A thousand projects have now been LEED certified in Canada.
They include 145 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, 316 LEED silver, 447 LEED gold and 92 LEED platinum projects in six different ratings systems, ranging from single-family homes, condos and office towers to schools, arenas, retail outlets and industrial complexes.
Canada now ranks second in the world, after the U.S., for its number of certified buildings.
“Canada is considered one of the global leaders in green building, with some of the most innovative and advanced buildings in the world,” says Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), which is the licence holder for the LEED green building rating system in Canada.
Since certifying its first project in 2005, the CaGBC has been collecting data to evaluate the impact LEED has made on Canadian energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and waste diversion.
The results include:
- Energy savings of more than 1.6 million equivalent Megawatt-hours, which would power 54,307 homes in Canada for a year.
- A 312,006 tonne reduction of equivalent carbon dioxide in greenhouse gas emissions, which is equal to taking 58,980 cars off the roads for a year.
- Water savings in excess of 3.3 billion litres, which is the equivalent of approximately 1,336 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
- Recycling more than 2 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste, which would be approximately 639,642 garbage truck loads.
- Installing 100,239 square metres of green roofs, or an area the size of 66 NHL hockey rinks.