June 23, 2008

National Green Building Summit

Design, construction industries prove quick to adapt to climate change

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

With their embrace of green principles, the design and construction industries have proven to be more adaptable in responding to climate change than governments and auto manufacturers, says Canada Green Building Council chair Peter Busby.

“We have the knowledge and have perceived the impacts of climate change before governments did,” he said.

Without specifically citing measures such as the announced closure of the General Motors truck plant in Oshawa, Busby also said the auto industry has been slow to move on environmental issues and will now have to move very quickly.

The comments were made during a press conference at the council’s Shifting into the Mainstream conference in Toronto last week.

More than 1,300 green building experts attended the first-ever national green building summit.

Busby and council president Thomas Mueller used their presentation to explain the LEED green building rating system and dispel possible misconceptions about the cost of sustainable building.

Busby is the managing director of Busby Perkins Will, designers of The Vento in Calgary.

The Vento project recently received North America’s First LEED Platinum Certification for a multi-family residential project.

The project cost was no more than that for a comparable building, he said.

“We spent more money on insulation and less money on expensive boilers,” he explained.

For the most part the design and construction industry’s commitment to the environment has been made without prodding by government legislation.

But some government regulations on green building would help raise standards, said Busby.

He predicted the time will come when buildings will receive an energy label such as is the case in Europe.

Canada’s environmental performance was often compared with Europe and other nations during the three-day conference, however, Mueller thought otherwise.

“Canada is a leader in green building construction,” he said.

There are now 800 LEED registered projects and more than 3,600 LEED accredited professionals in Canada.

Next year, the council will unveil its LEED For Existing Building Operations and Maintenance and LEED For Homes, which has been developed in consultation with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.

“LEED has changed the industry and has spawned other green building systems. But we still have a big job ahead of us,” he said. “Greenhouse emissions are still going up in Canada.”

An aggressive agenda by the Province of British Columbia to reduce the impact of climate change has been sparked in large part by the devastation of its forests by the pine beetle, he pointed out.

“It’s an area the size of Greece,” he said.

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