH has helped equipment manufacturers design PPE to provide better fit and comfort to today’s workforce.

NIOSH even goes a step further by holding competitions like ‘The NIOSH Protective Clothing Challenge,’ which takes submissions from workers and organizations industry-wide on solutions that “consider the broad spectrum of U.S. workers in relation to factors that may influence fit such as body size and shape, gender, race, ethnicity, religious or cultural practices, or specific work tasks.” For example, the 2022 competition yielded a top submission that created a self-conforming PPE gown with a contamination indicator. The gown is designed to fit a broad range of body types.

Progress extends beyond making equipment more comfortable or person-appropriate; in fact, future advancements will look to bring even more interesting and impressive improvements to what we currently think of as PPE. In a piece for Build Magazine, Evelyn Long highlights new moves in the field like investments in exosuits, wearable robotics that aim to prevent on-site injury to workers’ bodies by enhancing physical capabilities. Now in the early stages of adoption, exosuits reduce physical exertion significantly, supporting workers’ arms, shoulders, legs, and backs and allowing them to work under less physical strain and with potentially increased ability in lifting, weight management, and more.

Some exosuit technologies even sport built-in sensors that warn a user of an increased heart rate, temperature changes, machine overheating, and more. These come in the form of smart technology helmets, augmented reality (AR) glasses, or footwear with GPS technology.

Martin Banks for technology media site TechAeris reports that these are connected by the Internet of Things, which is increasingly becoming part of the modern workplace. IoT connectivity in PPE could allow for real-time updating of a worker’s condition and state of the equipment, allowing for dynamic problem-solving and avoidance of large-scale issues.

As exciting as these improvements in PPE technology are, Evelyn Long says that, while this segment of the industry is growing, this kind of equipment is expensive, especially in mass quantities and considering the economic fluctuations post-pandemic. Other innovations are not technologically advanced or expensive but face the issue of sustainability.

In his writing for TechAeris, Martin Banks says that disposable PPE is becoming common in modern companies. “While these are often affordable and convenient, they’re starting to fall out of fashion as environmental concerns rise.” This has led to a rise in biodegradable PPE, equipment made from material that can naturally break down as opposed to that made of plastic. The use of biodegradable materials allows companies to reduce their environmental footprint which can, in turn, be used as a marketing tool, as more consumers demand environmentally friendly solutions. These also have lower disposal costs. New PPE does not always have to do with technological leaps as much as the smarter use of available and recommended materials.

Sustainability, equity, and reducing the physical tolls on workers are issues that are as important to employees and labourers as they are for the creators of the PPE technology that looks to support them. As many countries seek to counter an ongoing labour shortage, focusing on how to best accommodate workers and keep them safe can be a way to tackle the problem. Just as workplace demographics are evolving, so too is public understanding of how cleanliness, greener initiatives, and comfort can affect a workplace. PPE must adapt along with it so that the challenges of today can lead to the better workplaces of tomorrow.

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Clean energy developer Grasshopper Energy Corporation currently owns over $1 billion of assets across Canada, the United States, and Japan, with a development pipeline of $6.5 billion. The company is actively developing projects in core solar markets throughout these countries and is continuing expansion into targeted markets like Brazil, Italy, Vietnam, and Australia.

The company has developed, constructed, and managed over 4000 solar residential projects and 200 commercial projects in Ontario alone, effectively employing thousands of people without relying on government assistance to fund its operations.

Grasshopper Energy was founded in 2007 by Azeem M. Qureshi, a mechatronics and artificial intelligence specialist who previously advised Fortune 500 companies on how to optimize their business process management. Over time, he noted increasing interest in corporate social responsibility in the industry but felt that companies were treating the concept as a trendy, inconsequential part of their business, instead of an integral aspect of their operations. Quershi decided, upon leaving this advisory position, to form Grasshopper, a company that would embrace corporate social responsibility at a fundamental level.

The initial vision for the company, Quershi says, was to “take the complicated patchwork of sustainability incentives that were being offered at the time by federal, provincial, and local governments, and ensure they were conveniently and efficiently delivered to the public.” Grasshopper also performed energy audits for the Canadian National Railway and in the residential sector, where the company would evaluate a building’s overall efficiency and suggest ideas of how to make it greener.

Over time, Grasshopper’s business shifted its focus to developing solar projects at both the micro and macro levels. The company sought to set itself apart from others in the sector by offering a unique combination of expertise in the
technological, regulatory, and finance aspects of solar development. Grasshopper’s Senior Vice President of Global Government Relations Tudor Ulianovschi asserts that, “Our ultimate goal is to accelerate the fight against climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of companies around the globe, and Grasshopper has been incredibly successful in that regard.”

In the last year, Grasshopper has joined the Ontario Energy Council and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) – the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. The company has also invested in a large portfolio of solar projects throughout Pennsylvania.

Ulianovschi proudly touts the company’s work with the United Nations and the organization’s commitment to sustainable energy. Following the UN’s ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ which set 17 interlinked global goals to address some of the world’s most pressing issues – chief among them climate change – Grasshopper has committed to helping the world fully implement these international climate commitments.

“In Canada and abroad, public support for clean energy is higher than it has ever been and continues to grow,” says Ulianovschi. As of April 2020, nearly 1,500 jurisdictions in 29 countries have issued declarations of climate emergency, many of which include plans and targets for more renewable energy-based systems.

Clean energy is also more cost-effective than it has ever been, as wind and solar energy prices are comparable with conventional sources of electricity generation, and wind energy is now Canada’s lowest-cost source of new generating capacity. Ulianovschi observes that the cost of generating power from solar power has fallen by 90 percent since 2010, and the prices of onshore wind and solar are now even with gas power and cheaper than coal and nuclear power.

“Canada is undergoing a fundamental transition in how it generates, manages, and uses energy,” Ulianovschi says, and the rest of the world is starting to follow suit thanks to the work of Grasshopper and other companies in the sustainable energy sector. “If the average person cannot afford clean energy, we will not be able to put [these programs] into action, no matter how good it is for the environment. Because of this reality, at Grasshopper, it is important to us to take the products in the marketplace… and using our technological, financing, and regulatory expertise, deliver an elegant and cost-effective solution to various consumers.”

Grasshopper has also been at the forefront of several initiatives in its local community. In 2019, the company invested over $100 million into the Ontario economy via its renewable
infrastructure projects, providing opportunities to more than 5,000 workers with a strong emphasis on employing female and minority workers.

The company has also flexed its philanthropic muscle with regular donations to organizations like The War Amps and local food banks. In 2020, Grasshopper contributed over $50,000 to the Mississauga Food Bank and donated more than 10,000 surgical masks and additional COVID-19 protective equipment to local Ontario hospitals.

Now, in the coming weeks, Grasshopper Energy will be dispersing an aggregate total of $368,000 in annual rent payments to 1,070 residential partners in Ontario who, under the MicroFIT program, partnered with the company in 2015 to outfit their homes with solar panels. Since 2015, the solar panels installed through these residential partnerships have generated 114,139,161 kWh of clean, carbon-free electricity. This is the equivalent of offsetting the CO₂ emissions generated from the electricity use of 13,663 homes in a year.

Ulianovschi considers the company’s biggest challenge to be that people from all walks of life do not understand the gravity of the climate change crisis, and unremitting debate on the matter leads to unproductive divisiveness. “Most of the other challenges we face as a company or as a sector tend to
precipitate from that root cause,” he explains.

A hostile stance in any given region to fighting climate change tends to choke potential capital for sustainable energy measures and drive it to more climate-friendly markets. This leads to price increases for clean solutions and low adoption rates in those markets, slowing or preventing volume pricing from ever being achieved. “All of us, including the clean energy sector, our partners in government, the media, and elsewhere must do more to educate people about climate change,” Ulianovschi emphasizes.

He knows that the message must be conveyed to reach even the harshest sceptics. This means that the shift to clean energy must not be put forth as an extreme, overnight proposition. Clean energy proponents must highlight how powerful clean energy can be in creating jobs and driving economic growth, to naturally sway lead manufacturers and providers away from fossil fuel dependence.

As 2021 begins, Grasshopper will deploy more clean energy assets around the world. Ulianovschi sees South America as a market for serious consideration where the company intends to “put shovels in the ground,” as he puts it. Grasshopper plans to continue raising capital for further development while increasing education about climate change. Additionally, the company will continue to advocate for clean energy on the global stage, working with international bodies like the UN to further educate about the climate crisis and “to accelerate the development of a sustainable world” – the company’s vision statement.

“In 2021, we are focused on business development, community
engagement…exploring different clean energy technologies, like batteries, storage, and [electric vehicle] charging,” Ulianovschi says of carbon reduction technologies.

The company has received multiple national industry awards for its ongoing efforts, including being recognized as the solar innovator of the year, project finance innovator of the year, and solar developer of the year by the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CSIA). But the Grasshopper Energy team is trying to achieve much more than acknowledgment; they understand that climate change is the defining issue of our time. Grasshopper’s goals for the industry are as vast as its global reach, and its entire team remains motivated to provide a more sustainable world and a greener future for all.

“Climate change impacts our communities, planet, children, and future generations. We are doing this for the well-being of our local and global community,” states Ulianovschi.

The post A World Leader in Sustainable Energy Solutions<p class="company">Grasshopper Energy Corporation</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

However, what is sometimes less focused on is that there are many solutions to energy production and distribution today that suggest a promising future for sustainable energy. Let’s look at two developments in renewable energy that can provide a spark of hope as the new decade rolls on.

Solar energy has been at the forefront of sustainability initiatives for decades and is still one of the most widely known energy alternatives. The SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) reports that solar energy has grown by an average of 33 percent per year in the last ten years, assisted by a 60 percent decline in price in that time and rising demand for clean energy options.

“There are now more than 135 gigawatts of solar capacity installed nationwide, enough to power 23 million homes,” the report claims. On top of that, some of the most interesting developments in the solar space concern “Solar 3.0,” an advance in solar technology that may make it even more attractive.

The promise of Perovskites
Solar 3.0 primarily deals with the use of the mineral perovskite, which is used in one of the two types of solar cells currently in use. Some cells are silicon-based, the type used in most solar panelling. Cells using perovskites are of a thinner film, generally more flexible and versatile than the silicon alternative.

As a bonus, perovskite cells are cheaper and easier to manufacture, while, at this stage, improving on the current technology’s sunlight-to-power conversion by up to 25 percent. Perovskite is globally abundant, occurring naturally in many places.

Perovskite solar cells are at the forefront of some of the most interesting solar technology advancements currently in development.

For example, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has developed solar paint that generates energy from water vapour. The paint absorbs moisture in the air, breaking down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen to generate energy. This can allow solar energy to be spread across a larger and more diverse surface area than through panelling.

In addition, researchers at the University of Toronto have developed quantum dots, or photovoltaic paint, which are nanoscale semiconductors that capture light and turn it into an electrical current. These seem to be cheaper to manufacture than some other alternatives while also being considerably more efficient than traditional solar cells.

One other such invention is spray-on solar cells, which were developed in 2014 at the University of Sheffield and are more akin to spray paint.

Supply chain pain
Solar 3.0 presents some exciting opportunities for the solar market, but it is running into familiar problems in today’s market. SEIA says that recent developments in Solar 3.0 have been hampered by worldwide shipping and supply chain shortages and constraints. These have come about as a lingering aftershock of the COVID pandemic and have led to price increases across the solar industry (about a seven percent increase in 2022 over the previous year).

As always, the adoption of new forms of energy requires considerable investment in development and making it sustainable. Additionally, perovskites themselves are lead-based, which is a substance with potential negative environmental consequences. Engineers in the solar space will have to find a way to use perovskites that does not rely on lead, or at least, negate the effects of the toxic elements within it.

Another trade-off in using perovskites is that the material is not as stable inside the cell and can decompose at higher temperatures. The longevity of these is also not known at this time; given their sensitivity to moisture, oxygen, and heat, they would need to have more protection to last longer (a potential production cost increase).

Harnessing AI
Outside of specific spaces in the renewable energy industry, an emerging global phenomenon could be a way to advance renewable initiatives across the board. Artificial intelligence continues to gain traction in many consumer-facing spaces, and renewable energy seems to be another area in which AI is looking to make a significant impact.

In a piece for EY, Thierry Mortier observes that adding AI and sensor technology to solar and wind energy generation can allow systems to predict capacity levels in tandem with advancements in automation.

“Before harnessing AI, most forecasting techniques relied on individual weather models that offered a narrow view of the variables that affect the availability of renewable energy,” Mortier writes. “Now, AI programs have been developed—such as IBM’s program for the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative—which combine self-learning weather models, datasets of historical weather data, real-time measurement from local weather stations, sensor networks, and cloud information derived from satellite imagery and sky cameras.” This has led to improvements in solar forecasting accuracy.

Mortier continues by adding that AI can allow more optimal use of power grids by adapting operations to weather conditions. This can increase the reliability of sustainable power systems and add greater resilience.

The potential for AI in renewable energy is gradually being embraced by those working on it. In an article for RatedPower, Meyer Montagner cites a survey of over 100 workers in the renewable energy sector, saying that 90 percent of them feel their jobs would benefit from some form of digitalization and automation.

Two types of assist
There are two types of aid that AI can provide in these sectors: Automated decision-making and aided decision-making. “Automated decision-making involves computer systems processing information without human intervention,” meaning that more complex tasks (such as preventative maintenance in a solar plant) can be handled by machines.

By contrast, aided decision-making leaves the ultimate decision up to human intervention, with an AI “providing insights that enrich the process.” This still allows for the use of human knowledge and experience while allowing AI to do more intricate calculations that would take too much work or consideration from humans.

AI may also be able to help with the development of solar energy. The World Future Energy Summit notes that solar panel creation still relies on fossil fuel-generated power; however, the use of AI will allow for greater experimentation into and development of new materials suitable for panel creation.

The true potential of artificial intelligence in various markets has yet to be completely understood. In a piece for the World Economic Forum, Emmanuel Lagarrigue observes that all bodies and powers involved in the advancement of renewable energy will need to decide what their respective roles will be, including deciding whether to incorporate AI software into their operations, or simply become software companies outright.

This also means that customer data and privacy will become even more important, as this is already a concern with AI systems and automation. “National and local governments also will have to both accelerate and rethink their approaches to infrastructure spending and energy generation and transmission infrastructure in particular.”

Precedence Research reports that the global artificial intelligence in renewable energy market size will surpass USD 75.82 billion by 2030. Thierry Mortier sees that, as with many automated systems, an AI-based sustainable power grid is still prone to cyber-attacks, although the likelihood of a large-scale attack is probably small.

As well, AI is in a nascent phase of its development across multiple fields and has been seen in online spaces with less-than-perfect AI artwork, a consequence of these systems still being sensitive to poor data. “It is critical,” Mortier continues, “that data is taken and made machine-readable, so that [the data] is quality in, quality out.”

Hope, and even optimism
There will likely never be a magic solution to the environmental woes that we are facing as a species today, but there is still cause for hope and even optimism in the ways that the renewable energy space is working to make new energy ventures a reality.

As long as research continues into newer ventures like those in the solar energy and artificial intelligence markets, renewable energy experts may draw closer to the most feasible and effective solutions that can benefit the Earth and keep it going for a long, long time.

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In Alberta, aquaponics research began in 1994, when the association started its first experiments in growing fish and underwater crops under the guidance of then-President Mark McNaughton. Dr. Nick Savidov, a senior research scientist at Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Alberta, credits the association with enabling him and others to engage in aquaponics projects over the years. Dr. Savidov’s aquaponics project at the college began in 2015 at the behest of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. At that time, he occupied the head position of the greenhouse research program with the Alberta Agriculture department.

The department was given the task of running projects in aquaponics, especially using fish water to grow vegetables, and so got involved with provincial aquaculture specialist Eric Hutchings, who played a great role in establishing the association itself.

“Eric believed that… aquaponics was a technology… which was viable both technically and economically,” Dr. Savidov recalls. In his experience, the association played the role of initiator into the research like what he and Hutchings were doing, and it is still considered an important player in aquaculture and aquaponics development.

Dr. Savidov cites the triploid grass carp project at Lethbridge College from the ‘90s through 2015 as one of the association’s most notable projects in its early years. It undertook the project with the partnership of the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (ACE), which itself is part of the Integrated Agriculture Technology Centre at Lethbridge College. The project was intended to supply the industry with sterile grass carp to control aquatic vegetation in irrigation channels and dugouts.

Dr. Savidov mentions Clay Boyes as another important figure in the association, as his involvement in the industry led to constructing an aquaculture system to start grass carp and developing Lethbridge as an important industry resource. Another key figure is John Derksen who, along with Boyes, became a major resource for the association by providing important species information through close work with aquaculture specialists like Eric Hutchings, who was later succeeded by Dan Watson in this position.

Lethbridge College’s ACE and Alberta Agriculture worked together with the Alberta Aquaculture Association to tackle problems in aquaculture. They worked to bring new fish species into the local ecosystem by building an isolation / quarantine facility for incoming species to be successfully introduced. This centre was the first of its kind in Alberta and continues to be a great help to the industry, spearheaded by the association.

Recent years have seen more impressive projects being undertaken in Alberta. In 2015, Lethbridge College received a $2 million grant to push research to the next level with Dr. Savidov’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada aquaponics project. NSERC also funded another project with support from the association, which resulted in developing carbon-based-filtration systems to aid the aquaculture industry in improving water treatment technology.

Dr. Savidov names Dr. James Rakocy of the University of the Virgin Islands as both “the godfather of modern aquaponics,” and a key figure in helping to build the first research aquaponics facility in 2002. This facility was the first in the world to add an innovative reactor technology that can revolutionize waste treatment across multiple industries. The research centre in Brooks, Alberta has also produced the first zero-waste aquaculture system in the world, which is also the first zero-waste food production system.

“Canada has led the way in these developments on a global scale,” Dr. Savidov notes. He feels that the aquaculture industry is facing many challenges as well as many opportunities and admits that so much more is known about fish farming now than was known even a decade ago thanks to the vision and strides made during the lifetime of the Alberta Aquaculture Association.

An ongoing challenge is supply, as fish populations are beginning to vanish, resulting in a greater need for fish farming to provide a valuable protein source to North America. Dr. Savidov lists two ways one can fish, by using net pens in a natural reservoir like a lake or an ocean, or using recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which allows for higher density fish catches and does not have limitations on catches produced. Each comes with unique drawbacks, however.

For net pens, there is still an element of pollution as the fish produce waste after they are fed, so some provincial governments across Canada are beginning to put limits on industry expansion by decreasing net pen operation numbers, and this has been a big change in the Canadian aquaculture industry. Although net pens are cheaper to build and operate, the restrictions they are facing make them not ideal.

With RAS, a self-sufficient system can be created with less environmental impact. In these fish production systems fish are produced in separate tanks or raceways and the water is predominantly recycled through the system, having reduced interaction with the natural environment; however, these RAS are far more expensive to build and operate then net pens.

The Alberta Aquaculture Association is very interested in keeping the aquaculture industry alive but acknowledges that there are feasibility issues for both incoming and continuing fish farmers and industry workers. “We are facing a dilemma [with] how we can expand our aquaculture industry,” Dr. Savidov shares, but a potential solution lies in what is called integrated production systems, like aquaponics.

To help offset the cost of a system like RAS, an integrated production system would include other revenue sources for farmers, like producing vegetables through hydroponics that can be sold along with fish and related products. This is a possible answer to help improve the economic feasibility of modern fish farms, an answer that the association has been keeping atop since the early 2000s.

Looking ahead, Dr. Savidov foresees more innovative technologies which will hopefully allow fish to grow with less risk of pollution. “The industry has to adopt these technologies in order to be more sustainable,” he stresses.

He also feels that changing the profile and perception of the industry is important, and this can be achieved by integrating operations and making them more economically efficient for farmers. This trend is already being adopted in Alberta as well as in other provinces like Ontario.

Several big companies involved in fisheries are also interested in this and are becoming more convinced of the benefits of the method. Agriculture, as a whole, is struggling to produce food sustainably, to the point where “we are living at the expense of future generations as it relies mostly on synthetic fertilizers produced using finite resources, such as fossil fuels and rock deposits,” as Dr. Savidov puts it. The recycling of resources such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, is fast becoming mandatory, which is why aquaculture is using hydroponics to recycle water and nutrients, enabling a more sustainable practice.

The price of fish will likely increase for consumers in the short term, but he points out that it still takes less water to produce fish to eat than red meat, and the fishing industry will be much more sustainable in the future. Throughout the challenges to come, the Alberta Aquaculture Association will continue to stress innovation and development to benefit the aquaculture and aquaponics sectors it has been aiding for nearly thirty years.

The post Aquaponics Solutions for a Better Fishery Industry<p class="company">Alberta Aquaculture Association</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Smith explains that there are key differences between aquaculture and fisheries. Whereas fishing is a large industry represented by ocean-caught fish and other seafood, aquaculture has to do with the practice of sea farming. This involves the raising of fish crops from egg to plate, much like a terrestrial farmer. Most farms in the province are family-run businesses and based in rural and coastal communities, to which the association strives to provide assistance in as many ways as possible.

The association provides industry support and advocacy, mostly through working with local and provincial governments as well as the aquaculture sector on regulations and a regulatory framework that serve to move the industry forward. As an example of this, he recounts that this includes attending community meetings about new farms being established throughout Nova Scotia. The association will regularly help with these types of meetings as well as getting out into communities and building public trust and social license around the province.

The AANS also runs many programs on behalf of both the industry and its members. The association has worked with the Atlantic Fisheries Fund to manage a financial assistance program for shellfish farmers. Using this, sea farmers can look to the AANS for funding support for expanding their businesses, infrastructure needs, and new technology developments.

The association also works with outreach projects like the recently completed, third annual Atlantic Canadian Oyster Export Café in New York City. Events like this help to introduce Atlantic oyster farmers to buyers, distributors, and restaurateurs on the eastern seaboard, a highly profitable market for sea farmers.

The aquaculture industry is no stranger to sweeping changes. In Nova Scotia, 2016 to 2017 was a time of major development, according to Smith, as a new regulatory framework for responsible and sustainable development of the province’s agriculture industry was introduced. The association works with its members to understand how these regulations impact aquaculture in Nova Scotia. The AANS also looks to provide advice on improvements that can be suggested to make the regulatory framework more efficient.

One way it supports this is through involved training programs that help farmers establish a farm management plan, which is a regulatory requirement in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia farms now also require security bonds to protect against any business that shuts down and leaves behind ‘ghost gear,’ as unused farming equipment is known. The AANS has developed a program to support this requirement.

The association now offers a fund to clean up this gear. “We don’t want aquaculture to be the cause of any problems related to debris on coastal communities,” Smith says. These ongoing projects are of great importance, and work is continuing with both government and association members to work with local communities on this program as well as develop community beach clean-ups.

He notes that getting applications through the new regulatory framework is a time-consuming and detailed process, with work still being done to process applications more quickly. Resource-based industries such as aquaculture are experiencing challenges in access to labour, which concerns the association. Association members want to get the aquaculture message out to a wider population with attention paid to young people, visible minorities, and women. Aquaculture “is no longer low-paying manual labour jobs,” Smith assures. “These are good, high-paying jobs for farm managers and workers, researchers, biologists, and technicians.”

To aid this, the association launched a program in 2021 with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration to encourage new entrants to the industry and to have them stay in the province. The pandemic has also had a significant effect on the aquaculture sector due to restaurants and retail stores scaling back and decreased sales of seafood products outside of Nova Scotia. Smith reports that the industry seems to be coming out the other side with incredibly strong business; in fact, there is now a pent-up demand for good quality seafood farmed in the province. “We need more product in the water and access to new leases and expansions,” which is a key driver of recent initiatives within the sector, he says.

Those within the association are excited about where the aquaculture industry is headed, as it has grown from a roughly $55 million industry circa 2017 to an over $100 million industry some five years later. Smith notes that there are 146 active aquaculture leases active in the province currently, with more than 57 applications for new leases and expansion in development. There is a great deal of interest in investing in Nova Scotia and expanding the aquaculture industry. He mentions an exciting research project in Cape Breton that is examining growing sugar kelp on shellfish lines, a move that will look to increase biomass on these lines. The cultivated seaweed industry is still emerging, and he feels it will be important for aquaculture developments.

The association’s plans illustrate the kind of work the aquaculture industry is most focused on in 2022. First, further efforts will be made in devising a plan to engage Nova Scotians in what aquaculture means from the standpoint of attracting and retaining labour. Smith cites a recently conducted public opinion poll in December 2021 which indicates that residents of the province strongly favour both the aquaculture industry and the provincial government supporting the industry, recognizing the economic and social impact of the industry, especially for rural and coastal communities.

The association is developing strategies to highlight farmed seafood in the marketplace, as polling shows that not all people understand the different products farmed in the province. To change this, the association will be launching a campaign to identify the products and companies that farm seafood products in the province.

The AANS will also be working with the Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture to produce the 2022 Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries/Sea Farmers Conference this coming October 12 and 13, which will be held in person this year in Halifax. Speakers will be invited to speak about aquaculture and fishery development around the world, highlighting the importance that the seafood sector has for Nova Scotia’s future.

Smith sees nothing but growth on the horizon for an industry that has come to be recognized as a vital part of the region. “The opportunity for sea farming in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada is extremely strong. The opportunities going forward… will yield continued sector growth.” The Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia will continue to help sea farmers in Nova Scotia through strong program development and mentor initiatives to support the growth they believe is building in Nova Scotia.

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Blue Flame Crew was founded in the spring of 2013 when founder and President Tim Boos contacted several people in the industry whom he had worked with over the years so that they could come together professionally under a unified banner. Boos and the five men who would become his associates as Blue Flame Crew had enjoyed working with each other in the past and sought to build a company to pool their business knowledge of the gas sector.

Today, the business operates from a corporate office in Naperville, Illinois, with further field offices and centers in locations like North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, and California. Its services range from landfill and natural gas to syngas (a synthesis gas fuel mixture) operations. When it comes to what the company specializes in and its strengths as a gas systems provider, Vice President of Construction Dan Sawyer counters with a question: “What don’t we do?”

The name of the business has come to define the operations of Blue Flame Crew, as it particularly deals with the burning of landfill gas. As such, it does practically everything there is to do with landfill gas systems with attention paid toward combustion systems like flare systems and compressors.

Its focus and qualifications have always been suited best to those with an electrical background, Sawyer adds, as the original team were mostly electricians, and the first few jobs of the Blue Flame Crew had to do with the electrical end of gas combustion and control systems. From there, the company has grown and expanded into pipework with gas and leachate collection, pumps, and controls. Its strong hand with control electricians has also allowed it to venture into telemetry systems, remote monitoring, and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, the latter of which are software systems that control industrial processes. These and other processes like sandblasting or emergency repairs make up the vast catalogue of services that Blue Flame Crew has excelled in offering for nearly a decade now.

In the past few years, the company has signed several master service agreements with major waste companies in America, which has brought in much work for the business. Although Sawyer admits that waste companies can be hard to initially enter into business with for various reasons, being able to do so successfully will afford Blue Flame Crew bigger projects and contracts with more waste companies in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially affected how the company proceeds with its work, as it brought complications with the normal bidding process, as well as in dealing with project managers and clients. Sawyer chuckles that it has also led to far more Zoom meetings in the past two years. Thankfully, the company’s work was a necessity during the pandemic, as there is always a need for implementing and maintaining environmental control systems.

He also touts the hard-nosed nature of the company workforce as a consistent advantage and notes that the business very rarely had to make allowances for COVID-related pauses in work. “Our guys are very tough; they worked through stuff,” while keeping their distance in the workplace, Sawyer remembers. The company came out of the worst of the pandemic all the better.

Sawyer defines the company’s approach to safety as one that is steeped in tradition, involving employees through in-house safety training and regular refresher courses. These include the intensive Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standards training and other Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) certifications. Employees also undergo periodic training for specific tasks that need building up, as well as online training, daily tailgate safety meetings, and even company-wide newsletters on safety topics. The company keeps an experience modification rating (EMR) of 0.85 and is firmly dedicated to keeping its workers as safe as possible.

Having had a variety of experiences working across the industry, Sawyer says that the inherent excitement of working for an emergent company like this is a reason why people in the trades should be considering it for career opportunities. There are many chances for growth, especially for a company that started with only a few positions.

Blue Flame Crew is always seeking new incentives to offer its workforce, especially ones that appeal to younger workers. One of these incentives that Sawyer mentions is tuition reimbursement, to promote continuing education among employees and even help them pay back student loans.

Similarly, the company is focused on building great relationships with its clients through maintaining its workflows, as well as through one-and-done projects. These relationships often involve a degree of brutal honesty, which Sawyer highlights as a big part of any lasting relationship, as is not taking on more than one can handle. Company higher-ups are also always open to the opinions of the workforce and those in its inner circle, extending the desire for honesty inward.

“We look to our younger project managers to throw out ideas [and] think outside the box on solutions,” he affirms. This is especially important as, according to Sawyer, it can be easy in an industry like this to be stuck in one’s ways and less open to outside views, even ones that can benefit the business. If Blue Flame Crew employees are dedicated to serving the company’s client base and put themselves forward as dependable and forthright, they will likely be a good fit for the organization and have their voices heard.

Sawyer and company management are beginning to observe supply chain problems around the industry coming into play lately, particularly lengthening lead times. As everything in the company is made up of parts, missing or delaying even one can mean a hold-up in processes. Transportation issues have also cropped up because of this and a lack of drivers and rising fuel costs, but these are challenges not at all new to the company, and there is still a great feeling of confidence internally.

Sawyer feels everything in the sector is moving forward well right now. “We’ve seen recessions [but] it takes quite a bit to see a dip in the work that we’ve done.” Projects are waiting in the pipeline as there is still a great need for the exceptional services that Blue Flame Crew has always provided.

Blue Flame Crew is always focused on client satisfaction, its main goal since it began ten years ago. “We want to do work better than the other guys and put out a better product,” Sawyer states. The company will always be chasing steady and controlled growth, taking on just the right amount to push itself to the next level. This will be in tandem with keeping eyes out for the next opportunity and another fresh face to add to the team. Now that the effects of the pandemic have begun to settle, the road ahead seems steady for Blue Flame Crew and its dedicated group of workers.

The post “What Don’t We Do?” This Crew Celebrates Continued Success<p class="company">Blue Flame Crew, LLC</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

During that time, a number of innovations and technology solutions were developed, but this was nonetheless a hard time for the sector, and many solutions faced difficulty being adopted and integrated into mining. Vice President of Business Development and Commercialization Charles Nyabeze feels that there are commercialization service gaps faced by these technologies, as they are translated from a service into a commodity or product of use to the industry. These gaps vary but they have challenges in common, such as a lack of access to capital or a support network that can move the innovation forward.

As Nyabeze says, “It takes an ecosystem to raise up an innovation,” so MICA was created to support such an ecosystem and help close solutions gaps. In its earlier days, the initiative made a case with the government of Canada that, through its investment in MICA, the mining innovation ecosystem could be utilized to create a national network of innovators collaborating to move innovations forward in a meaningful way. This relates to its goal to mobilize Canadian-made technologies, so they can be integrated into mining operations on a local, national, and global level, thereby creating more marketing opportunities for Canadian solutions.

Since last year, MICA has successfully secured six cross-country partners, all of which have been carrying out various network development activities in their areas and working to recruit more members into MICA. These six partners include the Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining in British Columbia, InnoTech Alberta, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, MaRS Discovery District in Ontario, Groupe MISA in Quebec, and College of the North Atlantic in Newfoundland.

MICA now sports close to one hundred members spread across various mining companies, educational institutions, and individual members. It has also gained about one hundred and six technology projects, and eighty-one applications have been submitted for the project application process. The initiative is also engaging in various market activities, including international opportunities, and creating pathways for emerging solutions in Canada to reach the global market.

Nyabeze cites conferences like Digitalization in Mining North America as one of many that MICA has been active in. It also has its own road shows, where Nyabeze and others speak to mining networks about innovation. “We need to get the word out about MICA and continue to raise its profile in the mining industry.”

In informal surveys, MICA has found four distinct areas that are the most important for mining companies and will continue to be areas of focus for the initiative moving forward. The first has to do with the environment which, Nyabeze notes, is inherently affected by mining. There are long-term liabilities associated with mining, so MICA is investing in technology—such as technology for water management and tailing systems—that will help to manage environmental impact.

This environmental focus also includes a social aspect, and MICA works to give mining a good reputation as to how it interacts with the environment. As mining will continue to be under government scrutiny in future, factors like air pollution, soil contamination, and water difficulties will also be important to address.

The second focus area is productivity since efficiency is critical in any mining operation. The type of automation that is used today is especially effective, so MICA wants to constantly increase efficiency to avoid downtime on projects. There is currently a big push to increase mining productivity globally, according to Nyabeze, and this goes along with the introduction of new technology into the market.

Safety is also an issue related to productivity, due to the moving parts in a typical operation, especially with another growing global demand for mining to produce more minerals and metals at a lower cost and in a cleaner fashion. While the current supply chain is ably meeting demand, future demand will no doubt be trickier, an eventuality for which MICA continues to prepare.

Nyabeze, and others in the industry, are looking forward to new technology related to energy—the third focus area—that will allow companies to be less grid-dependent, and one such technology might be small modular nuclear reactors. There is also a movement in mining circles to lessen energy footprints at the same time as applying alternate energy sources to power technology like vehicles and equipment.

“You need the biggest bang for your buck when you blast,” Nyabeze observes, so any new energy source must prove itself before it can hope for widespread use.

The fourth area has to do with smart digital technology. Digitalization is catching on in mining, and the switch away from analog is important, as is the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence into decision support systems. These technologies will allow mining to be smarter and more responsive.

The call for a greater autonomous technology presence is also creating a desire for necessary communication infrastructure, and communications company Rogers is bringing its 5G network into the mining industry. “Riding the digital wave,” as Nyabeze calls it, will allow mining to take its operational efficiency to the next level.

The biggest block to MICA’s current goals is the availability of capital that can be put into emerging and mature Canadian solutions. Nyabeze notes that the initiative has identified $120 million as its funding need but is only able to allocate around $11.8 million. “The demand for capital is bigger than the supplies we have for it.” Nyabeze believes that Canada is risking leaving amazing technologies on the table that may find a home elsewhere, so capital is necessary to avoid this.

Furthermore, with companies acquiring market innovations, the regulatory environment in which mining operates requires these companies to use proven technologies. This, unfortunately, puts emerging solutions on the back burner. Nyabeze also feels that the connectivity between Canada’s innovation ecosystem and the mining industry is weak, a problem that MICA is working to address so that leading technology is not left out.

The mining sector is going both remote and deep in the future, so it will need the solutions put forth by MICA to be able to handle any difficulties related to this path. By the beginning of 2023, MICA will have made known the projects it will be funding, as well as its next call for proposals. Into 2023, it will be moving with the momentum of its approved projects and getting more ideas into the market for its next call, which will be the allocation of around $18.2 million.

Nyabeze expects that more people will get on board with MICA in the next year and into the future, as the initiative will be looking to increase global mining company knowledge and participation. It will be opening to international membership eventually and is working to build a strong national network of innovators.

“2023, for us, will be a year where we mobilize the innovation ecosystem across the country in a way that has never been done before to assist and grow the mining industry,” Nyabeze asserts.

The post MICA Adds New Partners & Projects to Ongoing Mining Innovation Work<p class="company">Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA)</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Since Resource in Focus Magazine’s feature on BESTECH/FROSKR in 2022, the companies have experienced strong growth and continue to diversify their offerings. BESTECH is currently focusing on an advanced geotechnical model and has taken on several major studies into the efficacy of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). With the support of other disciplines within the company—automation, power, electrical, structural, mechanical, and environmental—it will soon be expanding its international engineering work.

FROSKR President Kati McCartney affirms that the sister company has similarly expanded its client base and capacity in the last year, describing it as a mature startup that is scaling up to support BESTECH. The landscape has changed for the companies in the past twelve months as both look to engage in great projects across multiple industries. BESTECH’s Manager of Mine Engineering Services Lee Weitzel notes that BESTECH is a very well-rounded company with a senior workforce, possessing a depth of knowledge that surpasses many of its competitors.

Weitzel defines mining as a foundational industry that supports society, from cars to housing, products, and more. “If mining stopped tomorrow,” he says, “our civilization would disappear.”

Weitzel and McCartney agree that the public still does not quite understand how integral mining is to everyday life, and it involves far more than just extraction. As McCartney explains, “It’s everything that happens to get the metal out of the ground… and the full supply chain.”

Weitzel feels that a hidden value of mining has to do with how it can combat climate change, an increasing global stressor. The mining industry has a significant role to play through its worldwide extraction and modification of minerals such as cobalt, graphite, and nickel used to make the lithium-ion batteries that are required for battery-operated electric vehicles. Other aspects of this hidden value are the various companies that support mining operations, from technologies to researchers, regulators, human resources, and more, as well as the other industries that help mining function.

Weitzel expands on mining’s role in combating climate change by highlighting the role of BEVs in the mining workspace. These vehicles are part of a step change in the industry, as the challenge has always been to ventilate underground work areas for miners due to unhealthy diesel emissions. Now, by lessening the need for ventilation and using BEVs in these precarious locations, a company can lower electrical costs and add health benefits for its workers while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Mining is heavily involved in developing BEVs, especially as the global conversation around emissions has intensified with initiatives like the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, held in November 2022. Combatting climate change via such moves as getting global warming to less than 2.5 degrees will not happen without emissions reduction, and every heavy industry must change to meet this goal.

However, the move toward battery power, solar panels, and wind turbines will not be able to happen without mining itself. McCartney also points out that local and global demand for minerals like lithium and nickel has increased by as much as forty percent in the past seven years, doubling the typical demand. This has led to something of a circular conversation, as McCartney sees it. “We need mining to slow climate change, but it can’t be done in the same ways it used to be done.”

Although mining is not a primary emitter—contributing to only about seven percent of global emissions—it is still one of the most energy-intensive industries, so special consideration must be made to how this energy is used for extraction. Using BEVs in mines will eliminate diesel equipment, a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Whether from a health or environmental or workflow standpoint, the overall impact of switching to BEVs makes sense in practically every way.

McCartney also explains that many mining companies today have expectations from both stakeholders and investors to decarbonize, and BEVs are a significant way to accomplish this. At BESTECH, Weitzel’s team shows clients the path to decarbonization that investors expect, so mining companies can make the change in lowering emissions.

Decarbonization efforts in the industry have jumped twofold in the past year alone, and some investors are even divesting from companies that are unwilling to hold these conversations. Investor confidence is critical toward financing battery material projects both in Canada and worldwide, Weitzel stresses. However, the mining industry is still having difficulty meeting greener efforts, resulting in investors turning away. Furthermore, climate change itself is affecting mining operations, especially in remote locations, as environmental changes like ice melting or permafrost are affecting mining infrastructure.

A further challenge for the industry is that workers are retiring and not being replaced in their positions, and mining is stressed by the lack of knowledgeable and experienced people. McCartney sees that much work from both the Ontario Mining Association and the Mining Association of Canada is looking to fill gaps in the industry in the next five to ten years due to spikes in demand. However, there are other gaps in non-traditional skill sets like IT and business that also need to be filled to secure funding for greener mining practices.

Amidst these struggles, mining has seen some crucial victories as well. In the past, huge changes to the sector were driven either by regulators or demand for supply; now, this power has shifted to investors and has emboldened companies to put strong environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) portfolios upfront to charge a premium at a time of high demand.

As an example of a big win for mining, an ongoing project by global natural resource company Glencore that has been ongoing since the 1990s has recently found new life thanks to BEV technology. Now, the project can continue and be viable in areas dangerous to workers, and less cooling and power are needed to do the project at significant depth. This has resulted in hundreds of jobs in the Sudbury area.

Critical mining strategies from the Canadian government continue to drive economic prosperity, enabling the country to assume a position of global leadership. A national push to extract minerals and metals closer to manufacturer locations would also not only keep technology more local but would reduce the reliance on sourcing from poorer global socioeconomic regions or areas with unfavourable regulations.

Looking deeper into 2023, the future looks bright for mining, especially with the acceptance of BEVs. “As BESTECH introduces people to BEVs, it opens up a whole new market of battery-operated mechanics and a whole new opportunity for a generation to try a new trade,” Weitzel affirms, adding that BESTECH will look to continue diversification and take on more international opportunities and projects. Sister company FROSKR will be realigning with partners in mining that are supplying the green economy and strong ESG portfolios through both renewable energy and projects leading away from fossil fuels.

McCartney is also proud that BESTECH and FROSKR are currently in a good position to have more meaningful economic development conversations with Indigenous partners. Changes across the next five years will look at how mining will engage in meaningful and prosperous ways to operate on shared land and learn from past mistakes. Through it all, BESTECH/ FROSKR will look to support emissions reduction and grow capacity to help mining clients of all sizes to feed supply for demand in the market.

As McCartney emphasizes, “We don’t start the conversation about green economy and the transition away from fossil fuels without mining.”

The post Advocating for the Role of Mining in a Greener Tomorrow<p class="company">BESTECH</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” with development referring to growth in many aspects of human civilization. Sustainable development, as the UN sees it, requires efforts toward building an inclusive and resilient future for all.

The organization also believes that sustainable development requires three specific elements to be considered: Economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. All three are both interconnected and of utmost importance, but it is in the particulars that international efforts have differed in both approach and result.

Setting the goals
Sustainability goals worldwide have been spurred on by the UN over the past several decades. Most recently, the organization adopted its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, which exist as universal calls to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and generally improve the lives of humanity.

All 193 UN member states adopted these 17 goals in 2015 as part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a 15-year plan to achieve global advancement on each goal. These include ending poverty and hunger, affording all people clean water and sanitation, and promoting well-being through health, education, equality, peace, responsible consumption / production, and climate action (among others).

The efforts are part of what the UN calls its Decade of Action, a time in which sustainable solutions must be accelerated to meet these myriad challenges. In September 2019, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that action must come from three worldwide levels: Global action including greater resources and solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals; local action through various governmental frameworks and authorities; and action through individuals, which includes the media, academia, private sectors, and more to push for change through movements.

Many countries have begun enacting similar versions of the UN’s plans, albeit with specified and varied targets. For example, Global Affairs Canada announced its 2020-2023 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy, a means by which the country will work with various partners to work toward eliminating poverty and inequality.

As it relates to sustainability, this strategy outlines several goals to be met by at least 2030: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federal government facilities and fleets by 40 percent below 2005 levels, and 80 percent below 2005 targets by 2050 en route to carbon neutrality; to divert 75 percent (by weight) of both plastic and non-hazardous operation waste from landfills; to convert its administrative fleet to at least 80 percent zero-emission vehicles; and to reduce the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent.

Doubled investment
As of 2022, several federal departments have developed measures to reduce climate change risks to assets, services, and operations, and plans are in place over the remaining eight years until 2030 to double federal government investments in clean energy and technology research, development, and demonstrations.

The SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) USA initiative, with support from various foundations, released its own briefing on its take on the UN’s goals titled “America’s Goals for 2030.” The vision is “designed to support citizens, businesses, policymakers, universities and politicians in meeting goals to promote sustainable development in the U.S.”

These goals adopt the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on building a national understanding around the goals (especially on a political level), intended to be accomplished through partnership with individuals and organizations and promoting education and expertise through training, workshops, and more.

SDG USA has specific targets within the broader scope as well, such as encouraging employers to act ethically and provide at least $20 per hour take-home pay for all working people, as well as extending leave (i.e. sick, parental, vacation) to all. The organization believes that meeting needs like these will carry America forward into eradicating poverty.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is also hard at work encouraging American organizations to use renewable energy resources employing sustainability and health initiatives. These include the SunShot Initiative, which aims to make solar power more affordable, and the Better Buildings Challenge, which encourages businesses and organizations to reduce energy consumption.

America’s approach to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals involves a specificity that could bear fruit toward the more generalized objectives most countries have adopted. Elsewhere, the EU (European Union) Sustainable Development Strategy is meant to identify and develop actions to enable all countries in the union to achieve long-term improvement of quality of life through the creation of sustainable communities.

These communities will be able to tap into ecological and social innovation inherent in the EU economy through effective resource management and, as such, enable greater environmental protection and social cohesion. The strategy outlined seven key environmental challenges for a period ending in 2010, which included sustainable energy, transportation, consumption, production, and resource conservation and management.

Biggest hurdles
In 2021, the Europe Sustainable Development Report showed that Europe’s biggest current hurdles are in the sustainability of food, as well as in climate and biodiversity.

Northern European countries like Finland, Sweden, and Denmark seem to be at the top of SDG goals as Europe itself leads these goals on a worldwide scale, but more work must be done for the EU and other countries in the area to accomplish their proposed landmarks from several years ago.

Other continents are continuing to enact differing interpretations of sustainable action. Asian governments are concerned about various aspects of sustainability as well, even around areas like currency and finance. Market-building efforts are underway to invest in ideas like green bonds (funds specifically to contribute to environmental protection) and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing, which evaluates financial spending opportunities based on how they contribute to sustainability.

Elsewhere, in Africa, leaders are asking the international communities to support the development of environmentally sound waste management. Many have also endorsed a 10-year program on sustainable consumption and production to enhance energy resource efficiency. Already, many African countries have committed to banning leaded gasoline, and some uranium deposits in the continent are moving toward safer management thanks to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Charting many courses
All these variations demonstrate that sustainability looks very different when one compares the preferred approaches of different countries and even continents.

So it follows, in a policy brief in the OECD Observer (a publication by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), that the organization outlines how individual countries should approach sustainable development: along varying paths, with no “one size fits all” approach to sustainable development.

“Each country must chart its own course, in line with its culture, history, social and economic priorities, and prevailing institutions and political structures. The environmental challenges faced by different countries, which reflect geographical, ecological and climatic factors, are also very diverse and translate into highly differentiated constraints, opportunities and priorities. This is why there are many interpretations of sustainable development.”

As helpful as edicts like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have been toward getting countries to take sustainability more seriously, it will take further renewal and recommitment to these individual approaches to see lasting change toward building a greener future, as the clock keeps ticking toward the UN’s vaunted year of 2030.

The post Sustainability From the Top Down<p class="company">Resource and Development Strategies for a Sustainable Future</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

The company has officially opened its new Canadian headquarters in Surrey, British Columbia, and staffing changes are underway as a result. Domino’s recently appointed President, Deanna Morin, who is now leading the operations in Canada, and other staff promotions will be announced in the near future. Ground has also broken on a new facility in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, and the final designs of the building will soon be in place. The company’s information technology department has grown significantly, offering services such as Inventory Management for its customers.

Domino is now the largest privately-held, vertically-integrated, critical infrastructure supply company, specifically supporting the high voltage sector in Canada, with dielectric testing laboratories across the country. Lockhart considers this a big achievement and proof that Domino is more than just a distributor.

Company growth has been significant south of the border as well. In the United States, Domino Highvoltage LLC (its American corporation) has recently opened a new office and warehouse in Anaheim Hills, California after moving out of its Boise, Idaho location.

The North American business is currently in a strong place, but the company is always looking at making more acquisitions. Lockhart mentions the Eastern Seaboard and potentially Humboldt, Texas as new places to expand into, due to Texas being a good service location. Domino moved into Puerto Rico last summer and now sports fourteen employees on the island after opening locations in Montecillo and Caguas.

The facilities in Puerto Rico are primarily used for dielectric testing and tool crib related services; however, the company has recently opened its distributor division in the Caribbean. Lockhart views the move into the Caribbean as positive, since the company has helped local clients start up and has provided service, maintenance, repair, and greater accountability through utility tracking.

Even through turbulent growth, many of Domino’s internal approaches have remained steadfast. As a resource provider, the company stocks tools and inventory, in Canada alone, valued at just north of $10 million.

In the last decade, the just-in-time model, in which the manufacturer responds to customer needs quickly by increasing production specifically for in-demand products, has become much more popular among competing businesses. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, those businesses ran into difficulties after lead times skyrocketed, meaning these companies could not supply what customers needed. This in turn affects manufacturing industry-wide because when a distributor does not order in bulk from a manufacturer, it can potentially negatively affect the distributor’s capabilities to do its job.

Conversely to the just-in-time model, Domino has always taken care to stock and maintain its inventory to capacity in all aspects so that a customer’s needs can be met at any time. “Just-in-time doesn’t work in our industry,” Lockhart says. “If you don’t have stock in hand, the industry comes to a halt,” which then ripples out to other sectors that are reliant on electric power.

This approach goes together with a firm belief held by Lockhart and Domino: the art of good business is to be a good middleman, and in this case, a good middleman is a distributor. Lockhart further explains that a distributor must have sufficient stock and must always buy in full production runs so that manufacturers can buy their raw materials the right way.

Domino believes in working with its manufacturers and setting them up for success so they can do their jobs, as can everyone else associated in the supply chain. Companies in the power industry can be tempted to “nickel-and-dime themselves to death,” as Lockhart describes it, by not spending where it is most needed and losing the middleman status, acting more as a go-between. He notes that as customers look for what is cheapest, the current race to the bottom results in products being made cheaper and quality diminishes. Customers will find themselves spending more on maintenance and repairs. Quality must be maintained and there is a price associated with that.

Beyond pricing and economics, there are pushes toward renewable energy, industry-wide. Lockhart agrees with the importance of greener energy but also sees that other things need to happen before these initiatives can be truly successful. The parts needed to charge electric cars and charging stations, for example, are being purchased on a massive scale; however, those parts are also needed in the transformers required to step down electricity to a usable voltage so that we can use those charging stations.

This has led to a current approximate three-year delay to get a transformer because of the demand for electric power from different markets. Green energy solutions like wind and solar are potentially viable but still have significant limitations, such as high maintenance costs, Lockhart believes. Instead, companies should be focusing on what is perhaps the largest source of energy in the world right now: the oceans.

He considers not harnessing ocean power for energy as a big mistake: “The minute we harness the oceans is the minute we solve our energy issues.”

Small modular reactors are also cited by Lockhart as not just a potential help to greener energy, but as an immediate source of bulk energy. Lockhart thinks these will eliminate the need for large transmission lines as you can place them closer to the cities and have shorter transmission lines. SMRs and the oceans are the best options toward true generation.

As a global company, Domino has encountered customers in many countries who are not completely sold on going green, whether due to cost or doubt. However, it has not yet run into a scenario that it has not been able to navigate or mitigate for its clients, and it will continue to advocate for cleaner electrical energy while remaining realistic about the difficulties.

Lockhart feels that, overall, the power industry is doing well despite these obstacles and is moving forward rapidly. He cites education as a continuing challenge for both those within and outside of the industry, including the public and politicians. Currently, the sector’s focus should be on power generation and system maintenance, as the latter is crucial to tap into the revenue that is currently available in the industry. If money is spent on improving the systems that already exist, then even more financial gain can be found.

Looking ahead, Domino will continue expanding its brand into new areas after the success found in Puerto Rico. Lockhart names the Dominican Republic and the surrounding islands as potential locations for physical and drop-shipping expansion. Growth into Mexico is also planned. Lockhart chuckles as he mentions that several people within the company have been determinedly studying Spanish several times a week to bolster this effort. Domino is “always looking to expand and find markets that will benefit from what we do.” The company will also continue to invest in its people every day and give employees the space to offer ideas for its future.

Lockhart strongly affirms that, overall, North America has a robust and secure electrical grid and that Domino will continue to support and supply its clients for many years to come.

The post Setting Customers up for Success<p class="company">Domino Highvoltage Supply</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.