President's message: Green buildings in Canada

At the heart of every green building is an automation system that monitors and controls the HVAC, lighting, and security systems. Reliable Controls and its worldwide network of Authorized Dealers are pleased to support building owners and operators around the globe in their quest for building sustainability.

Canada ranked second in the U.S. Green Building Council’s top 10 countries and regions for LEED-certified projects outside the United States in 2018, according to the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) LEED Impact Report that year.¹ Ranking was based on LEED-certified gross floor area; Canada’s 3,254 LEED-certified projects at that time accounted for a combined gross floor area of 46.9 million m², just behind China’s 1,494 LEED-certified projects, which had a gross floor area of 68.8 million m² in 2018. Considering Canada’s relatively small population, its growing green building inventory is a testament to its national commitment to achieving a built environment that delivers a reputable triple bottom line.

The CaGBC maintains a detailed, up-to-date project database of all registered and certified LEED projects in Canada for both commercial and residential buildings.² The database is available to the public and contains information on approximately 8,000 green buildings. An April 20, 2021, analysis identified the following LEED-certified commercial buildings that depend on Reliable Controls and its Authorized Dealer network in Canada:

• 5 percent of all LEED buildings that have achieved any level of certification in Canada depend on Reliable Controls.
• 7 percent of LEED Platinum–certified buildings in Canada depend on Reliable Controls.
• 12 percent of all LEED buildings that have received any level of certification in Nova Scotia depend on Reliable Controls.
• 13 percent of all LEED buildings that have received any level of certification, and 21 percent of LEED Platinum–certified buildings, in British Columbia depend on Reliable Controls.
• Every LEED building that has received any level of certification in Nunavut (there is only one) depends on Reliable Controls.

In its 2020 market impact report, titled Canada’s Green Building Engine, the CaGBC says more than 160,000 new jobs were added to the green buildings sector between 2014 and 2018, bumping up the total sector jobs count to just over 460,000 people.³ By 2030, under a climate-forward scenario, the report forecasts direct green building employment of more than 1,470,000 jobs and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 53 million tons of CO₂ equivalent compared with 2018 levels.⁴ The report concludes that although there has been a growing patronage of green building construction and renovation in Canada, the industry “still has a long way to go to become mainstream,” and provincial building codes, municipal bylaws, and incentives such as the BC Energy Step Code⁵ are helpful in “driving market transformation.”

The number of green buildings that depend on Reliable Controls and the Reliable Controls Authorized Dealer network is growing. Together, building owners, operators, and Reliable Controls are working together to help drive a market transformation that will result in healthier indoor environments, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and new jobs.

1 Canada Green Building Council. (2018). LEED Impact Report. https://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/Advocacy/CaGBC_Research/leed_impact_report__canada_2018/CAGBC/Advocacy/leed_impact_report_Canada_2018.aspx?hkey=9ee7f7a4-0b46-4101-9598-cfd51b0c5271.

2 Canada Green Building Council. (n.d.). Project Database. https://leed.cagbc.org/LEED/projectprofile_EN.aspx

3 Canada Green Building Council. (2020). Canada’s Green Building Engine. https://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/Advocacy/market_impact_report.aspx.

4. Ibid.

5. Energy Step Code Council. (n.d.). BC Energy Step Code. https://energystepcode.ca.