The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the McGill Healthcare Infrastructure Group (MHIG) are celebrating a second LEED Gold certification, a first in Quebec.
The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) awarded the LEED Gold for Existing Building (EB) certification to the new MUHC Glen site, which opened in 2015 in Montreal. The site previously obtained a LEED Gold for New Construction (NC) certification in February 2016.
“The CaGBC congratulates McGill University Health Centre on this achievement, made even more impressive given how complex and significant the energy, ventilation and patient care requirements are for a 24-hour medical care centre,” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the CaGBC and GBCI Canada. “The Health Centre leveraged LEED Coach Canada to assist them throughout the project to determine optimal strategies to achieve their sustainability goals and to create the healthiest environment for their patients.”
Some of the ways in which the facilities at the MUHC Glen site were designed to be as eco-friendly as possible include:
- Implementation of energy-efficient initiatives resulting in less energy consumption than for the average standard Canadian hospital, resulting in savings of approximately $2.5 million per year;
- Reduced light pollution as a result of adapted lighting fixtures and an emphasis on natural light;
- Low-flow faucets that decrease potable water consumption by at least 40% in relation to comparable buildings;
- A bicycle path linked to the City of Montreal’s network and more than 400 parking spaces for cyclists;
- Showers for cyclists;
- 79 charging stations for electric vehicles;
- A waste management centre to recycle paper, cardboard, electronic waste, glass and plastic;
- Decreased heat island effect thanks in large part to the maintenance of green spaces consisting of trees, perennials and shrubs that do not require any watering, and to the presence of highly reflective materials.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of an accomplished team of employees from Johnson Controls Quebec Ltd. and SNC-Lavalin, we have reduced the structure’s environmental footprint by 3,365 tonnes of equivalent CO2 per year, which could be compared to 20 million kilometres driven by a car,” said Jean-Pierre Dumont, President of MHIG. “We’ve also succeeded in building a hospital complex that ranks among the greenest in North America.”
A new Sustainable Development Committee has also been created, according to Pierre-Marc Legris, director of technical services of the MUHC, with the goal of improving the hospital’s sustainable operations for the future.
