Markham, ON—The industry is looking towards electrification as one way of battling the global climate crisis. As such, companies have created and designed products that can produce fewer amounts of carbon into the earth’s atmosphere.
Mitsubishi Electric Heating and Cooling created the Sustainable Builder of the Year award, back in 2019, as part of their goal to enable the transition towards widespread building electrification across Canada by 2050.
The 2020 winner is Sifton Properties, a construction firm specializing in residential, office, commercial projects in Ontario.
“Sifton is a very forward-thinking developer with sustainable practices that take into consideration both the environment and the of their clients,” says Clive Carr, residential sales manager of HVAC Product Sales with Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc. The firm built its first solar home in 1978, and their most recent project cemented their award win. “Sifton has always been at the forefront of sustainability, and our philosophy is that sustainable construction and development isn’t the right thing to do. It is the only thing to do,” said Neil Carter, Sifton’s director of commercial construction.
Sifton recently completed the West 5 community development project in London, Ont., which features a central park, 2,000 modern townhomes, condos, apartments and retirement residences. The project is also 100 per cent powered by integrated solar technologies with heating and cooling supplied by heat pump technology, which was done in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada.
“We have been working with Mitsubishi Electric for the past five years on our West 5 net-zero community project, and they have been a wonderful partner in our pursuit to build Ontario’s most energy-efficient community powered by the sun,” said Carter.
In addition to the West 5 project, Sifton’s portfolio includes a triple labelled home (LEED, Energy Star, and Green Rated Home) which was completed back in 2010.