GREEN BUILDINGS ARE "HOT" IN TORONTO
The commercial real estate industry in Toronto has begun to embrace a change to going green. According to Steve
Kerlovich of CB Richard Ellis Limited Realtor, creating "greener" buildings in Canada has caught on at a spectacular pace in the past year.
It's an important issue because buildings including office, industrial, commercial, residential, and other buildings types are one of the
biggest contributors to the greenhouses gases that are considered responsible for climate change on the planet accounting for 30%
of total Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.
The increasing acceptance and adoption of green building practices is evident by a doubling in the number of LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings and others registered for LEED certification. LEED is a very stringent
rating system for designing, constructing, operating and certifying the world's greenest buildings. Originally created by US Green Building
Council, it has been adapted for Canada by Canada Green Building Council or (CaGBC). Buildings can be certified at four levels: Certified,
Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
The CaGBC mission is to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live,
work and play by engaging a national coalition of industry leaders to accelerate the mainstream adoption of green building principles,
policies, practices, standards and tools.
Green buildings new design and construction practices significantly reduce the negative impact of buildings on the
environment and it's occupants in five broad areas:
- Sustainable site planning
- Safeguarding water and water efficiency
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Conservation of materials and resources
- Indoor environmental quality
There is also demand from employees in all sectors of industry for green buildings due to the growing concerns for
health and safety and with concerns of environmental consequences of industry. Some of the key benefits of LEED certified
buildings are as follows:
- Environmental benefits of a reduced impact on the environment
- Economic benefits of lower operating costs and energy efficiency
- Enhance asset value and increase profits
- Optimize life cycle economic performance
- Health and safety benefits-enhance occupant comfort
- Reduced liability and improvement of risk management
- Increase retail sales with daylight
- Improve productivity
- Reduce absenteeism and turnover
- Improved employee satisfaction
Making sure newly constructed buildings are green is a important objective, but there can be much more of an
impact through improving the performance of the billions of square feet of existing commercial space across the country.
The greening of buildings has become such a hot issue that large real estate firms are bending over backwards to
make sure people know they are concerned about the planet. CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said recently it will attempt to become
"carbon neutral" by 2010. To do that it will cut energy use in it offices, make better use of space, and buy offset credits if necessary.
Perhaps more important than the internal goals, CBRE has set up a task force to help its clients become more energy
efficient in the 1.7 billion square feet of office space they occupy around the world the move is "a recognition that the company has a
global responsibility, and can be a global influence."
The idea is to share best practices around the world, he said, and Canada should be able to make a significant
contribution because we have a different climate and geography than most other countries.
Many Canadian building owners and managers have made changes, or are considering changes, to ensure their
buildings' operations are more environmentally friendly.
Environmentally positive changes can include massive retrofits, such as shifting a building's cooling from an inefficient
system to Enwave deep lake water cooling that's now available in downtown Toronto. Some building owners are installing green roofs,
planting drought resistant plants for landscaping, or capturing rain water for irrigation.
One of the benefits of retrofitting space so it's more green is that owners may have an easier time attracting tenants,
and those tenants will be better able to attract staff, who now sometimes take environmental issues into account when deciding
who they want to work for.
Buildings that have made significant environmental progress can now get recognition from Canada's Building Owners
and Managers Association, which has created the "Go Green" program to certify properties that meet 10 environmental best practices.
BOMA's Go Green Plus is more rigorous, and sets measured benchmarks for energy consumption, water usage,
emissions, waste reduction etc. About 66 buildings in Canada have reached that level.
For more information on green buildings in Canada or to search for commercial real estate, an agent or
broker for industrial, office or warehouse space and properties in Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Scarborough,
Richmond Hill, Milton, Thornhill, Newmarket, North York, Unionville, Brampton, Oakville, or Burlington, Ontario, Canada contact:
Steve Kerlovich
Associate Vice President, Sales Representative
CB Richard Ellis Limited Realtor
87 Skyway Avenue, Suite 100 | Toronto, Ontario M9W 6R3
Direct Line 416-798-6237
Toll Free 1-800-263-7070
stevek@gtacommercialrealestate.com
http://www.gtacommercialrealestate.com
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