November 19, 2008

LEED Canada Initiative continues to evolve and change

Garth Cochran

correspondent

Calgary

The LEED Canada Initiative is evolving with the aim of eliminating 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (2005 baseline) from Canadian buildings by 2015.

This would represent a fifty per cent reduction in projected energy and water use, and comes with the benefits of savings in operating costs and reduced infrastructure needs.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a market-based rating system that certifies higher energy and environmental performance in buildings and communities.

The program is operated by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC).

Joanne Perdue told a Construct Calgary seminar that CaGBC has a two-phased approach to developing the next set of tools for industry to use.

Perdue, a LEED AP (Accredited Professional), is an architect and director of sustainability at the University of Calgary.

She said the first phase is the development of four certification programs, each aimed at different sectors of the building industry:

• LEED for New Construction, an update of the current program.

• LEED for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance.

• LEED for Homes.

• LEED for Neighbourhood Development.

Perdue said the New Construction program is being updated with more credits (100 instead of 70) and being made available under a new rating system.

“It allows them to give more credits to initiatives that have greater environmental benefit and that demonstrate greater commitment by the project owner or project team,” she said.

In addition, a subset of ten credits will be used to allow for regional differences in construction requirements — coastal, Arctic, prairie or central regions all have different challenges and environmental needs.

Despite the changes in requirements and ratings proposed for new construction, projects that have already achieved LEED certification will keep it.

The second phase is to solve the problem of measuring the effectiveness of LEED programs.

To do this requires a baseline of where it is now, benchmarks for measurement and assessment, and a database keep tabs on progress and effectiveness.

Forms are being created to record and assess the measures undertaken during a project.

These programs are being developed in conjunction with the U.S. Green Building Council, which owns the LEED process and has set up task forces to develop the various rating systems.

The CaGBC assesses what is being done and adapts it, if necessary, for Canadian usage.

“We’re moving towards a North American system. Many of the consultants and many of the contractors are doing work on both sides of the border. Why would we have one system over here and one system over there?” Perdue asked.

In fact, LEED is poised to become an international system.

There are a certain number of operating cost savings and reduction of waste attached to a LEED program.

But other factors include environmental issues, reducing carbon footprints and a demand for healthier homes and workplaces. She said that people seem to care about these issues, but are looking for assurance that the green messages they see are true.

“How do you differentiate in the market between light green, greenwash, to something that’s more robust?” she asked. “That’s one of the strengths to a program like LEED — an independent, third party certification.”

The goal of saving 50 million tons of emissions would require the completion or retrofitting of 100,000 commercial buildings and one million homes to LEED standards by 2015.

A number of pilot projects demonstrating the new programs will begin in 2009.

Print | Email | Comment