The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has launched an interactive toolkit to guide organizations and governments in implementing green building policies and programs.

“Many municipalities and organizations are interested in building more sustainably but need to build buy-in from other departments on the business benefits for pursuing green building certification,” said Akua Schatz, the CaGBC’s director of advocacy and development.

“The toolkit has already been used in presentations to municipal staff to provoke discussion, answer questions and define the significant contributions and impact LEED buildings have had in Canada over the past 15 years.”

The toolkit is designed to provide a comprehensive update of the state of the industry and define the environmental, economic, health and business benefits of green buildings. Through it, individuals can learn more about the CaGBC’s role in representing and providing thought leadership on green buildings for industry and government.

It also provides an overview of the LEED program that demonstrates the rationale and success of third-party certification programs and how they help to move the market forward, raising the standards for performance ahead of building codes and guidelines.

Three sections of the toolkit are available to the public, while full access is restricted to CaGBC members.

What the toolkit covers

The components of the toolkit cover:

* the environmental footprint of buildings;
* the current state and benefits of green buildings in Canada;
* more about LEED, training and education;
* the business case for green building and municipal cost benefits (members-only section); 
* sustainable growth management and community development (members-only section); 
* how green buildings bolster economic growth and create jobs (members-only section);
* policy opportunities for new and existing buildings (members-only section);
* resources on QUEST’s community energy planning framework (members-only section);
* how to monitor and verify performance, including energy benchmarking (members-only section);
* and market impacts, trends and opportunities (members-only section).

Can help design custom presentation

The toolkit can be used to help design custom presentations focused on the relevant policy, plan or program being considered and provide insight, data and recommendations on options being proposed. It will be updated once or twice a year.

“Green buildings in Canada have only been around for less than two decades and have now achieved significant market impacts and opportunities in the form of jobs and GDP, spurring the growth of new technologies and firms,” said Schatz. “Green building practices align with broader visions for holistic, connected, healthy, sustainable communities.

“This is the key message for all levels of government and industry. By planning and building green, our communities will be better integrated, use less energy, produce less waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide better indoor and outdoor environments that improve the productivity, happiness and health of occupants.”

Upcoming events

The CaGBC is hosting Canada-wide summits focusing on the retrofit opportunities, business benefits and greenhouse gas reduction potential of existing buildings.

The first will be on April 6 in Toronto and there will also be streams at the BuildGreen Atlantic Conference that same day. New research on the subject will be published in the fall.

The CaGBC will launch its new zero carbon buildings standard at its Net Zero Summit and Building Lasting Change annual conference in Vancouver from May 30 to June 1.

Attendees will be able to learn more about the technical aspects of net zero building construction and renovations as well as the latest products, technologies and practices in the green building industry.