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From Link2Build
The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) announced November 14, 2019 that there are now more than 1,000 projects registered to the LEED v4 rating system.
According to a CaGBC release, LEED v4 has seen strong uptake in the Canadian market. Revisions in LEED v4.1 are further ensuring the program helps the industry contribute to Canada’s carbon emissions targets. Since 2005, LEED has contributed to such environmental benefits as:
- energy savings of 16.7 million eMWh—enough to power 570,000 homes for a year,
- water savings of more than 30 billion litres—as much as flows over the Canadian Horseshoe of Niagara Falls in four hours, and
- GHG reductions of more than 3.2 million tonnes of CO2—the equivalent of taking nearly 700,000 cars off the road for a year.
Canada consistently ranks among the top countries in the world for LEED adoption. To date, more than 4,350 projects across the country are LEED certified. Among Canadian LEED v4 projects, nearly half are commercial and institutional new construction projects. Ontario leading the way regionally with 285 projects (or 27 percent of the national total). British Columbia follows at 214 (or 17 percent), Alberta with 162 (15 percent).
New homes account for a quarter of LEED v4 projects, with Quebec’s very early adoption of LEED v4 for home construction resulting in a full 74 percent of home projects coming from that province.
Existing buildings are a growing segment of LEED v4 registrations as streamlined documentation requirements tied to building performance drive uptake across more markets and building classes. In fact, existing buildings account for a quarter of total LEED v4 projects, and large commercial owners are leveraging LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance (O+M) to help them meet their sustainability goals and speed up the recertification process.
“High performance, continuous improvement, and holistic solutions have been hallmarks of LEED since day one,” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of CaGBC. “We listened to the market, and these principles are reflected in the newest version of LEED. In LEED v4.1 we are shifting to performance management and recertification to ensure buildings live up to their potential from an environmental, financial, and health perspective. And through LEED Zero, we are focusing on innovation to produce the most advanced buildings in carbon, energy, waste, and water. At this critical time, LEED continues to lead the industry in Canada and the world in voluntarily reducing carbon emissions and waste, conserving energy and water, while improving occupants’ health.”
LEED is the most widely-used green building rating system in the world. In over 160 countries, project teams leverage LEED to deliver positive returns on investments in buildings that are highly efficient and resilient, improve occupant health, and reduce carbon emissions at both the construction and operation stages. With more than 2.6 million square feet of space certifying each day, millions of people around the world live, work, learn and relax in LEED certified buildings, homes and communities.