Q&A: Jolene McLaughlin tackles low-carbon job site economics

Site emissions used to be an afterthought on tender documents, but that’s changing fast. While most GCs assume temporary construction site operations account for a tiny fraction of a building’s carbon footprint, real data proves otherwise. As owners and municipalities push for greener builds, site logistics, temporary power, and heavy equipment are right in the crosshairs.

To get the real story on what this means for project bids, equipment costs, and daily job site operations, SiteNews sat down with Jolene McLaughlin, Vice President of Climate and Sustainability at EllisDon. With eight years at EllisDon and a deep background in green building strategy, Jolene leads the effort to test emerging tech, tackle site logistics, and figure out what actually works on active Canadian job sites.

Here is what contractors need to know about the low-carbon shift, straight from the field.

SiteNews: When bidding on major low-carbon projects today, how are clients actually evaluating site emissions?

Jolene McLaughlin: We are just starting to see this hit bid documents, mostly because the market is realizing how big site emissions actually are. Standard industry tools used to estimate that temporary site operations made up about 4% to 5% of a building’s overall footprint. But EllisDon teamed up with eight peer contractors and the Transition Accelerator to gather hard data on 600 active job sites. The real number? Up to 20%.

Now, clients are paying attention. Some ask us to set an emissions target, or they give us a benchmark and tell us to price in the cost of carbon offsets if we go over. Others specify exact tech like renewable diesel or hybrid generators. Ultimately, no single technology solves this; it takes a stacked combination of solutions.

Are tenders letting contractors figure out the best mix of drop-in green fuels, or are clients explicitly demanding zero-emission equipment on site?

It is a mix of both. When a tender explicitly demands zero-emission gear, our main job is giving the client a reality check on market availability. We have to walk them through what is genuinely available versus what is still being tested so everyone understands the impact on schedule and budget before ink hits the paper.

SiteNews: Electric heavy equipment comes with massive upfront costs and charging headaches. Is renewable diesel a cheaper, easier fix right now?

Jolene McLaughlin: On the fuel side, renewable diesel is a simple win. The price gap between standard diesel and renewable diesel is so small that normal daily fuel price swings are often bigger than the difference. It is easy to build into a bid.

For battery-electric equipment, availability in Canada is still limited. But you cannot just look at the purchase price; you have to evaluate total operational costs over the full rental term. Lower maintenance and zero fuel costs balance out that initial premium. Plus, quiet machinery gives you an operational edge: on tight urban builds, running hybrid generators or electric gear keeps noise levels low enough to extend working hours without triggering neighborhood complaints.

SiteNews: Can a contractor actually source bulk renewable diesel at scale, or do supply limits get in the way?

Jolene McLaughlin: It depends entirely on where your job site is located. If you are in the BC Lower Mainland, the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area, or Greater Montreal, supply is readily accessible. Outside those hubs, it is spotty.

To fix that, we join forces with peer general contractors to aggregate demand. Showing fuel suppliers combined demand in regions like Ottawa gives them the volume needed to establish local supply chains. The other catch for GCs is the weather window: renewable diesel gels in cold conditions, so Canadian suppliers generally only supply it between mid-May and mid-October.

SiteNews: When you actually bring battery equipment onto a Canadian job site, what slows down or breaks?

Jolene McLaughlin: Grid hookups are the first wall you hit because higher power demands mean longer wait times for utility connections.

Then there is a major hardware mismatch: a lot of electric gear is built for the U.S. market at 480 volts, but Canadian commercial sites run on 600 volts. You end up needing step-up transformers, which takes up valuable job site footprint and adds coordination steps.

Site crews also have to adapt. Lithium batteries require dedicated fire safety plans. Safety culture has to shift too: electric gear runs so quietly that workers can no longer rely on engine noise to know a machine is moving behind them. Finally, winter takes a bite out of performance, cutting battery capacity by around 30% in cold months.

SiteNews: Are drop-in renewable fuels the long-term answer for heavy earthmoving, or just a temporary fix until electric and alternative tech take over?

Jolene McLaughlin: Drop-in bio-fuels are a solid medium-term solution for heavy equipment while zero-emission tech matures. While everyone is keeping an eye on hydrogen, manufacturers are putting their real weight behind battery power right now, driven by demand in the mining sector and strict regulations in California.

Right now is the time for GCs, site teams, and subtrades to get comfortable with these options, test the logistics, and figure out how to build them into estimates before project owners force the issue.