LEED certification
Toronto: Greenbuild 2011 Conference
Greenbuild is the annual conference of the United States Green Building Council, which is the organization behind the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) labelling program for residential and non-residential buildings. LEED uses a point rating system to certify buildings to various levels of performance (Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum) based on points attained in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
Cheese maker comes of age with energy-smart dairy
Globe and Mail / Naomi Carniol / 17 February 2010
The windmill is the first clue. The eight solar panels on the roof are another. A visitor to Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. in Prince Edward County, Ont., quickly realizes this is no ordinary dairy.
Fifth Town, which produces handmade goat and sheep cheeses, is North America's first Platinum LEED-certified dairy.
Ottawa: Green space goes to work
Centretown News / Beatrice Fantoni / 02 October 2009
The latest addition to Ottawa’s downtown core is bringing some green into the mostly grey landscape.
The new building at 180 Kent St. – part of the newly-inaugurated Minto Place complex – is the first multi-tenant office tower in the city to beat the construction industry’s environmental standards while offering competitive rents.
LEED® for Homes workshop
ELORIN is hosting a LEED® for Homes workshop, with Arborus Consulting, on Wednesday, September 23rd, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at Innovation Park. Please visit http://my.cagbc.org/courses.php?sbget=course,,674,,0,view_item,,6,,,;courses_main,,6,,0, or email jhamilton@cagbc.ca for more information and to register.
ELORIN Conference: Sustainable Building and Design
The ELORIN 7th Annual Conference focuses on innovation, challenges and opportunities for building green. Join us as we explore how to achieve sustainability in existing and heritage buildings, repurposing and reusing non-traditional materials, innovative new building design in residential and commercial builds and the use of natural building products and techniques. As well, on the panel discussion on the Ontario Building Code we will feature a speaker from the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath, UK who will discuss the Code for Sustainable Homes in the UK, a new national standard for green building.
The green cheesemaker
Toronto Star / Pamela Cuthbert / 20 May 2009
Some like it blue. But Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co.'s president, Petra Cooper, prefers her cheese with a distinctly greenish hue.
"I call it eco-cheese," she says of the creamy creations her company, based in Prince Edward County, makes with goat and sheep milk – each one inspired by a mix of environmentalism and handcrafted traditions.
New green label added to lowrise mix
Toronto Star / Stephen Dupuis / 07 March 2009
For years, Energy Star was virtually the only game in town for lowrise new home builders looking to differentiate themselves in the market and respond to consumer demand for more energy-efficient new homes. Meanwhile, LEED (short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) had cornered the highrise residential market on the green label front.
As with everything else, things are changing rapidly, particularly with respect to green labels for lowrise housing. With the introduction this week of the new LEED Canada for Homes label, homebuyers now have a full continuum of choice ranging from Energy Star to GreenHouse to LEED, not to mention established programs like R-2000 and proprietary builder-specific green programs.
What do all these labels and logos mean? What are the costs and benefits to the homebuyer? Like anything else, it's important to do your research on the labels themselves, but it's equally important to ask yourself a few questions to determine your own priorities.
