McGill Health Centre awarded second LEED Gold

MONTREAL — The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the McGill Healthcare Infrastructure Group have announced the hospital has been recognized with a second LEED Gold certification, a first in the province of Quebec.

The LEED Gold for Existing Building certification was awarded by the Canada Green Building Council to the new MUHC Glen site, which opened in 2015 in Montreal on the border of NDG and Westmount.

In February 2016, the site obtained a LEED Gold for New Construction certification, noted a statement released in December.

Sustainability features at the hospital include:

• implementation of energy-efficient initiatives resulting in less energy consumption than for the average standard Canadian hospital, resulting in savings of approximately $2.5 million per year;
• reduced light pollution as a result of adapted lighting fixtures and an emphasis on natural light;
• low-flow faucets that decrease potable water consumption by at least 40 per cent in relation to comparable buildings;
• a bicycle path connecting to the City of Montreal’s cycling network and more than 400 available parking spaces for cyclists;
• showers for cyclists;
• 79 charging stations for electric vehicles;
• a waste management centre to recycle paper, cardboard, electronic waste, glass and plastic; and
• decreased heat island effect thanks in part to the maintenance of green spaces consisting of trees, perennials and shrubs that do not require any watering, and to the presence of reflective materials.

During construction, 94 per cent of construction waste and debris were reused and recycled.

Twenty-seven per cent of construction materials came from local producers (less than 800 kilometres from the site).

“Environmental sustainability is everybody’s business. We are therefore proud that the Glen site has achieved LEED Gold for Existing Buildings,” stated Dr. Pierre Gfeller, MUHC president and executive director, in the release.

“This certification confirms our commitment to sustainable design, operation and maintenance of buildings, and our teams’ collaborative efforts with partners to identify and implement the best sustainable practices,” he said.

A consulting team from Johnson Controls Quebec Ltd. and SNC-Lavalin was credited with reducing the structure’s environmental footprint by 3,365 tonnes of equivalent CO2 per year.