Public Advocacy

Part 3a:

Social Media Post

Help Manitoba become the leading example of sustainability in Canada! Let's adopt LEED & lower our energy impact! @sustainablebuildingmanitoba @mbeconetwork @efficiencymb @CaGBC #ClimateAction #EnergyEfficiency #SustainableBuildings

Questions

What type of social media post did you produce? Why?

I made an Instagram reel because I think its format can be used on other platforms, if you ever want to replicate it in the future. For example, for this blog post, I published it on YouTube shorts so I could link it on this blog. The same can be done to post it to TikTok. Also, the Canva image can be used as the cover image for the post on Instagram, or reused else where.

How will this advocacy method help you reach your target audience?

Yes, I think this advocacy method will help me reach my target audience of the general public (age 25 above). Since, most people above 25 I know use Instagram or Facebook. These 2 platforms are by the same company, and when you post something on one, you have the option to simultaneously post it on the other. A lot of the older population uses Facebook, so with one platform I can reach a wide range of people.

Why is this an appropriate method for your selected organization to use?

This method is appropriate for Sustainable Building Manitoba to use because it is a modern way to reach/connect with the public that no longer consumes traditional forms of news/media. You can get instant engagement, potentially great solutions, and feedback from the public.

Identify at least three academic resources used to inform your social media post (APA Style Citations):

• Bird, L. (2025, February 4). Sustainable Building Manitoba [Lecture notes]. In Green Building and Planning (ENVR 3750). University of Manitoba.
• Green Badger. (2022, June 23). How to read a LEED scorecard [Blog post]. Green Badger. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://getgreenbadger.com/how-to-read-a-leed-scorecard/
• Sustainable Building Manitoba. (n.d.). Manitoba Building Codes and Standards. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://www.sustainablebuildingmanitoba.ca/manitoba-building-codes-and-standards/

Part 3b:

Written Advocacy

Old buildings waste energy, increase costs, and contribute to climate change. This is why mandatory energy caps/maximums for large public/private buildings, should be implemented to meet a certain threshold like the Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified. By adding these changes to the Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings, this standard can be enforced. Energy inefficiency contributes to rising emissions, higher operating costs, wasted resources, which negatively impacts our net-zero goals.

Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings, is an adoption of National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings, 2020. MB Energy Code for Buildings is currently at Tier 2, the government is proposing Tier 1, Tier 5 is needed to be net-zero ready, we are moving backwards.

By enforcing the lowest Tier we are accepting unnecessary emissions, high energy consumption, inefficient systems, and not demanding innovation. We don’t set buildings to be built to the highest standard in the long run they consume significantly more energy than necessary, and have more economic and environmental costs.

These large buildings likely have the money to make this expensive transition that will help their long-term energy costs and pave the way for everyone else. Innovation is expensive. By enforcing the people who can afford to be innovative, the technology can then become more affordable for everyone else once the demand creates a market for it.

Any level of LEED certification is a good start, but platinum should be implemented by large buildings, to inspire others.

One might say hydro energy is abundant in Manitoba so we don't need to cut back on our energy usage. Yet, in our long Winnipeg winters most homes are heated by natural gas which is extracted by fracking. Both natural gas and fracking are harmful for the environment, expensive, and not a clean energy source. The pipes transporting natural gas sometimes leak, letting the methane go straight into the atmosphere. Switching natural gas heating to electric is another way we can make our building sustainable. So we damage our ozone from this additional methane from natural gas.

Inaction on inefficient energy systems has a negative impact on our future. By adopting a stricter Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings and enforcing mandatory energy caps/maximums for large public and private buildings, Manitoba could be the province that sets the bar for sustainability in Canada. LEED platinum certifications can help these large buildings reach the Tier 5/net-zero standard, and just by having more LEED buildings around, advocacy is taking place by example. We can choose higher standards today, and build a future that is cleaner, fairer, and more affordable for everyone. Or keep going down this path of planning a greener net-zero future, but never executing the hard, abrupt steps we need to take today to get there.

Questions

What type of written advocacy content did you produce? Why?

The written advocacy content I produced was a blog, because I have made these kinds of posts before. I enjoy the process and how creative I can get with them, like adding videos, images, linking bibliography and organizing it all. Making a final piece of work that is easy to look at and dive deep into.

How will this advocacy method help you reach your target audience?

I think this advocacy method can help me reach my target audience of the general public (age 25 above), because I can put the blog post link in the bio of the post created in part 3a.

Why is this an appropriate method for your selected organization to use?

The blog post will be timeless, and its link can be used in future newsletters from Sustainable Building MB or anywhere else. A blog post is perfect for my mature audience, because the information can use more technical language, dive deeper into the topic, while still keeping the blog post digestible with videos and imagery.

How does your written advocacy submission build on/connect with the social media post you developed for this campaign?

My written advocacy submission builds on the social media post by getting deeper into the topic, with videos and imagery of present LEED platinum Manitoba examples. This allows people to see that LEED platinum is feasible because it already exists in Manitoba.

Is your written content and social media content directed at the same audience? Why or why not?

My media post (Instagram) and written advocacy (blog) are directed at the same people, but the blog goes a little deeper into the topic to make people understand why they should care. Directed at the same people, but they can understand the topic thoroughly with the blog post.

Identify at least five academic resources used to inform your written advocacy submission (APA Style Citations):

• Bird, L. (2025, February 4). Sustainable Building Manitoba [Lecture notes]. In Green Building and Planning (ENVR 3750). University of Manitoba.
• Government of Manitoba, Sustainable Development, Energy Branch. (n.d.). Five-year report on energy in Manitoba: 2009–2014 [PDF]. Retrieved August 24, 2025, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/pubs/energy/five_year_report.pdf
• Green Badger. (2022, June 23). How to read a LEED scorecard [Blog post]. Green Badger. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://getgreenbadger.com/how-to-read-a-leed-scorecard/
• Sudarshan. (2024, September 24). How can you achieve top-tier sustainability goals with LEED? Zyeta Sustainability. Retrieved August 24, 2025, from https://www.zyeta.com/blogs/how-can-you-achieve-top-tier-sustainability-goals-with-leed/
• Sustainable Building Manitoba. (n.d.). Manitoba Building Codes and Standards. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://www.sustainablebuildingmanitoba.ca/manitoba-building-codes-and-standards/

Feedback on this Assignment:

Please answer the following questions about the Public Advocacy Project.

Was this a useful assignment? Why or why not?

Yes, this was a useful assignment. It allowed me to apply my knowledge creatively on public advocacy, impact assessment, Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings and other materials from this course.

How could it be improved in the future?

Other than more in-class time to collaborate, I think the assignment is great. We got lots of examples from the previous assignment for the media portion and essay format guide for the written part. I liked the time crunch aspect because it left no time to procrastinate, which I'm great at doing.

Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba 

ENVR 4000: Decision Making for Sustainability

Dr. Heather Fast