Sustainability

2024 has been a monumental year for CCOC, as we celebrated 50 years of creating, maintaining, and promoting affordable housing in Centretown. We reflect on the countless people, organizations, and organizational values that substantially contributed to this milestone – one of them being sustainability! CCOC has prioritized sustainability from the very beginning: from being the first multi-residential landlord in Ottawa to offer recycling to tenants, to upgrading all appliances for energy efficiency and offering over 100 rooftop planters for organic gardening, sustainability has always been a key value at CCOC’s core.

Adapting for Efficiency

CCOC has the opportunity to make a great reduction to our carbon footprint without starting from scratch. Using modern retrofits and new technologies, we are able to reduce the amount of energy needed to power our buildings.

Some of these upgrades to our current buildings include:

• Upgrading to dry sprinkler systems so we don’t have to heat entire parking garages.
• Adding solar panels and solar walls to our buildings to provide natural heating and displace our energy load.
• Investing in deep energy retrofits and smarter cooling and heating systems that reduce demands in power.
• Improvements to building envelopes. This includes better insulation, new windows, and new building systems that will better combat environmental effects that all buildings deal with.

Building for the Future

Aside from installing solar panels, there is much more to consider when building new apartments that are better for the environment. CCOC has primarily worked to build Passive House standards in our most recent projects, and will continue to do so moving forward.

Passive House standards are internationally recognized, science-based energy standards in construction that ensure less energy consumption. It allows for healthier homes, savings in energy expenses and a reduction in carbon emissions. All are essential elements to a more sustainable home!

Are you a tenant and interested to know if you live in a building that was designed to Passive House standards? Our 16-unit property on Arlington Avenue as well as our newest property, our 49-unit building on Forward Avenue, were both designed toward the Passive House standard.

Garbage, Recycling, and Green Bins

CCOC has a long history of waste diversion. Back in the 1980s, we collected newspapers from tenants to shred and repurpose as insulation in our heritage homes. In the 1990s, we were the first multi-residential landlord in Ottawa to offer recycling to our tenants. In 2010, we participated in the City’s pilot program to bring green bins to multi-residential buildings. Today, our tenants help divert more than 255,000L of organic waste from the landfill each year!

If you have questions about garbage, recycling, or green bins, please contact CCOC’s Facilities Management Department by email (maintenance@ccochousing.org) or phone at 613-234-4065.

Hazardous Waste Diversion Program

CCOC has also launched a Hazardous Waste Diversion Program in our buildings. This program allows tenants to get rid of their household hazardous waste and e-waste safely, in a way that helps to protect both their health and the environment.

Household hazardous waste includes any items that are poisonous, flammable, or corrosive. Some examples are batteries, CFL lightbulbs, full/ partially full aerosol sprays, paint, and many kinds of cleaners.

E-waste is electronic waste, and includes items like televisions, computers, printers, and cameras.

Contact the Facilities Management Department by email (maintenance@ccochousing.org) or phone at 613-234-4065 ext. 0 to learn about how to safely dispose of hazardous waste at your building.

Ultimately, CCOC would not be able to achieve this work without the help of our Provincial and Federal governments, as well as our dedicated partners in the housing industry, such as CMHC. These entities provide us with the essential funding for energy retrofits and building upgrades that help make our mission here at CCOC a reality.