June 10, 2008

CaGBC’s “Shifting into the Mainstream” summit starts June 11

SAUL CHERNOS

correspondent

Planned rating systems for homes and neighbourhoods, building performance pilots, and the future of green building in Canada. These, and more, are on tap at “Shifting into the Mainstream” tomorrow at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The Canada Green Building Council is billing the event as a summit and has capped attendance at 1,200 delegates. Scientist and journalist David Suzuki and Interface founder and chairman Ray Anderson are scheduled to give keynote presentations, while Toronto Mayor David Miller and British Columbia housing minister Rich Coleman are also on the speaker’s list.

The B.C. government is looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one-third by 2020, with buildings playing a key role – something Coleman is expected to address.

Nancy Grenier, communications and marketing manager with the CaGBC, says a key driver of green construction — and the event — is climate change.

According to the CaGBC, 35 per cent of greenhouse gases emitted in Canada come from buildings, and green construction is catching on in a big way.

“It’s not just a trend anymore,” Grenier says.

“It’s becoming mainstream. This is what people want, and developers have demonstrated they can do it.”

The CaGBC will also unveil plans to modify its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program, with a view to adding rating systems for homes, neighbourhoods and existing buildings.

“These aren’t coming out at the summit,” Grenier said. “We’ll provide an update of when these new LEED products are going to be launched in Canada, so the sectors that will be impacted can prepare to take advantage of the opportunities.”

The CaGBC also plans to announce the next steps for its Green Building Performance Initiative.

“This is the development of tools, of a green building performance system, that will help building owners benchmark energy, water and greenhouse gas emissions against national and regional performance standards. It’s a system that will introduce standard audit templates and a process to identify areas for improvement for building performance.

“It’s about helping building owners plan how to best optimize the performance of their building.”

Speakers at the summit will look at green building issues and trends in Canada and around the world.

Representatives from the World Green Building Council and the U.S. Green Building Council are slated to discuss how they’re meeting their objectives.

Government and administrative building owners will look at why certain buildings perform better than others, and consider strategies for improving efficiency and productivity.

School board representatives will discuss how energy and water benchmarks can be key tools for helping control costs and design better schools.

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