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Conference Sessions 

Oct. 26 - Oct. 27

Panel #1: Passing the Torch – Learning from Progress

A hard-hitting cross-country review of pitfalls, partnerships and progress made in Brownfield policy and program development in the past year.  Representatives from government, municipal organizations and policy think tanks will assess the ”state of play” of Canadian brownfield redevelopment.

Luncheon Keynote: Leadership in Land Development - How Urban Economies Can Benefit When Development Corporations Take the Initiative

This award-winning project promises to transform downtown Calgary but the impact of innovative financing and land development practices is being felt far beyond Calgary’s borders.  Delivered by Christopher Ollenberger, President and CEO, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation.

Session A:  Qualified Persons: Who Will Do the Work?

The focus of this session is on identifying the full range of initiatives related to capacity building, skills training, contractor skills, and developing the expertise today to meet the brownfield redevelopment challenges of tomorrow.

Session B:   Wanted! No New Brownfields

Although environmental standards throughout North America have been raised beyond recognition in recent decades, the economic downturn nevertheless increases the potential for the creation of many new brownfield sites as the owners of large industrial sites, investors, manufacturers and other captains of industry see their once productive assets edge towards redundancy.  How can we shift the focus to from clean up to preventing contamination in the first place?

Panel #2: The Upside of Brown – Economic Renewal in Uncertain Times

This session will focus on the economic, environmental and social value of re-purposing brownfields to restore underutilized assets and build property tax revenues.  Whether undertaken on a site by site basis or at the district and neighbourhood scale, brownfield redevelopment is the logical place to re-establish confidence in the economy by focusing capital investment and human resources in locations that can generate a multiplier effect.

Session C:  Show me the money:  Maximizing your investment (part one)

Identifying sources of funding, strategies to maximize returns and approaches that will create attractive investment opportunities are the key to successful brownfield projects. This session will explore how the financial barriers to redevelopment can be overcome by examining existing brownfield funding programs, considering the perspective of private-sector firms that specialize in brownfield projects, and proposing incentive strategies to improve the returns on brownfield sites.

Session D:  Transformation and Preservation: Creatively Reusing Heritage Resources and Brownfields

This session will examine the role of public investment and private enterprise in the intelligent reuse of heritage resources.

Session E:  Financing: The Next Generation (part two)

What is the role of municipalities, insurers, investors, and developers in making the redevelopment of brownfield sites a more financially attractive proposition?  We examine the developer and municipal perspectives on establishing incentive programs, and look at what impact these programs have had.  We also look at the role of insurance products in putting deals together, and how the elimination by transfer of financial risk related to liabilities can be a mechanism to facilitate development.  Finally, we examine how this feeds into investor decisions.

Session F: The Role of Clean Technology in Remediation

 Innovative technologies are already playing a role as companies move to implement sustainable remediation approaches, however, how can these  approaches be identified and defined, how should they be evaluated, and how can they best be incorporated into the decision-making process and in building the business case?  What can companies do to help them evaluate and select the best approach that will help them achieve both performance goals and reduce their environmental footprint?  This session will examine the challenges of implementing green remediation and look at strategies and tools that can help companies integrate sustainable solutions.

Luncheon Keynote: Delivering on Vision - How Evergreen's Unique Value Proposition Propelled it to the Forefront of Environmental NGOs

Evergreen’s strategy for turning  a former brownfield into a unique natural and industrial heritage site location that is an education centre,  part-public destination and part-campus for like-minded organizations.  Delivered by Geoff Cape, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Evergreen.

Panel #3:  “Magnets for Investment” - International Insights for Canadian Cities

The planning of major events can create unique opportunities to advance the agenda for infrastructure and community development.  The 2010 Winter Olympics is a perfect example of how to achieve multiple goals through careful planning, decisive decision-making and sound management of environmental, cost and design issues.  Major projects also provide opportunities for international partnerships, which foster the spread of best practices globally, and allow for the transfer of cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions.  What can Canadian companies learn from other countries?