Corporate Knights review singles out 12 greenest buildings in Canada

Commercial, industrial sectors lead trend in higher building standards

TORONTO, March 24, 2016 /CNW/ - Rising to the top among 200 leading green buildings across Canada, were 12 pacesetters in cities from Vancouver to Halifax. The clean dozen were selected in Corporate Knights' 2016 Green Buildings Review. These buildings mark a trend toward higher construction standards as data on energy efficiency, human wellness and better operating costs continues to mount.

The starting universe of buildings was shortlisted to 22 by Corporate Knights staff. A panel of building industry experts – Michael Brooks, CEO, REALpac, Randal Froebelius, Past Chair, Boma Canada and Thomas Mueller, President & CEO, Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) – then selected the top three green buildings in each of four categories.

"CaGBC has seen impressive market transformation across the country in the green building and sustainability industries, something that was further proven by these winning projects," says Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the CaGBC. "The evidence to us is clear: there is significant environmental, but also economic and societal value in building green, with the commercial and industrial sectors leading the way. Projects like these winners allow us to see the potential for all types of buildings to go greener as we strive toward a sustainable future."

The universities and colleges, hospitals, office buildings and other public buildings in this year's review reflect a range of ambitious goals.

St. Mary's Hospital on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast was designed to be North America's first carbon-neutral hospital. VanDusen Botanical Garden and Visitor Centre aims to achieve net zero standards for water and energy use. The Jim Pattison Center of Excellence is powered with photovoltaic solar panels. TELUS Garden has fully integrated smart building program controls, while MEC Head Office took a Lego-like construction approach with an eye to ease of disassembly at the end of building life. All were built to the LEED Platinum or LEED Gold standard.

"The 12 buildings selected this year show that smart, clean, efficient design and construction can be done today," said Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights. "With the right incentives, reporting and permitting standards, the stock of green buildings could grow rapidly and, simultaneously, take a big bite out of energy costs and Canada's annual carbon emissions."

Building data was gathered from public architectural and construction industry sources including Canada Green Building Council and LEED Platinum Certifications, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). This inaugural list of the cleanest dozen buildings in Canada is featured in the spring issue of Corporate Knights, the magazine for clean capitalism.

British Columbia is home to six of the greenest buildings in this year's review, four buildings are in Ontario with Quebec and Nova Scotia housing one each in the top 12. Featuring prominently in their design and construction were living walls and garden spaces, solar and geothermal systems, use of reclaimed materials, and rainwater capture and recycling for grey water and irrigation.

2016 Green Buildings Review – Top 12 by Category	Location
University & College Buildings
Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence, Okanagan College	Kelowna, BC
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, UBC	Vancouver, BC
Mona Campbell Building, Dalhousie University	Halifax, NS
Hospitals
St. Mary's Hospital	Sechelt, BC
St. Joseph's Healthcare West 5^th Campus	Hamilton, ON
Bridgepoint Hospital	Toronto, ON
Office Buildings
TELUS Garden	Vancouver, BC
MEC Head Office	Vancouver, BC
A Grander View	Kitchener, ON
Other Public Buildings
VanDusen Botanical Garden & Visitor Centre	Vancouver, BC
Bibliothèque du Boisé	Montreal, QB
Centre for Green Cities at Evergreen Brick Works	Toronto, ON

For more on Corporate Knights' 2016 review of green buildings in Canada please visit: www.corporateknights.com/reports/2016-green-buildings-review.

SOURCE Corporate Knights Inc.

Tara Wilkie, [phone] x225, [email protected]