Green buildings, also known as sustainable buildings, are structures that use valuable resources such as energy, water, materials, and land more efficiently than buildings that are simply built to code. Green buildings are kind to the environment, and provide healthy, comfortable, productive indoor spaces.
For the construction industry, this issue of green building will only continue to grow in importance - whether it's because of regulatory requirements, the cost of energy going up, the impact of construction on storm water and wetlands, spills and diesel emissions from construction, construction and demolition debris, the impact on habitat and endangered species, sprawl and air quality implementation plans, or other issues.
Green construction is spreading across the public and private sectors throughout Canada and the world. Green buildings include commercial, institutional, industrial, and multi-unit residential new construction and major renovations. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched the LEED program, which has now been adopted by the Canadian Green Building Council, in 1999 to promote the green building movement and set high standards for its LEED's mission.
As well as the intrinsic social benefits, the compelling incentive for building owners and developers to invest in green buildings, and specifically the LEED certification program, is the financial benefit of operating a more efficient and less expensive facility. Adherence to LEED ensures that facilities are designed, constructed, and operated effectively. LEED focuses the design and construction team on operating life cycle costs, not initial construction costs.
A Contractor's Introduction to LEEDTM
This fact sheet provides information and resources to assist British Columbia contractors in understanding LEED and how LEED applies to you.
What is LEED?
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating SystemT (LEED) is a voluntary, market-based rating system for defining what elements make a building 'green' and to quantify how 'green' a building is in comparison to another building.
LEED is based on accepted energy and environmental principles and strikes a balance between known effective practices and emerging concepts. It encourages a whole building approach over a building's life cycle that guides a collaborative and integrated design and construction process.
LEED, Canada NCv1.0 (adapted from US Version 2.1) applies to new construction and major renovation of commercial, institutional and high-rise residential buildings. In the future, additional LEED tools will be available for: core and shell, multiple buildings, residential projects, commercial interiors and existing buildings.
Project teams (owners, developers, architects, and contractors) use the LEED rating system as a tool to help them determine green project goals, identify green design strategies, measure and monitor progress and document success.
The development of the LEED Green Building Rating System was instigated by the members of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Council is a national non-profit organization whose membership is comprised of: contractors, architects, building owners, developers, financial institutions, product manufacturers, environmental groups, universities, utilities, research institutions and federal, state and local governments.
The System has now been adapted for use in Canada under the Canada Green Building Council. In BC there is a Vancouver Branch of the Cascadia Chapter of US Green Building Council.
Council members developed LEED to define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement; promote integrated, whole-building design practices, raise awareness of green building benefits and transform the building market.
How does LEED work?
LEED provides a menu of green building measures in five environmental categories:
Sustainable Sites
Water Efficiency
Energy and Atmosphere
Materials and Resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Innovation and Design Process is an additional category where points can be earned for exceptional building design and performance above the LEED requirements or innovative performance in green building categories not specifically addressed by LEED. Points are earned in each category. The points are performance based rather than prescriptive to encourage innovation and an integrated approach to design.
After a building has been completed and the project team has submitted the project documentation along with the appropriate fee, the Council will certify the project as LEED Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum based on the total number of points earned on a menu of green building measures.
Why Should My Construction Company Care?
LEED is rapidly becoming the leading Canadian standard for measuring a building's environmental performance. It is becoming a regulatory requirement as the Federal Government, the Province of BC and such municipalities as the City of Vancouver have adopted a sustainable building policy that sets a target of achieving the LEED for certain types of buildings.
Other owner/clients, such as local colleges and major businesses, are currently using or looking seriously at LEED as a tool to green their projects. Even private developers are using green buildings as way to market their projects. An example of this is the Dockside Green development in Victoria (www.docksidegreen.ca ).
Therefore, developing competency in LEED is important for construction companies for a number of reasons:
Meeting requirements on projects undergoing LEED certification.
Recruiting clients such as governments, colleges, and major businesses that use LEED.
Delivering a quality product to those customers.
Gaining a competitive edge in the growing green building marketplace.
The Contractor's Role
Although much of what makes a building LEED certified depends on design decisions, contractors have a significant role in implementing LEED on a project. Construction companies with a working knowledge of LEED and experience with sustainable construction practices are in demand. Architects and owners want a contractor who can:
Assemble and maintain records necessary to document a building's compliance with LEED requirements.
Execute new construction methods per specifications, at a reasonable cost
Achieve high recycling rates (LEED credits are available for achieving 50% and 75% recycling/salvage rates on a project).
Demonstrate knowledge of the numerous materials that are rapidly renewable, contain recycled content and emit low VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
Assist project teams in identifying ways to reach a project's LEED goals.
Construction contractors can directly impact or manage over 50 percent of the points needed for the basic LEED Certified Rating, and 30 percent of the points for the highest Platinum Rating.
Where to Get More Information
For information on possible upcoming seminars Contact your Regional Association or the website identified below for the Canadian Green Building Council.
LEED detailed information on the rating system, the certification process, training workshops, the accreditation exam and case studies is available on the Canadian Green Building Council website at www.cagbc.org.
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