Green Building Certification Inc. Canada (GBCI CA) and the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) are celebrating a new milestone as Canadian LEED v4 project registrations surpass the 1,000 mark.
LEED is the most widely-used green building rating system in the world. With more than 2.6 million square feet of space certifying each day, millions of people around the world live, work, learn and relax in LEED certified buildings, homes and communities.
LEED v4 has seen strong uptake in the Canadian market, and revisions in LEED v4.1 are further ensuring the program is embraced as a solution to help the industry contribute to Canada’s carbon emissions targets.
“High performance, continuous improvement, and holistic solutions have been hallmarks of LEED since day one,” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of CaGBC and CEO of GBCI CA. “We listened to the market, and these principles are reflected in the newest version of LEED. In LEED v4.1 we are shifting to performance management and recertification to ensure buildings live up to their potential from an environmental, financial, and health perspective.”
Canada has consistently ranked among the top countries in LEED adoption. As of this fall, Canada has achieved more than 4,350 LEED certifications overall and is a world leader in the adoption of the latest LEED version.
Of Canadian LEED v4 projects, almost half are commercial and institutional new construction, with Ontario leading the way regionally with 27 per cent of projects, followed by British Columbia at 17 per cent and Alberta at 15 per cent.
New homes account for a quarter of LEED v4 projects, with Quebec’s very early adoption of LEED v4 for home construction resulting in a full 74 per cent of home projects coming from that province.
Existing buildings are a growing segment of LEED v4 registrations as streamlined documentation requirements tied to building performance drive uptake across more markets and building classes. In fact, existing buildings account for a quarter of total LEED v4 projects, and large commercial owners are leveraging LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance (O+M) to help them meet their sustainability goals and speed up the recertification process.
