International Wish Day

According to Blaine Gillis, CEO of the Strait-Highlands Regional Development Agency (S-HRDA), anything is possible in this part of Nova Scotia. And this environmentally friendly civic centre is just one example.

The S-HRDA’s job is to help businesses in the region’s communities develop, grow and succeed. Among the ways it’s doing that are through its Green Action initiative and eBusiness Pilot Project.

As part of the Green Action initiative, the S-HRDA assisted the town of Port Hawkesbury in obtaining $1.8 million for the civic centre from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund. But how does a green building build business? Gillis explains that he and the Green Action team see green as very good for business: “Most of the money we spend on energy leaves our communities, and much of the energy we use is wasted. It makes sense to use energy more efficiently and to develop locally available supplies of energy in ways that the income generated circulates in the local economy.”