Date: October 5, 2015

To: Jim Watson, Mayor, City of Ottawa

From: ..., Director of Planning, City of Ottawa

Subject: Strategy to Promote Green Construction in Ottawa

As per your request for a proposal for a new initiative related to sustainability, I am planning to deliver a presentation to the employees of the City of Ottawa’s Environment and Energy Department on the topic of promoting green construction policies in Ottawa. After conducting detailed research into Ottawa’s energy usage and environment, I came to the conclusion that the new initiative should emphasize green construction in general and passive solar buildings in particular. The memo set out below provides an overview of the advantages of green construction, an explanation of passive solar buildings, and information about the encouragement of passive solar buildings in Ottawa.

Advantages of Green Construction

According to the Canadian Environment Report, buildings are collectively the largest consumer of energy in Ottawa, ahead of transportation, and they are also the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (Government of Canada, 2014). The growth of our communities has a major impact on our natural environment. The design, construction, and operation of the buildings in which we live and work have a significant impact on our natural resources. The common objective of all forms of green construction is the reduction of the overall impact of the built environment on human health and on the natural environment. This overall objective has three main elements. The first element is energy efficiency. Green construction can reduce the requirements for operating energy, which may make up as much as 30 percent of overall life-cycle energy consumption (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, n.d.). The second element is the reduction of