Sustainability
At the CaraCo Group of Companies we’ve established ourselves as a leader in sustainable building standards for design, construction, and operation. From the small things to the big picture, we always strive to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. The CaraCo Group of Companies is always looking for new ways to reduce our carbon footprint, maximize our efficiency, and pass the benefits of green living on to you — the people in our communities.
CaraCo Development Corporation
At CaraCo Development Corporation, we are working to increase the number of trees in our city. The number of trees in our subdivisions exceed the number of houses, and we actively work with planning consultants to ensure that there are trails, green space and connectivity within our neighbourhoods. In our efforts to reduce solid waste on construction sites, we order materials for each day’s work directly to the project site, which eliminates double handling, theft, and waste, and reduces the environmental impact of shipping supplies. We also recycle our waste materials and require that all of our contracted trades do so as well.
CaraCo Property Management (Florida)
CaraCo Property Management is taking steps to support green living on all of our properties. By using water from the nearby lake to supply its irrigation and by individually metering water consumption on all of our units, we are helping reduce water consumption and increase tenant awareness of water usage. 70% of our units have programmable thermostats, which facilitates energy efficient heating and cooling and reduces energy waste. All of our properties have recycling programs, making it easier for our tenants and staff to live green. In addition to this, we are in the process of replacing all our lighting with energy-efficient LED bulbs and fixtures to reduce our daily energy usage.
CaraCo Property Management
At CaraCo Property Management, we make sure that your home supports green and responsible living. All of our buildings have an extensive recycling program and an organics/Green Bin program to reduce landfill waste. We also support healthy and green living with bicycle parking, low-flow water fixtures, LED lighting, and ENERGY STAR and energy efficient appliances in our buildings and units. Whenever possible we use low VOC paint, and our dedicated team diligently changes filters, and updates and maintains equipment, which decreases energy usage long-term. Most of our elevators also have a regenerative drive, which stores energy for later use and reduces excess heat, thus making for a more energy efficient elevator.
CaraCo Storage Solutions
CaraCo Storage Solutions utilizes a number of energy-saving features in our buildings to reduce our energy waste. All of our lights operate on motion-sensor technology, making certain that our buildings provide exactly the right amount of lighting when it is needed. Our climate-controlled facilities operate on a set thermostat that maximizes efficient heating and cooling of our buildings and units. Our office also uses a recycling program to minimize our corporate waste.
Partnerships, Projects, and Awards
In 2012 and 2013, we worked with Union Gas and Building Knowledge Canada to develop the CaraCo Performance Home 2020. This home was a high performance house that was built to exceed standards nearly ten years in the future by reducing energy consumption. Always looking for ways to improve, the CaraCo Group of Companies aims to incorporate these leading-edge technologies into more of our newly constructed homes, bringing healthier, more comfortable, and more energy efficient homes to home buyers.
In May 2013, we were awarded the ESC (Energy Solutions Center) Partnership Award in recognition for our efforts with Union Gas on the Performance Home 2020 project. This award recognizes us for working in partnership with the local utility company to reduce the use of natural gas through innovative energy solutions.
LEED Canada for Homes is an initiative designed to promote the transformation of the mainstream home building industry toward more sustainable practices. LEED® Canada for Homes aims to certify the top 25% of new homes with best practice environmental features.
The CaraCo Group of Companies is proud to have built Kingston’s first LEED® home. We have built many projects to a LEED Standard — LEED Certified, LEED Silver, and LEED Gold — and are proud to offer sustainable upgrades such as LEED to our customers.
ENERGY STAR qualified new homes are approximately 20% more energy efficient than those built to minimum Ontario Building Code standards. The increased efficiency of these homes translates into reduced energy costs for homeowner and more environmentally friendly houses.
The CaraCo Group of Companies is always pleased to offer ENERGY STAR upgrades as well as many standard energy efficient and environmentally friendly features in all of their homes.