Our Sustainability Story

In 2006, Santropol Roulant launched an “Eco-Challenge” to help us move toward long-term sustainability — economic, social and environmental.

We dreamed of a sustainable building with all of our programs housed under one roof. 111 Roy Street makes this dream possible. The heart of the new building is a sustainable food cycle. This is where Santropol Roulant is most innovative, and where our investments will have the best impact in our community.

Through our “Eco-Challenge”, we demonstrated that investing in sustainability can support and enhance, rather than compromise, our core mission and annual operating budget. Through Securing our Future, we aim to provide a model for individuals and similar sized organizations interested in undertaking sustainable retrofit projects and have identified six areas of focus.

Sustainability : our six areas of focus

Site
Limiting our impact by renovating an existing space rather than building a new one

Energy
Investing in a tight building envelope to minimize heat loss and maximize energy efficiency

Materials
Prioritizing safe, environmentally sound materials, reusing materials recovered from demolition and recycling what cannot be reused

Water
Reducing water consumption from roof to basement (i.e. low flow toilets, rainwater capture)

Quality of indoor environment
Putting in place measures to ensure the health and well being of people who work and interact with the space (i.e. V.O.C. free paints, wheelchair accessibility)

Beauty and inspiration
Our building should tell a story and inspire those who come visit. We will honour 111 Roy Street’s unique history, prominently display its most interesting sustainable design features and encourage the community to come and participate with the building.