One More Reason to Trust Monarch with Your Kitchen or Bath Renovation: We're BILD Approved!

Building Industry and Land Development Association

Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre is pleased to announce we are now among a limited number of home improvement specialists in the Greater Toronto Area who are BILD Approved.

The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) encourages innovations and excellence in the planning and building of sustainable communities and in the redevelopment and renovation of existing communities. As the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the greater GTA, BILD's goals include improving the communication between the industry and government and protecting the interests of consumers.

Members of BILD must abide by a strict code of ethics and shall:

1. comply with applicable building codes of Canada as a minimum standard for construction and shall work toward its improvement in the interests of structural sufficiency, safety, and health.
2. plan their projects to conform to the principles of good community planning and support for the environment.
3. deal justly with their employees, subcontractors, and suppliers of all goods and services.
4. deal honestly and fairly with their customers and stand behind the quality of their work and service commitments.
5. exchange information and experience, and encourage research on materials, technical advancements and building techniques in order to provide the best value for their customers.
6. avoid all conduct or practice detrimental to the land development and building industry, to the Association, to the good name or reputation of any of its members, or its customers.
7. commit to continuing learning through human resource policies and practices, including employment practices which treat employees as assets.
8. actively promote health and safety principles.
9. treat their competitors, including their property and ideas, with respect.

Are you planning a kitchen or bath redesign this spring? Call Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre today at 905-686-2001 or drop by our showroom. We'd love to help make your renovation dreams a reality.

Will You Turn Off Your Lights for Earth Hour?

An annual event hosted by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour encourages individuals worldwide to show their support for the fight against climate change.

Last year, 1.8 billion people in 152 countries and almost 7,000 cities participated. Thirty-nine per cent of Canadians -- or 13 million people in 511 cities nationwide -- joined in. 

This year, Earth Hour begins at 8:30 p.m on Saturday, March 23rd. Millions of Canadians are expected to turn off their lights...will you be one of them?

During last year's Earth Hour, power use in Toronto dropped almost 7 per cent.

In support of Earth Hour, Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre will be holding an EARTH WEEKEND at their head office in Pickering. At 5 p.m. tomorrow, Monarch will turn off their lights until 9 a.m. on Monday, March 25th. Only essential lighting will be turned on during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m) on Saturday, March 23rd.

 You CAN make a difference.

To learn more, visit www.earthhour.org.

EARTH HOUR COUNTDOWN: One Planet Living's 10 Top Tips for Changing What We Eat to Help the Earth

At Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre, we believe companies must conduct sustainable business practices and be responsible stewards of the environment.

Professionally and personally, our team members are committed to reducing their ecological footprint. As we count down to Earth Hour on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013, we will be reviewing ways we can be kinder our planet with tips from One Planet Living, a division of World Wildlife Fund.

According to One Planet Living, if we carry on living the way we are now, by 2035, we will need to find second planet – identical to Earth – to meet our growing demands for energy and resources.

From One Planet Living: 

We need to change the way we live, work and play. Today. We each have an average ecological footprint of 2.7 hectares – which means that everyone on the planet uses on average 2.7 hectares of the world’s surface to supply us with food, fuel, and materials to clothe and shelt us. But the planet has just 2.1 hectares of land and sea to go around… 

In other words, we are living in serious ecological debt. And it is a debt which is growing EVERY DAY. 

As the world’s climate heats up, fish stocks disappear, forests are destroyed and biodiversity declines, one thing is clear: we face a massive global ecological credit crunch. But our debt to the earth is one that no-one can afford.” 

One Planet Living is about enjoying a high quality of life within our fair share of the earth’s resources. One Planet Living is a model based on ten simple principles which provide a framework to make sustainable living easy and affordable for all:

• Zero carbon 

• Zero waste

• Sustainable transport

• Sustainable materials

• Local and sustainable food

• Sustainable water

• Land use and wildlife

• Culture and community

• Equity and local economy

• Health and happiness

What can you do? WWF has researched a set of Ten Top Tips that offer suggestions about small changes we can make to the way we live, work and play.

One Planet Living’s 10 Top Tips for Changing What We Eat to Help the Earth

1. food that is in season is tastier - and costs less to process and package
2. cut down on meat and dairy produce - the rising cost of grain production is making prices soar
3. waste less food - the US Department of Agriculture says Americans throw out 11 million pounds of fruit and vegetables every year. Only buy what you will actually eat
4. compost organic waste - create free, fertile soil to grow your own food in.
5. buy fairly traded goods - and help over 7 million farmers, rural workers and their families in 58 developing countries
6. buy local food - it costs less to transport
7. try growing your own fruit and vegetables - for the same price as your weekly shopping bill you could buy enough seeds to supply you with your own fresh, organic vegetables all-year round
8. avoid heavily processed products - fresh food costs less to produce, and therefore costs you less
9. drink tap water, not bottled water - its free!
10. buy MSC certified fish and fish products - the MSC label guarantees they have been fished sustainably

Reduce Your Ecological Footprint During Waste Reduction Week, October 17th to 23rd

www.eco-business.ca

As an active member and proud supporter of Durham Sustain Ability's initiative EcoBusiness, Monarch Kitchen and Bath Centre encourages you to take the first step in reducing your ecological footprint during Waste Reduction Week (WRW).

"We buy a wastebasket and take it home in a plastic bag. Then we take the wastebasket out of the bag and put the bag in the wastebasket."
                                                                  ~ Lily Tomlin

Organized in Canada by a coalition of non-government and not-for-profit environment groups from each of the 13 participating provincial and territorial jurisdictions, Waste Reduction Week is intended to raise public consciousness about waste and its environmental and social ramifications. The goal of the week-long program encourages people to get involved and act now to sustain our planet for future generations. 

From WRW's Business Resource Kit (downloadable here):

What can you do? Everything! Waste reduction starts with every individual, every business, taking responsibility for their consumption and waste. By following the hierarchy of the three Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) you can make a significant impact.

Visit the Waste Reduction Week website at www.wrwcanada.com for a list of resources that can help you perform a business waste audit, assessment of your community and more!

Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre Celebrates Earth "Weekend"

Last year, approximately 60% of Ontario residents turned off their lights for Earth Hour.

Were you one of them?

A global initiative designed to raise awareness of climate change, Earth Hour began in Australia in 2007 and spread quickly throughout the globe by 2008.

According to The World Wildlife Fund, last year 128 countries showed their commitment to saving energy and leading greener lives by celebrating Earth Hour.

This year, Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 26th from 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. local time.

At Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre, we're upping the ante and will be holding an EARTH WEEKEND.

Our lights will be off from Friday, March 25th at 5:00 p.m. until Monday, March 28th at 9:00 a.m. Only essential lighting will be turned on during business hours on Saturday.

You CAN make a difference.

To learn more about Earth Hour, visit the Earth Hour website.

Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre Encourages You to Ban the Bottle

If the majority of the water you drink comes from store-bought bottled water, it's time to reconsider what you're doing to your body, your planet and your pocket book.

In Solvie Karlstrom's article Tapped Out: The True Cost of Bottled Water, she explains that "not only does bottled water contribute to excessive waste, but it costs us a thousand times more than water from our faucet at home, and it is, in fact, no safer or cleaner."

To better understand our nation's obsession with bottled water, take a few minutes and watch The Story of Bottled Water, by The Story of Stuff Project, co-produced by the Polaris Institute. While the narrator refers to conditions in the U.S., Canadians will be able to easily recognize their own bottled water habits in the film.

Save Water and the Environment with GROHE

Gone are the days when homeowners only focused on design and functionality when choosing the products and appliances for their newly designed kitchen or bathroom. Today, they are just as likely to keep the environment in mind, as well.

But is it possible to be good to the environment and save money...all while maintaining high standards for style and efficiency? GROHE thinks you can:

"In a world where water resources are under increasing pressure, GROHE works every day to provide solutions to this serious challenge. All GROHE products combine stylish design, ease-of-use and superior performance with responsible water consumption. Some concepts, however, are exceptionally economical by nature and allow users to save water without giving it another thought."

GROHE has expanded their EcoJoy™ line of established products--thermostats, dual-flush sanitary systems and electronic faucets--to reflect their ongoing commitment to the environment. The smart, sophisticated designs of GROHE's selected single-lever mixers and showers restrict flow rates and allow you to reduce water consumption without sacrificing on performance or design. This means less water needs to be heated to obtain your perfect shower or washbasin temperature. The bottom line? The money you save on water generates energy savings and results in a substantial cost savings for both resources.

GROHE EcoJoy™ hand shower

Choose a Water-Saving Shower Head
Using quality materials, first-class design and advanced engineering, GROHE EcoJoy™ hand showers save water with either an integrated flow limiter, or an "eco" button or spray dimmer which let you to choose when to reduce the water flow.

Save with a GROHE Digital Shower
Designed to save you time and money, GROHE Ondus faucets and showers can be pre-programmed so you can enjoy your preferred combination of water flow rate and shower temperature with a push of a button. The shower control's "pause" button allows you to stop the water mid-shower (e.g. to shampoo your hair) and then re-start it at exactly the same temperature and flow...saving you time and water.

Invest in a GROHE Shower Thermostat
Shower thermostats help you save water by maintaining the desired water temperature for the duration of your shower. This means less time re-adjusting the temperature if the water supply changes. In addition, many of GROHE's models include an "eco" button on the thermostat body to reduce the flow rate by 50 percent.

Visit GROHE online here.

To learn more about incorporating GROHE's energy-efficient products into your kitchen or bath redesign project, contact Monarch Kitchen and Bath Centre at 905-686-2001.