What is sustainable materials? 

Utilizing Alberta’s natural and underutilized feedstocks, the sector contributes to environmental stewardship and decarbonization through the development and implementation of innovations and technological advances, while creating opportunities for economic diversification and capacity building.

The positive impacts of this line of development extend across the province’s major industries, including agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, construction, renewable fuels, petrochemicals, plastics manufacturing, and waste management and recycling centres.

Green building materials 

With emerging trends to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, the construction industry is undergoing a green evolution throughout the building life cycle – from design, to building, to operation, to demolition. 

Alberta has abundant and sustainable sources of agricultural residues and industrial crops, significantly underutilized hardwoods, and industrial waste streams. Through appropriate, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient manufacturing processes, fast-growing or sustainable resources can provide alternative or complementary raw materials for structural or furnishing applications with a low-carbon footprint and environmental sustainability. 

Bioenergy and circular economy 

This program focuses on the development of renewable fuels, the reduction of landfills, and the diversion of waste through reduction, reuse, substitution, and recycling to avoid land and water disturbance, thereby promoting a circular economy for plastics. Supporting the energy sector to meet federal and provincial regulations on biofuels, and Alberta’s transition to low-carbon fuel are important components of the program. 

What we do 

The Sustainable Materials team provides opportunities to accelerate the development, deployment and implementation of advanced innovations that build capacity and increase value-added capabilities across sectors and further create new business potential and markets for Alberta’s economy. 

We support environmentally and socially responsible products and processes and their sustainable application and operation. We look for innovative, low-carbon solutions to move to net-zero emissions across industries, while leading industries toward a sustainable and resilient future.

 Areas of investment include: 

Biofibre utilization: Novel utilization of wood resources, agriculture residues, and industrial waste streams from industrial crops.
Value-added biomass: Development of low-carbon products, processes, productions, systems, and recycled materials to enhance the value of sustainable feedstock in Alberta.
Green construction: Development of industrialized construction and sustainable building practices to increase productivity, improve efficiency, and reduce environmental impact through the building life cycle.

Sustainable Materials Team

Learn more about the Sustainable Materials team.

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