By Francis Moran
A developer who hopes his new building will soon be certified as the most environmentally benign mixed-use building in North America told an Ottawa audience yesterday afternoon that achieving the most exacting green building standards in the construction industry was “actually not all that difficult.” And, he added, if similar practices were adopted across the construction industry, it would mean a reduction in the emission of climate-changing greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to the entire output of the transportation sector.
Jonathan Westeinde, managing partner of Windmill Development Group, was speaking at the Ottawa Cleantech Initiative’s Green Building Showcase held yesterday at the Irving Greenburg Theatre Centre, part of a mixed-use complex his company built that also includes 43 condominium apartments. Built on a remediated brownfield property that used to house less-than-benign automobile-related industries, the complex has been submitted for certification under the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System that certifies higher energy and environmental performance of buildings and communities. Even if the building fails to achieve the highest platinum rating, something Westeinde said it was within a few points of hitting, it should still qualify as the highest-rated LEED mixed-use building in North America.
Getting there required “nothing bleeding edge” in terms of technology, he said. More time had to be spent planning the job, sourcing materials and allowing for such things as the longer curing time required for the high fly-ash concrete the developer chose for the lower GHG emissions it produces during its manufacture. The well-established technologies, approaches and products used in the building include a passive solar heat wall on the building’s deliberately southwest-facing facade that contributes fully five percent of the building’s heating requirement, a system that captures and recycles stormwater and required an amendment to municipal rules to implement, dual-flush toilets, compact fluorescent bulbs and natural lighting, and a range of products, many of which required Windmill to “redo our whole supply chain,” that emit no or little volatile organic compounds.
Westeinde maintained the building cost no more than a conventional approach, something confirmed by LEED Canada’s Anne Auger who earlier told the session that achieving the lowest level of LEED certification adds less than two percent to construction costs, something that can be recouped in less than two years. Achieving higher certifications may cost more, but the return on that higher investment is still measured in a time frame that makes eminent sense for developers and building owners.
The impact of Canada’s built environment on greenhouse gas emissions is massive, with our homes, buildings and infrastructure contributing more of the climate-changing gasses than any other sector of the economy. “We can achieve 1990 (emission) levels or even carbon-neutral levels,” Westeinde insisted. “If we start doing everything that this building represents … the savings (in carbon emissions) that could be realized in the construction industry are equal to the entire emissions of the transportation sector today.”
By inmedia
In the February edition of Insights from the PR blogosphere, we pointed readers towards the AngryJournalists.com link that had been making the rounds. Today, we have a more positive link to share, HappyJournalist.com. For now, the number of anonymous comments on the angry site drastically outnumber those on the happy site. With journalist burnout on the rise, we can’t say we’re very surprised.
By Danny Sullivan
It was with a spring in my step that I set off to the Scottish Technology Showcase last week. Two years previously, I had visited the same event and it was where I first came across the incredible company that is Touch Bionics. If this year’s event could boast some stories with even half the appeal of that little gem, then I’d be well satisfied.
As it turns out, the number of products-oriented companies that presented potentially interesting opportunities for a PR firm were relatively thin on the ground. There were a lot of manufacturing and design services firms that don’t usually present the most interesting of prospects for a PR firm – although you should always scratch beneath the surface before making that call.
There were certainly a few shining lights (literally) among the clustered booths in Glasgow’s SECC. The light was primarily thanks to an outfit from the University Edinburgh called NIPHT, which has developed kits that allow customers to grow decorative bioluminescent mushrooms at home or in the garden. These glowing fungi could be used to illuminate a garden pathway or flowerbed at night. Nifty indeed.
At the opposite end of the technology spectrum, Perth company, Ewgeco, has developed a fascinating device that will allow small businesses and consumers to accurately measure their utility consumption in real time. In today’s ever increasingly energy-conscious society, this could indeed be a timely device.
Alongside these two examples, and despite the larger number of services firms, there were plenty of other innovative products companies on display, from CRM and mobile security software to satellite systems and advanced loudspeaker technology, proving that entrepreneurship of the very highest standard is still a trait in Scotland.
By inmedia
The February edition of Insights from the PR blogosphere is the first of what we hope will become a regular feature. For now, we are keeping our roundups monthly but may decide to pick up the pace and deliver weekly roundups in the future. As always, we welcome our readers’ thoughts.
10 ways to get coverage in local press
What does your client do? (No, really)
This is merely a sample of the great content published by the Getting Ink blog. Their post on knowing what your client does and being able to explain it in 20 words or less should act as a warning. Stay away from hyperbole and meaningless buzzwords!
For beginners, Linda Jones’s post on generating local coverage provides a helpful list of things to keep in mind. Don’t make the mistake of sending every story to the news desk, find out who writes about the kind of story you’re pitching and take a targeted approach. On a similar note to Linda’s post, Cece from PR Meets Marketing shares four tips startups can use to generate media coverage.
Angryjournalist.com — Things Are Tough All Over
Over the past few days, the Angry Journalist link has made multiple appearances in my Google Reader, being picked up by the likes of Michael Tangeman and Tom Murphy. It seems the AngryJournalist inspired Kevin from the Bad Pitch Blog to remind us of the inevitable – for each of us the day will come when an angry journalist gives us an ear full. He suggests we don’t take it personally.
The Future of Blog Outreach
How Far Should We Really Go to Please Bloggers?
Conversations about blogger relations continue with Melanie Seasons weighing in on what she thinks the future of blogger outreach holds and Jennifer Mattern questioning how far out of our way we should go to please bloggers. This continues to be a hot issue and it’s something we need to write more about, our most recent post on the topic being Fiction: Bloggers are different from other journalists. For those engaging in blogger relations, Marshall Kirkpatrick wrote a helpful post that compares six ways to identify top bloggers in any niche.
PR Agency Review Tips, No. 436
When I saw this post by Scott Baradel, I was disappointed we hadn’t thought of it first. The images say it all. Who’s on your account team, really?
Taking issue with tech PR stories drive national coverage
Bring back the news release; forget about social media releases
In his post about catching the attention of national media, Stephen Waddington outlines the challenges PR agencies face and makes some recommendations, saying securing national coverage “requires creativity aligned with the current news agenda, with a fast turnaround best achieved through the use of pre-packaged comment. PRs need to scrutinise the media constantly, hit the phones and make sure spokespeople are available for follow-up.” His post on writing news releases is similarly sagacious. He suggests we get back to basics and focus on writing good news copy.
The junk man talks about PR
I love this post. If Julie gave a similar speech, I’m sure she would get a standing ovation. After having no luck with PR agencies, some companies see better results by taking the work in-house. Julie explains why this isn’t always the best solution and shares advice on how clients and PR agencies can work together to create an environment that’s conducive to success.
Access CNW: A Good Step Forward
Dave Fleet offers CNW some feedback on Access CNW, a new tool that allows their clients to have more control over the news distribution process. We’ve just started testing the tool but are excited at the thought of being able to mange the formatting and editing process online, rather than by phone or email.
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Components of an integrated PR program: Awards
February 28, 2008 by Linda Forrest
By Linda Forrest In today’s instalment of my series about the various components of an integrated PR program, I will talk a little bit about awards. Publications and conferences have award programs that invite companies that are active in their sectors to nominate themselves for awards. Other awards programs select the nominees and winners based […]
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Evaluating editorial calendar opportunities
February 27, 2008 by Jill Pyle
By Jill Pyle Late last year, Linda wrote a primer on editorial calendars. If you are unfamiliar with editorial calendars, you should take a few minutes to read her post. Although they are put together predominantly by advertising departments looking to focus advertising spends from particular market segments in specific issues, editorial calendars can also […]
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No sandwich required
February 26, 2008 by inmedia
By inmedia Late yesterday, Gawker purported to spill the beans on the secret to all good PR: a sandwich. The post’s author espoused the virtues of buying reporters lunch and building a face-to-face relationship, and that truly that face time is the secret to all good PR. While I won’t object to the value that’s […]
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Waterloo’s ‘dormcubator’ a brilliant idea worth duplicating
February 26, 2008 by Francis Moran
By Francis Moran itWorld Canada leads its morning news bulletin this morning with a story about a new initiative at technology-focused University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada — a so-called “dormcubator” that will see one of the school’s residences retooled to accommodate 70 students who, it is hoped, will collaborate on new ventures in web, […]
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How much is enough?
February 25, 2008 by Danny Sullivan
By Danny Sullivan In the world of the PR agency, you can never really achieve enough. The nature of the client-agency relationship dictates that clients will always demand more of their PR firm, even if it outperforms all expectations. And why not? It certainly keeps the agency on its toes and companies need to ensure […]
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Fiction: PR can’t be measured – Take 3
February 22, 2008 by Francis Moran
By Francis Moran As part of my continuing series of Francis’s favourite PR fictions, subtitled “Everything I know that’s wrong about PR I learned from technology company executives,” I have written a couple of posts on PR measurement addressing the common myth that straight lines can’t be drawn between a company’s PR efforts and any […]
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Components of an integrated PR program: Speaking opportunities
February 22, 2008 by Linda Forrest
By Linda Forrest This blog post is part of a series on integrated PR programs. Last week, I wrote about bylined articles. Today, I would like to address speaking opportunities. Why should company representatives do speaking engagements? There are a number of good reasons for your company’s representatives to speak publicly – chief of which […]
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David Akin’s four biggest complaints about PR
February 21, 2008 by Jill Pyle
By Jill Pyle This morning, I attended CNW Group’s Breakfast and media event, The Changing Landscape of Canadian Media and the Increasing Role of the Web in News Reporting. During the one- hour session, David Akin, Parliamentary correspondent for CTV National News Ottawa, shared four complaints about the way he sees public relations being practiced […]
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It’s Summertime…and the Networking is Easy? | THE MERRAINE BRAIN : [...] In fact, summer is perhaps one of the times least used to network, yet at the same time has shown to be the most productive time to network. People tend to be in a brighter mood compared to during the gloomy winters-especially where I am from in England! Networking needs to be fun and not approached as another chore, like mowing the lawn. (http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/social-media-strategy-why-meeting-in-the-real-world-matt...) [...]