AUGUST 2017
H
business elite canada
5
Design (LEED) certification to the Cana-
dian market, an industry standard which
is now commonly used and has led to
big changes – both to the benefit of the
environment and to the operational bot-
tom line. LEED is a rating system which
is recognized internationally in over 150
countries as a standard for excellence in
green building. It is hard nowadays to find
a commercial office or a multi-use residen-
tial buildings that isn’t striving for LEED
certification. Canada alone has over 7,000
LEED registered buildings and over 3,000
certified–making it the second highest
number in the world.
But it is in the last two years that there
have been pivotal changes in the way
green building is viewed by key players in
the industry. This was brought on by a new
federal government that has been deter-
mined in its commitment to mitigating the
negative effects of greenhouse gas emis-
sions and its effect on a changing climate.
One of these trends is the emphasis on
existing buildings, which stand to have the
biggest impact in the built environment in
terms of long-term reduction of emissions.
This change has been adopted not only by
private sector owners, but increasingly in-
stitutional and government buildings
f Vancouver on May 29, 2017
(Photo credit: Courtesy of Canada Green Building
Coun
cil
®)
