Home Eco Innovations Celebrated at the Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards

A low carbon apartment complex prototype. A social mobile app that allows homeowners with smart meters to compare their energy use with other consumers. Small scale, energy efficient, independent homes that sustainably add density to neighbourhoods.

These Canadian innovations were awarded top honours at a gala event honouring innovations in home energy efficiency. The Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards are a cornerstone of Scotiabank's consumer-facing EcoLiving Program, and are designed to inspire consumers to reduce their energy use.

The winners in the three award categories were as follows:

Lanefab Design/Build from Vancouver BC won the Business Leadership Award of $50,000. Lanefab is a design/build company that makes custom homes and "infill mini-home" (or "laneway houses") on the principles of design quality and energy efficiency. Lanefab built the first net-zero solar-powered laneway house in Vancouver. Their work adds density to neighbourhoods while preserving existing homes.

Quinzee of Toronto, Ontario won the Innovators Award of $15,000 for a free web and mobile application that "enables Ontarians with smart meters to be smarter homeowners". Ontarians can track and compare their energy use with others through consumer social benchmarking.

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Robyn Hall- Based in Toronto, I recently completed the Masters of Information (MI) program at the University of Toronto, and am the former Communications Manager at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility and Ontario-based Alterna Savings credit union. I'm long-time believer that businesses of whatever type - co-op, private, public - are critical to the process of social and environmental change. The MI degree has opened the door to a better understanding of information issues in general, including the discovery of an interest in archives. Keeping our memories alive and understanding the past is a foundation from which to look ahead