Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Canada Expands LEED to Existing Buildings

If you visit the Canada Green Building Council website, you will discover a list of all of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects throughout Canada. Of the more than 1,200 projects, many include hotels. For example, there are currently Element and aloft hotels under way in Toronto that have registered for LEED certification. Those hotel projects that are listed at the Canada Green Building Council site are only new construction. That may soon change.

On June 10, At the second annual National Green Building Summit, the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) announced details of the LEED Canada for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance 2009 (LEED Canada EB:O&M) program. Available later this summer, this new rating system will provide ongoing certification on the performance, operations and maintenance of commercial, government and institutional buildings that have either never been LEED certified or that have been certified under other LEED programs such as LEED Canada for New Construction and Major Renovations.

“Examining actual performance and not design expectations, LEED Canada EB:O&M 2009 recognizes the ongoing efforts of building owners and managers to continually improve the performance of their buildings,” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the CaGBC. “It also provides those operators with the opportunity to demonstrate to their tenants, occupants and the wider community their ongoing commitment to green buildings.”

The new rating system considers the building as a whole, accounting for both common and tenanted areas. It looks at building exteriors as well as site maintenance programs, the optimized use of water and energy, the commitment to purchasing environmentally-preferred products and food, waste management and recycling programs and continual indoor environmental air quality.

If you own or operate a hotel in Canada, or even if you do not, be sure to check out the Canada Green Building Council's new program. And, be sure to visit Green Lodging News for future updates on LEED Canada EB:O&M.

No comments: