Fabian Raemy

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have developed a 3D printing method that uses live bacteria to turn compacted sand into solid, load-bearing bio-concrete structures without conventional cement. The work, published in npj Advanced Manufacturing, could point towards lower-carbon construction materials at a time when cement production is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The process relies on microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation, or MICP.

A new affordable housing project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, is aiming to show that low-cost housing and net-zero construction can work together. Heartland Housing Foundation is building 83 new net-zero homes in the city’s Sherridon neighbourhood, with support from Sustainable Affordable Housing funding through the Green Municipal Fund. The project will be 100 percent affordable, with 80 percent of units priced below the median market rate for Edmonton rentals.

Federal forestry minister Tim Hodgson says Canada’s forestry sector is facing a crisis that cannot be blamed on U.S. tariffs alone, warning the industry needs structural change to remain competitive. Speaking in Langford, B.C., during a meeting with provincial and territorial forest ministers, Hodgson described forestry as Canada’s trade “canary in the coal mine” and said the sector is at a turning point.