The winners of the 2025 CAGBC Awards were announced at the Building Lasting Change (BLC) conference gala in Vancouver, honouring the outstanding individuals and groundbreaking projects reshaping Canada’s green building sector.
“The CAGBC Awards spotlight the innovators transforming Canada’s building industry,” said Thomas Mueller, CAGBC president and CEO. “This year’s winners exemplify extraordinary commitment and leadership pushing beyond industry limits to deliver the next generation of sustainable buildings in Canada.”
The CAGBC Awards were presented in two categories: Green Building Excellence, recognizing standout projects that demonstrate innovation and performance, and Green Building Leadership, honouring the individuals and teams leading Canada’s green building transition. CAGBC also presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Jonathan Westeinde, CEO and founder of Windmill Development Group.
A pioneer in sustainable real estate development, Westeinde has led more than $5 billion in high-performance, socially responsible building projects across Canada. His leadership has driven the creation of innovative financing models to support green development, including zero carbon district energy systems, geothermal energy services contracts, and green loans. Most recently, he co-launched the One Planet Living Real Estate Fund, a $1 billion impact investment vehicle focused on building sustainable communities across the country.
“Jonathan Westeinde has spent his career proving that developing sustainable market housing and profitability can go hand in hand,” said Mueller. “Through his work at Windmill and beyond, he’s helped redefine what’s possible in green residential development. His leadership has not only delivered exceptional residential projects but also created new pathways for financing and scaling low-carbon development projects in Canada.”
Mueller was also honoured by the who’s who of Canada’s green building sector for his 20 years at the helm of CAGBC.
“On behalf of CAGBC board members past and present, congratulations to Thomas Mueller for his dedicated service to the proliferation of green building across Canada, ” said board presiden chair Jody Becker. “Over the last there years, it has been an honour to work alongside Thomas as we chart the way forward to a sustainable, low-carbon future for Canada’s buildings and the communities they serve.”
Mueller was a founding director of CAGBC, which was established in 2002 to help unite the building and real estate sectors to commit to LEED as a tool for advancing sustainable building practices in Canada. Mueller took the reigns of the fledgling organization in 2005. Under his guidance, CAGBC saw its first LEED certified building in 2004 – and today, with more than 6,286 certifications, Canada was recognized as the third largest LEED territory in the world after the United States and China. Mueller also oversaw the development of the Zero Carbon Building Standards in 2017 – the first green building council globally to do so.
For all the winners, visit CAGBC.
